Questions about new Bind installation

[/dev/rob0]

On Wednesday 21 September 2005 09:43, Lisa Casey wrote:
> I was unaware that when I installed FreeBSD 5.3 Bind would 
> automatically be installed. I figured if I wanted to run Bind I'ld
> need to install it, just as I did for Apache on this box (this box is

An OS install would do what the OS designer[s] made it to do, within 
constraints of the options obtained from the user installing. That is 
quite obvious, only worthy of mention because your questions so far 
have been OS questions, not BIND questions.

I suggest that you become more familiar with your OS. For that matter 
regarding Apache, I would expect that most wide-spectrum free Unices 
would indeed ship with Apache. My flavour of choice does. If I do not 
want it installed, I would tell the installer to skip it.

> every unix box box doesn't 
> necessarily need to run DNS, my mail server doesn't, it relies on my
> DNS servers but I suppose this is beside the point.

It is, as for that matter is this entire thread. :) Again to be 
cantankerous I'll point out that my mail servers ALL run a local 
caching nameserver, which is very important because of the many DNS 
queries being made: SMTP client rDNS, forward lookup thereof, HELO/EHLO 
name lookup, NS/MX lookups of the foregoing and of the MAIL FROM 
domain, and then of course the numerous RBL and RHSBL lookups. A single 
incoming SMTP connection could trigger dozens of DNS queries. 
Performance and reliability is greatly enhanced by running a local 
caching nameserver.

> So are you saying that I now have a FreeBSD box with both Bind 8.4
> and Bind 9 on it and I could choose to run whichever I pleased just
> by changing path statements in my  rc.conf file?

I would not know as I do not use FreeBSD, but from what was said it 
would appear to be the case. Beware of $PATH issues. Your BIND 8 
binaries in /usr/local/s?bin might come before the BIND 9 ones. You 
definitely should remove the BIND 8 install when you decide to upgrade 
to BIND 9. It will only get in the way.

And at that we are finally on topic. :)
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