Documents about the DNS

IETF documents

Requests for Comments (RFCs)

Current DNS standards activity

Other documents

BIND 9 Administrator Reference Manual

Exactly what it says. Read it if you run BIND 9. 23-Mar-2004

BIND FAQ from Nominum

Answers to common questions about BIND. Brief but useful. 23-Mar-2004

BOG

Name Server Operations Guide for BIND by Paul Vixie (originally by Kevin J Dunlap and Michael J Karels). Generally known as the BOG; part of the BIND distribution. Here are local HTML (conversion by Graeme Cox), text copies.
Note that the BOG is for BIND 4.x and does not cover BIND 8 or 9. The best documentation for BIND is undoubtedly the book DNS and BIND. BIND documentation is included in the BIND distribution.

23-Mar-2004

Dealing with Lame Delegations by Bryan Beecher

Describes the lamers tool to detect and flag lame delegations.

DNS for Internet Administrators by András Salamon

Slides for one-day DNS course, from October 1996.

DNSSEC Impact on Broadband Routers and Firewalls by Ray Bellis and Lisa Phifer

Test report from Nominet, covering many popular devices including Apple Airport Express, Belkin N and N1, D-Link DI-604, Linksys WAG54GS and WRT54G, Netgear DG834G, and Thomson ST546. Shows that most off-the-shelf broadband access devices impede DNSSEC deployment. On this evidence, most end users are likely to keep DNSSEC switched off to avoid limitations in their access devices. Access device vendors should read this... (checked 29-Sep-2008)

Domain Name System: Proper use reduces intranet administration costs by Anton Holleman

Brief white paper from Origin, supporting the use of DNS instead of services like NIS or WINS. Originally published in Dutch in April 1999.

Dual chrooted Bind/DNS server by Dave Lugo

How to set up one machine with two BIND servers, to implement a split internal/external view of DNS, using the chroot environment. Targeted to Redhat Linux 6.0. Note that some people regard chroot environments as not especially secure. 05-Mar-2000

The Internet Cookbook: DNS by Robert J. Kohlhepp

Examples of building a DNS, with sample database files; from a series of articles in Network Computing Online, February 1997.

FAQ

FAQ document for the newsgroup comp.protocols.tcp-ip.domains by Chris Peckham. Here is a local copy of the most recently posted text version. You could also try a DNS book, or DNSRD tips.

FAQ for microsoft.public.windowsnt.dns

FAQ document for the Microsoft newsgroup microsoft.public.windowsnt.dns.

Keeping track of names

`Keeping track of names and information: the domain system', Section 5 of Introduction to the Internet Protocols by Charles L. Hedrick, from 1987. (checked 14-Mar-2007)

ICANN Factsheet: Root server attack 6 February 2007 from ICANN

Well written overview of the attack on the root servers in February 2007, with analysis of why it did not succeed. Explains some of the major design principles of the root servers -- recommended reading. (checked 14-Mar-2007)

The InterNIC Lame Delegation Policy

The InterNIC's draft policy to deal with lame delegations for domains that they administer. They are supposed to deregister the domain if all delegated servers are lame for 90 days, but they don't seem to bother. The issues relating to trademarks are highly contentious. See also the DNSRD pages on domain registration and disputes.

Linux DNS HOWTO

How to set up DNS on Linux, by Nicolai Langfeldt. There are some small problems with this document, but it has some useful tips.

Passive DNS Replication

Describes building partial zone files based on observing the query traffic at a third party name server, by Florian Weimer. (checked 06-Sep-2004)

Powered By DNS

Comprehensive document on setting up and maintaining a Unix-based DNS server, by Seung-young Kim. The examples focus on FreeBSD. In Korean.

Setting up a basic DNS server for a domain by Craig Richmond

Good tutorial document, now somewhat out of date. Part of the BIND distribution.

Setting Up Your Own DNS by Gary Kessler

Thorough practical overview.

Simple DNS Configuration Example (RIPE-192)

Probably the quickest way to get going, if you are using BIND 8 on Unix. Just cut and paste the examples and make a few changes for a working setup.

Style Guide for Zone Files by Paul Vixie

The recommended style for manually maintained zone files, from the maintainer of BIND. Highly recommended.

A Survey of DNS Tools by Cricket Liu

A comparison of nslookup, dig, host, doc, dnswalk, dnsparse and h2n. Slides presented in February 1993.

10 DNS Errors That Will Kill Your Network by Bill Boswell

Common DNS errors in Microsoft Windows environments. Many of these problems are not specific to Windows. (checked 14-Mar-2007)

Tricks of the BIND Trade by Cricket Liu

Slides presented in February 1993. Some of the material is out of date for recent BIND versions.

Using BIND: Don't get spoofed again by Matt Larson and Cricket Liu

Good advice on how to secure DNS servers against spoofing attacks.

What is a domain? by Mark R. Horton

Introductory paper, similar to but easier to read than the fundamental RFCs. Part of the BIND distribution.