Whence loopback A-RR's in zonefiles?

[Kevin Darcy]

It's not necessarily a requirement. I've been doing without
"localhost" for years. We use HP OpenView, and it's never had a problem
with the absence of "localhost"...


- Kevin

Rick Crelia wrote:

> Oh gods of BIND,
>
> What is the technical reason behind having to include loopback entries
> in BIND zonefiles?
>
> i.e.,
>
>   localhost.my.domain.  IN      A       127.0.0.1
>
> Just curious....a coworker and I were trying to figure it out. I
> found a reference in the comp.protocols.tcp-ip.domains FAQ (see
> below).
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> --rc
>
>  Rick Crelia                      rick at cobaltgroup.com
>  Sr. Systems Engineer             Ph:  800-909-8244 x8293
>  IT Hosting                       Cel: 206-396-9712
>  The Cobalt Group, Inc.           Fax: 206-269-6350
>
>  -= If it's automotive, and it's Internet, it's Cobalt! =-
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------
>
> >From comp.protocols.tcp-ip.domains:
>
> Section 6.4. Do I need to define an A record for localhost ?
> Date: Sat Sep 9 00:36:01 EDT 1995
>
> Somewhere deep in the BOG (BIND Operations Guide) that came with
> 4.9.3 (section 5.4.3), it says that you define this yourself (if
> need be) in the same zone files as your "real" IP addresses for
> your domain. Quoting the BOG:
>
> ... As  implied by this PTR
>          record, there should be a  ``localhost.my.dom.ain''
>          A  record  (with address 127.0.0.1) in every domain
>          that contains hosts.  ``localhost.'' will lose  its
>          trailing dot when 1.0.0.127.in-addr.arpa is queried
>          for;...
>
> The sample files in the BIND distribution show you what needs to
> be done (see the BOG).
>
> Some HP boxen (especially those running HP OpenView) will also
> need "loopback" defined with this IP address. You may set it as a
> CNAME record pointing to the "localhost." record.
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------