Root server cannot be a forwarder?

[Kevin Darcy]

John Hascall wrote:
>>              ... You can be both a root server and a forwarder, but your 
>> forwarding would need to be limited and specific. You can't be a 
>> "general" forwarder.
>>     
>
>   
>> Why on earth someone would want to combine those functions, I have no 
>> idea. Worse come to worst, just set up separate views for the separate 
>> functions (assuming you can differentiate your clients somehow).
>>     
>
> One place where it gets used is in "NetReg" type systems
> where the DNS for DHCP-unknown systems lies about the
> address of almost every name (sending back the ip of the
> NetReg server), BUT where you want to allow a limited
> amount of leakage out of the NetReg Sandbox network
> so people can do windows/virus updates before being
> registered and let out on the "real internet".
>
> So, for example, from /var/chroot/named/etc/named.conf on
> my NetReg DNS box:
>
> zone "." in {
>         type master;
>         file "db.root";
> };
>
> // needed windowsupdate domains
> // Dear Microsoft, This list is ridiculous!
>
> zone "akadns.com" {
>       type forward;
>       forwarders { 129.186.1.200; 129.186.140.200; 129.186.142.200; };
> };
>     :
>  (about 18 more zones)
>     :
> zone "wustat.windows.com" {
>         type forward;
>         forwarders { 129.186.1.200; 129.186.140.200; 129.186.142.200; };
> };
>
>     :
>     :
>  (etc)
>
> Where, after NS records for all the forwarder zones, db.root ends up with:
>
> *.                      IN      A       129.186.6.16
> *.edu.                  IN      A       129.186.6.16
> *.com.                  IN      A       129.186.6.16
> *.net.                  IN      A       129.186.6.16
>
>
>   
Hmmm... I can see it being useful for that subsystem. From a DNS 
infrastructure perspective, of course, it would be much simpler and 
cleaner if the NetReg server could also perform a simple HTTP proxy 
function for a specific, configurable list of domains; then you'd only 
need a single wildcard entry for everything.

                                                                         
                                 - Kevin