what exactly is the zone name used for?

[Joseph Morrison]

Hello all,

If you have the following in your named configuration file:

zone "aaa.com." {
        type master;
        file "named.aaa";
};

Then what exactly is the "aaa.com." used for? Is it ONLY used to expand
abbreviations in the "named.aaa" file? Or is it used for anything else
(like considering itself authoritative only for the domain specified
after the zone keyword)?

I'm considering including information for multiple domains in a single
"named.aaa" file, and using the name of the first domain after the
"zone" keyword. Is there any downside to doing that?

I have a similar question for reverse mappings; if I want to provide
authoritative PTR records for multiple subnets, is it possible to put
them in a single zone file? And if so, what should be specified
immediately after the "zone" keyword?

Thanks for any answers or pointers to information,
- Joe

-- 
joseph morrison, president	e-smith, inc.		tel (613) 236-0743
jdm at e-smith.net			www.e-smith.net		fax (613) 276-0065