Hints file when forwarding unnecessary in BIND 8.2.x?

[Mark_Andrews at isc.org]

> Much to my surprise and delight, my BIND 8.2.1 name server configured with 
> global forwarding does not seem to require a hints file.  No log message 
> about the lack of root name servers is emitted at startup and the server 
> appears to resolve anything just fine.  This is a recent change.  Is it 
> this one?
> 
>   715.	[clarity]	root servers don't need to be primed.

	No.  It was fixed in the processes of fixing the following,
	which was broken by 330 which I suspect was trying to achieve
	this behaviour.

 597.   [bug]           we weren't priming the cache in forward-only mode.

 330.   [bug]           If priming of the root servers failed, recovery could
			take a long time.  If using forwarders to prime
		        and the query expired, the first forwarder would
			always be skipped on subsequent attempts.  The server
			complained about priming problems in forward-only mode,
			even though it doesn't matter.


> 
> Is this now a supported configuration: no zone of type hint required when 
> doing options { forward only; };?

	Yes.

	Mark
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Matt
> 
> --
> Matt Larson <matt at acmebw.com>
> Acme Byte & Wire / http://www.acmebw.com
> 
> 
--
Mark Andrews, Internet Software Consortium
1 Seymour St., Dundas Valley, NSW 2117, Australia
PHONE: +61 2 9871 4742                 INTERNET: marka at isc.org