Advice for personal dns server

[David Botham]

bind-users-bounce at isc.org wrote on 10/20/2004 06:20:03 PM:
> I want to set up a personal dns server to use on my local network. My
> only goal is faster lookups. I hope to achieve this by eliminating the
> latency of dns requests going onto the internet to my ISP's dns
> servers. I also want to add reliability, since my ISP's servers are

Even if you run your own name server, your queries are going to go out on 
the internet eventually, so don't be looking for improvements here.

> kind of flakey sometimes. This server will be sitting behind a Linksys
> router doing NAT/PPPOE, which is hooked up to a 
> 768/128kbps dsl link.

If the ISP's name servers are not reliable, then you will benefit from 
running your own name server.

> 
> I plan to get a Sun Sparcstation with at least a 40mhz cpu, 64mb
> memory and 1+ gig hard drive. The OS will be one of the BSD's or
> Linuxes (I will pick the one that runs the fastest and most stable on
> the Sparc). The only reason why I'm gettting a Sun instead of an
> intel/amd box is because of their small compact size. 
> 
> Preliminary google searches resulted in little useful/friendly advice.
> I'd like to know the following:
> 
> Is Bind a good choice for me?
> What is most important in terms of hardware? cpu? memory?
> 
> If anyone can point me to some quick reads/faq's/howto's, I would
> appreciate it, because I really couldn't find any.

Obtain a copy of DNS and BIND, 4th Edition by Cricket Lui / Paul Albitz

> 
> On a side note, if I were to approach this project like I normally
> approach things that I have never done before, I would go out and read
> oreilly's bind books and spend the next few days doing research on the
> web. Then another few days setting things up. But I just don't have
> the time for that right now and I'm really curious if it's possible to
> do these things quickly and correctly. Basically, I don't know what
> I'm getting myself into and based on previous experiences this little
> project can take a few hours or the next few weeks - I'm sure we've
> all been there/done that before. 

In my experience there is no short cut for learning the DNS.  I highly 
recommend getting the  book and reading it.

Dave...

> 
> Thanks for all your help.
>