named.html revision 75c0816e8295e180f4bc7f10db3d0d880383bc1c
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley - Copyright (C) 2004, 2005 Internet Systems Consortium, Inc. ("ISC")
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley - Copyright (C) 2000, 2001, 2003 Internet Software Consortium.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley - Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley - purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley - copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley - THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND ISC DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley - REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley - AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL ISC BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT,
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley - INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley - LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley - OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley - PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley<!-- $Id: named.html,v 1.14 2005/05/13 03:14:06 marka Exp $ -->
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6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley<body bgcolor="white" text="black" link="#0000FF" vlink="#840084" alink="#0000FF"><div class="refentry" lang="en">
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley<a name="id2456836"></a><div class="titlepage"></div>
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley<p><span class="application">named</span> — Internet domain name server</p>
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley<div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">named</code> [<code class="option">-4</code>] [<code class="option">-6</code>] [<code class="option">-c <em class="replaceable"><code>config-file</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-d <em class="replaceable"><code>debug-level</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-f</code>] [<code class="option">-g</code>] [<code class="option">-n <em class="replaceable"><code>#cpus</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-p <em class="replaceable"><code>port</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-s</code>] [<code class="option">-t <em class="replaceable"><code>directory</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-u <em class="replaceable"><code>user</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-v</code>] [<code class="option">-x <em class="replaceable"><code>cache-file</code></em></code>]</p></div>
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley<p><span><strong class="command">named</strong></span>
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley is a Domain Name System (DNS) server,
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley part of the BIND 9 distribution from ISC. For more
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley information on the DNS, see RFCs 1033, 1034, and 1035.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley When invoked without arguments, <span><strong class="command">named</strong></span>
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley read the default configuration file
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley <code class="filename">/etc/named.conf</code>, read any initial
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley data, and listen for queries.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley Use IPv4 only even if the host machine is capable of IPv6.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley <code class="option">-4</code> and <code class="option">-6</code> are mutually
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley Use IPv6 only even if the host machine is capable of IPv4.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley <code class="option">-4</code> and <code class="option">-6</code> are mutually
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley<dt><span class="term">-c <em class="replaceable"><code>config-file</code></em></span></dt>
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley Use <em class="replaceable"><code>config-file</code></em> as the
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley configuration file instead of the default,
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley <code class="filename">/etc/named.conf</code>. To
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley ensure that reloading the configuration file continues
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley to work after the server has changed its working
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley directory due to to a possible
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley <code class="option">directory</code> option in the configuration
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley file, <em class="replaceable"><code>config-file</code></em> should be
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley an absolute pathname.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley<dt><span class="term">-d <em class="replaceable"><code>debug-level</code></em></span></dt>
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley Set the daemon's debug level to <em class="replaceable"><code>debug-level</code></em>.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley Debugging traces from <span><strong class="command">named</strong></span> become
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley more verbose as the debug level increases.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley Run the server in the foreground (i.e. do not daemonize).
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley Run the server in the foreground and force all logging
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley<dt><span class="term">-n <em class="replaceable"><code>#cpus</code></em></span></dt>
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley Create <em class="replaceable"><code>#cpus</code></em> worker threads
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley to take advantage of multiple CPUs. If not specified,
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley <span><strong class="command">named</strong></span> will try to determine the
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley number of CPUs present and create one thread per CPU.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley If it is unable to determine the number of CPUs, a
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley single worker thread will be created.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley<dt><span class="term">-p <em class="replaceable"><code>port</code></em></span></dt>
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley Listen for queries on port <em class="replaceable"><code>port</code></em>. If not
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley specified, the default is port 53.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley Write memory usage statistics to <code class="filename">stdout</code> on exit.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley<div class="note" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;">
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley This option is mainly of interest to BIND 9 developers
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley and may be removed or changed in a future release.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley<dt><span class="term">-t <em class="replaceable"><code>directory</code></em></span></dt>
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley to <em class="replaceable"><code>directory</code></em> after
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley processing the command line arguments, but before
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley reading the configuration file.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley<div class="warning" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;">
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley This option should be used in conjunction with the
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley <code class="option">-u</code> option, as chrooting a process
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley running as root doesn't enhance security on most
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley systems; the way <code class="function">chroot()</code> is
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley defined allows a process with root privileges to
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley escape a chroot jail.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley<dt><span class="term">-u <em class="replaceable"><code>user</code></em></span></dt>
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley to <em class="replaceable"><code>user</code></em> after completing
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley privileged operations, such as creating sockets that
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley listen on privileged ports.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley<div class="note" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;">
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley On Linux, <span><strong class="command">named</strong></span> uses the kernel's
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley capability mechanism to drop all root privileges
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley except the ability to <code class="function">bind()</code> to
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley privileged port and set process resource limits.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley Unfortunately, this means that the <code class="option">-u</code>
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley option only works when <span><strong class="command">named</strong></span> is
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley on kernel 2.2.18 or later, or kernel 2.3.99-pre3 or
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley later, since previous kernels did not allow privileges
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley to be retained after <code class="function">setuid()</code>.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley Report the version number and exit.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley<dt><span class="term">-x <em class="replaceable"><code>cache-file</code></em></span></dt>
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley Load data from <em class="replaceable"><code>cache-file</code></em> into the
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley cache of the default view.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley<div class="warning" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;">
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley This option must not be used. It is only of interest
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley to BIND 9 developers and may be removed or changed in a
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley future release.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley In routine operation, signals should not be used to control
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley the nameserver; <span><strong class="command">rndc</strong></span> should be used
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley Force a reload of the server.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley<dt><span class="term">SIGINT, SIGTERM</span></dt>
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley Shut down the server.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley The result of sending any other signals to the server is undefined.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley The <span><strong class="command">named</strong></span> configuration file is too complex
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley to describe in detail here. A complete description is provided
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley <em class="citetitle">BIND 9 Administrator Reference Manual</em>.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley<dt><span class="term"><code class="filename">/etc/named.conf</code></span></dt>
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley The default configuration file.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley<dt><span class="term"><code class="filename">/var/run/named.pid</code></span></dt>
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley The default process-id file.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley <span class="citerefentry"><span class="refentrytitle">rndc</span>(8)</span>,
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley <span class="citerefentry"><span class="refentrytitle">lwresd</span>(8)</span>,
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley <em class="citetitle">BIND 9 Administrator Reference Manual</em>.
6ea1b817e31b89a627e146fe69e23ea0a64c89ecBob Halley<p><span class="corpauthor">Internet Systems Consortium</span>