From kragen@dnaco.net Tue Aug 25 08:54:38 1998
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1998 08:54:36 -0400 (EDT)
From: Kragen <kragen@dnaco.net>
To: systalk@ml.org
Subject: Re: [ST] I need help with reverse DNS lookups
In-Reply-To: <35E2AB6B.D8227AB9@telrad.co.il>
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.96.980825084651.11646J-100000@picard.dnaco.net>
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On Tue, 25 Aug 1998, Meir wrote:
> Kragen wrote:
> > :) Actually, RFC 2371 is the "Transaction Internet Protocol", and
> > doesn't say anything about CNAMEs or in-addr.arpa.
> 
> And unfortunately couldn't help to *_set up_* ISP's environment :)
> but anywhere, thanks to George for his care and to Kragen for
> his RFC knowledge :)

To set up, you need three things:
1 a nameserver;
2 delegation of the appropriate in-addr.arpa domain to your nameserver;
3 data on your nameserver to answer appropriate queries.

The name 4.3.2.1.in-addr.arpa. is where one goes to do a reverse DNS
lookup for the IP address 1.2.3.4.  One looks there for a PTR record;
the value of the PTR record is the hostname.

So #2 means that, in order to serve up that record, you need one of the
following:

a. the nameserver that controls in-addr.arpa. to delegate
1.in-addr.arpa. to your nameserver;
b. the nameserver that controls 1.in-addr.arpa. to delegate
2.1.in-addr.arpa. to your nameserver;
c. the nameserver that controls 2.1.in-addr.arpa. to delegate
3.2.1.in-addr.arpa. to your nameserver;
d. the nameserver that controls 3.2.1.in-addr.arpa. to delegate
4.3.2.1.in-addr.arpa. to your nameserver.

This is accomplished with a record like this (for example (c)):
3.2.1.in-addr.arpa. IN NS your.nameserver.telrad.co.il.

(Preferably you will have multiple nameservers.)

#3 means that your nameserver will have a record like this:

4.3.2.1.in-addr.arpa. IN PTR some.host.telrad.co.il.

(Of course, these records will probably be abbreviated a bit, but
they'll work as is.  Just change the numbers and the hostnames.)

The BIND Operations Guide, or BOG, explains all this.

Kragen

-- 
<kragen@pobox.com>       Kragen Sitaker     <http://www.pobox.com/~kragen/>
We are forming cells within a global brain and we are excited that we might
start to think collectively.  What becomes of us still hangs crucially on
how we think individually.  -- Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the Web


