next gen h2n

[Barry Margolin]

In article <38CD521F.8312D86B at daimlerchrysler.com>,
Kevin Darcy  <kcd at daimlerchrysler.com> wrote:
>Lars Hecking wrote:
>
>> > > I am looking for a tool that will do sth. like what h2n does but comply
>> > > better with bind 8 and nicer in multiple domain handling.
>> > > Could anyone send me a pointer?
>> > > I am trying to run this tool mainly with Solaris 2.6+ environment.
>> >
>> > I think you're asking too much from a utility that appears to have been
>> > primarily created as a hosts-to-DNS migration tool. Consider taking the
>> > plunge and making DNS your "master" name database. There are numerous
>> > tools out there that can help maintain zonefiles. If you have some broken
>> > software in your environment which (temporarily) *requires* a hosts file,
>> > it should be quite easy to write an "n2h" script which would periodically
>> > generate one from the zonefiles.
>>
>>  There's nothing intrinsically "broken" with hosts files.
>
>You apparently misread what I wrote. I characterized as "broken" software
>which *requires* a hosts file, i.e. goes directly to the hosts file to do
>lookups instead of using the default resolver configuration of the machine.
>I never said hosts files were "broken" _per_se_, although their practicality
>is IMO quite limited (see below).

I don't think people use h2n because they're using systems that require
hosts files to be distributed.  They use it because hosts files are a
simpler file format.  If you edit zone files directly there are more
opportunities to screw up (e.g. messing up the serial number, not keeping
the forward and reverse zones in sync, messing up indentation).  Editing a
hosts file and then using h2n is a simple system that many admins prefer.

-- 
Barry Margolin, barmar at bbnplanet.com
GTE Internetworking, Powered by BBN, Burlington, MA
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