Explanation of Primary/Secondary and Mas

[Jim Reid]

>>>>> "Joseph" == Joseph S D Yao <jsdy at cospo.osis.gov> writes:


    Joseph> On Fri, Aug 25, 2000 at 02:04:36PM +0100, Sam Wilson
    Joseph> wrote:
    >> "Primary" and "secondary" are also used in at least one RFC
    >> (and I can't remember which) to mean the first server
    >> configured to queried by a client, the second and so on (the
    >> ordered "nameserver" lines in /etc/resolv.conf or the
    >> equivalent).  I remember this because it was pointed out to me
    >> after I complained about the usage in a public forum.  Oops!

    Joseph> Quite true; thank you.  This is a different usage, and may
    Joseph> be confusing if you don't pay attention.  These are the
    Joseph> primary, secondary, tertiary etc. servers for the
    Joseph> RESOLVER.  Maybe the adjective change for the NAME SERVERS
    Joseph> was to reduce this confusion?  ;-) I honestly don't know.

FWIW, the only RFC I can find that uses the terms "primary" and
"secondary" in the context of resolving is RFC1877: "PPP Internet
Protocol Control Protocol Extensions for Name Server Addresses". This
informational RFC also discusses NetBIOS Name Server. It's hardly part
of the DNS mainstream, so its use of jargon is unlikely to be widely
used. However there was some discussion in thi slist a while ago about
some Microsoft documentation which used the terms primary and
secondary to mean the first and second choice name servers to use when
resolving. This confusing use of terminology is unfortunate.