test

System Administration Guide: Naming and Directory Services (DNS, NIS, and LDAP)

Chapter 3 DNS Setup and Administration (Reference)

The Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS) ships with the BIND 9.x DNS name server. This chapter provides configuration and administration information related to using BIND 9 on the Solaris operating system. General BIND and DNS information is available from many other sources, including those listed in Related Materials.

This chapter covers the following topics.

Related Materials

For information about DNS and BIND administration, see the following documentation.

Migrating From BIND 8 to BIND 9

BIND 9 is upwards compatible with most BIND 8 features. However, there are still a number of caveats you should be aware of when upgrading an existing BIND 8 installation to use BIND 9. Be sure to read the entire Migration Notes document before installing and using BIND 9. The Migration Notes are available at /usr/share/doc/bind/migration.txt. Also, the BIND package names have changed to SUNWbind and SUNWbindr. The SUNWbindr package contains the DNS server manifest.

The following list presents a brief overview of the differences between BIND 8 and BIND 9. Details are available in the Migration Notes.

DNS and the Service Management Facility

The DNS/BIND named service can be managed by using the Service Management Facility (SMF). For an overview of SMF, refer to Chapter 17, Managing Services (Overview), in System Administration Guide: Basic Administration. Also refer to the svcadm(1M), svcs(1), and svccfg(1M) man pages for more details. Also review the DNS server manifest, server.xml, in /var/svc/manifest/network/dns.

While it is recommended that you use svcadm to administer the server, you can use rndc as well. SMF is aware of the state change of the BIND 9 named service, whether administered by using svcadm or rndc.

Note –

SMF will not be aware of the BIND 9 named service if the service is manually executed from the command line.

Implementing rndc

The BIND 8 ndc and BIND 9 rndc name server control tools are not backward compatible. rndc can not talk to the BIND 8 name server and ndc can not talk to the BIND 9 name server. Features, options, default modes of operation, and configuration file requirements have changed. Therefore, using ndc on a BIND 9 server could result in loss of functionality or insecure operation. See the rndc(1M) man page for more information.

The rndc.conf Configuration File

The most significant difference between ndc in BIND 8 and rndc in BIND 9 is that rndc needs its own configuration file, rndc.conf. This file can be generated by rndc-confgen commands. The rndc.conf file specifies which server controls and what algorithm the server should use.

Example 3–1 Sample rndc.conf File


options {
             default-server localhost;
             default-key "rndc-key";
     };

     key "rndc-key" {
             algorithm hmac-md5;
             secret "qPWZ3Ndl81aBRY9AmJhVtU==";
     };
Example 3–2 Sample named.conf File Entry for rndc 


controls {
             inet * allow { any; } keys { "rndc-key"; };
     };

     key "rndc-key" {
             algorithm hmac-md5;
             secret "qPWZ3Ndl81aBRY9AmJhVtU==";
     };

Differences in the Control Channels

Both the ndc and the rndc utilities use a control channel to send commands to and retrieve information from a name server. However, there are differences between the utilities.

Commands of BIND 9 rndc

The following list describes the rndc commands.

reload

Reload configuration file and zones

reload zone [class [view]]

Reload a single zone

refresh zone [class [view]]

Schedule immediate maintenance for a zone

reconfig

Reload configuration file and new zones only

stats

Write server statistics to the statistics file

querylog

Toggle query logging

dumpdb

Dump cache(s) to the dump file (named_dump.db)

stop

Save pending updates to master files and stop the server

halt

Stop the server without saving pending updates

trace

Increment debugging level by one

trace level

Change the debugging level

notrace

Set debugging level to 0

flush

Flushes all of the server's caches

flush [view]

Flushes the server's cache for a view

status

Display status of the server

restart

Restart the server (not yet implemented)

BIND 9 Commands, Files, Tools, and Options

Some commands, files, tools, and options have remained the same in BIND 9 as they were in BIND 8. However, some have been modified and others have been added. This section describes many of the commands, files, tools, and options in BIND 9 and the new or modified behavior associated with each item.

BIND 9 Tools and Configuration Files

The following BIND 9.x tools are available with the Solaris operating system.

named

nsupdate

rndc

dnssec-keygen

nslookup

dig

dnssec-makekeyset

dnssec-signkey

dnssec-signzone

named-checkconf

named-checkzone

rndc-confgen

host

The following BIND 9.x configuration file is supported in Solaris 10 and Solaris Express Developer Edition releases.

/etc/rndc.conf 

Comparison of BIND 8 and BIND 9 Commands and Files

The table below compares BIND 8 and BIND 9 commands and configuration files.

BIND 8 Command 

BIND 9.x Replacement 

dnskeygen(1M)

dnssec-keygen(1M)

ndc(1M)

rndc(1M)

named-bootconf(1M)

NONE NEEDED 

nsupdate(1M)

nsupdate(1M)

nslookup(1M)

nslookup(1M)

named-xfer(1M)

NONE NEEDED 

in.named(1M)

named(1M)

named.conf(4)

named.conf [A detailed named.conf man page is not included with BIND 9.2.4. The named.conf Options includes a summary of the named.conf options that are supported in BIND 9.2.4.]

dig(1M)

dig(1M)

Descriptions of Command and Option Changes

All incompatibles listed below are BIND 8 features and interfaces that are not supported in the equivalent BIND 9 binary. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of the options, command line options, or features for any BIND 9.x binary.

Command 

Option Changes 

in.named(1M)

Some DNS name server in.named command line options are not supported.

In the BIND 9.x name server, the -g group_name, -q, -r and -w directory options are not supported, and -c config_file replaces the BIND 8.x -b config_file. See the named man page for further details.

dnssec-keygen(1M)

dnskeygen in BIND 8.x, used to generate keys, and dnssec-keygen from BIND 9.x, have no common options. See the dnssec-keygen man page for further details.

rndc(1M)

ndc in BIND 8.x and rndc in BIND 9.x are significantly different. They share no common options and unlike ndc, rndc needs a configuration file in /etc/rndc.conf in order to run. See man pages for rndc, rndc.conf, and rndc-confgen for further details.

nsupdate(1M)

In BIND 9.x, the syntax of the -k option changes in nsupdate. Instead of -k keydir::keyname, the syntax is now k keyfile. The only other difference is that whereas a blank line was used to signal sending the input to the server, an explicit send subcommand is now used to do the same. See the nsupdate man page for further details.

nslookup(1M)

The following options are unsupported in the 9.x version of BIND: help, host server, set ignoretc, set noignoretc, set srch[list]=N1[/N2/.../N6], set ro[ot]=host, root, finger [USER], ls [opt] DOMAIN [> FILE]

named.conf(4)

A detailed named.conf man page is not included with BIND 9.2.4. Several options are unsupported, not implemented, or have changed defaults. For a list of the option changes and a summary of all named.conf options that are supported in BIND 9.2.4, see The named.conf Options.

The named.conf Options

The following list compares the named.conf options between BIND 8 and BIND 9. It also provides a brief description of the changes. An OK in the Changes column denotes the option works unchanged for the BIND 9 version of named.

Options { 

Changes 

[ version version_string; ] 

OK 

[ directory path_name; ] 

OK 

[ named-xfer path_name; ] 

Obsolete [Obsolete due to architectural differences.]

[ dump-file path_name; ] 

OK 

[ memstatistics-file path_name; ] 

Not Implemented 

[ pid-file path_name; ] 

OK 

[ statistics-file path_name; ] 

OK 

[ auth-nxdomain yes_or_no; ] 

OK [Default set to yes in BIND 8, no in BIND 9.]

[ dialup yes_or_no; 

OK 

[ fake-iquery yes_or_no; ] 

Obsolete 

[ fetch-glue yes_or_no; ] 

Obsolete 

[ has-old-clients yes_or_no; ] 

Obsolete 

[ host-statistics yes_or_no; ] 

Not Implemented 

[ host-statistics-max number; ] 

Not Implemented 

[ multiple-cnames yes_or_no; ] 

Obsolete 

[ notify yes_or_no | explicit; ] 

OK 

[ recursion yes_or_no; ] 

OK 

[ rfc2308-type1 yes_or_no; ] 

Not Implemented 

[ use-id-pool yes_or_no; ] 

Obsolete 

[ treat-cr-as-space yes_or_no; ] 

Obsolete 

[ also-notify yes_or_no; ] 

Syntax Changed [Needs an IP address for yes.]

[ forward ( only | first ); ] 

OK [Doesn't work if no forwarder specified; Gives an error of no matching 'forwarders' statement in that case.]

[ forwarders { [ in_addr ; \ 

[ in_addr ; ... ] ] }; ] 

 

OK [See [ forward ] clause.]

[ check-names ( master | slave | \ 

response ) ( warn | fail | ignore); ] 

Not Implemented 

[ allow-query { address_match_list }; ] 

OK 

[ allow-recursion { address_match_list }; ] 

OK 

[ allow-transfer { address_match_list }; ] 

OK 

[ blackhole { address_match_list }; ] 

OK 

[ listen-on [ port ip_port ] \ 

{ address_match_list }; ] 

 

OK 

[ query-source [ address ( ip_addr | * ) ] \ 

OK 

[ port ( ip_port | * ) ] ; ] 

[ lame-ttl number; ] 

 

OK 

[ max-transfer-time-in number; ] 

OK 

[ max-ncache-ttl number; ] 

OK 

[ min-roots number; ] 

Not Implemented 

[ transfer-format ( one-answer | \ 

many-answers ); ] 

 

OK [Default set to one-answer in BIND 8 and many-answers in BIND 9.]

[ transfers-in number; ] 

OK 

[ transfers-out number; ] 

OK 

[ transfers-per-ns number; ] 

OK 

[ transfer-source ip_addr; ] 

OK 

[ maintain-ixfr-base yes_or_no; ] 

Obsolete 

[ max-ixfr-log-size number; ] 

Obsolete [No need for this option as BIND 9 trims the size of its log file automatically.]

[ coresize size_spec ; ] 

OK 

[ datasize size_spec ; ] 

OK 

[ files size_spec ; ] 

OK 

[ stacksize size_spec ; ] 

OK 

[ cleaning-interval number; ] 

OK 

[ heartbeat-interval number; ] 

OK 

[ interface-interval number; ] 

OK 

[ statistics-interval number; ] 

Not Implemented 

[ topology { address_match_list }; ] 

Not Implemented 

[ sortlist { address_match_list }; ] 

OK 

[ rrset-order { order_spec ; \ 

[ order_spec ; ... ] }; ] 

 

Not Implemented 

}; 

 

Statements in BIND 9

This section describes any differences between BIND 8 and BIND 9 statements.

The Controls Statement

unix is the default for ndc and all of the arguments are compiled in. inet is the only option for rndc and nothing is compiled in.


  Syntax
     controls {
       [ inet ip_addr
         port ip_port
         allow { address_match_list; }; ]	OK
       [ unix path_name
         perm number
         owner number
         group number; ]			Not Implemented
     };

Logging syntax has changed significantly. See The named.conf Options for a list of named.conf options.

The Zone Statement

The syntax for the zone statement in the BIND 8 named.conf man page is.mostly supported for BIND 9 except for the following:


  [ pubkey number number number string; ]	Obsolete
  [ check-names ( warn | fail | ignore ); ]	Not Implemented

The ACL Statement

Works unchanged in BIND 9.


  Syntax
     acl name {
       address_match_list
     };

The Key Statement

Works unchanged in BIND 9.


  Syntax
     key key_id {
       algorithm algorithm_id;
       secret secret_string;
     };

The Trusted-Keys Statement

Works unchanged, however the code to use this statement has been turned off in BIND 9.2.4.


  Syntax
     trusted-keys {
       [ domain_name flags protocol algorithm key; ]
     };

The Server Statement

support-ixfr is obsolete, however all of the following options work unchanged in BIND 9. Note the default for transfer-format has changed.


  Syntax
     server ip_addr {
       [ bogus yes_or_no; ]
       [ transfers number; ]
       [ transfer-format ( one-answer | many-answers ); ]
       [ keys { key_id [ key_id ... ] }; ]
       [ edns yes_or_no; ]
     };

The Include Statement

Works unchanged in BIND 9.


  Syntax
     include path_name;

Summary of the named.conf Options

A detailed named.conf man page is not included with BIND 9.2.4. Following is a summary of the named.conf options that are supported in BIND 9.2.4.


options  {
        blackhole { <address_match_element>; ... };
        coresize <size>;
        datasize <size>;
        deallocate-on-exit <boolean>; // obsolete
        directory <quoted_string>;
        dump-file <quoted_string>;
        fake-iquery <boolean>; // obsolete
        files <size>;
        has-old-clients <boolean>; // obsolete
        heartbeat-interval <integer>;
        host-statistics <boolean>; // not implemented
        host-statistics-max <integer>; // not implemented
        interface-interval <integer>;
        listen-on [ port <integer> ] { <address_match_element>; ... };
        listen-on-v6 [ port <integer> ] { <address_match_element>; ... };
        match-mapped-addresses <boolean>;
        memstatistics-file <quoted_string>; // not implemented
        multiple-cnames <boolean>; // obsolete
        named-xfer <quoted_string>; // obsolete
        pid-file <quoted_string>;
        port <integer>;
        random-device <quoted_string>;
        recursive-clients <integer>;
        rrset-order { [ class <string> ] [ type <string> ] [ name
            <quoted_string> ] <string> <string>; ... }; // not implemented
        serial-queries <integer>; // obsolete
        serial-query-rate <integer>;
        stacksize <size>;
        statistics-file <quoted_string>;
        statistics-interval <integer>; // not yet implemented
        tcp-clients <integer>;
        tkey-dhkey <quoted_string> <integer>;
        tkey-gssapi-credential <quoted_string>;
        tkey-domain <quoted_string>;
        transfers-per-ns <integer>;
        transfers-in <integer>;
        transfers-out <integer>;
        treat-cr-as-space <boolean>; // obsolete
        use-id-pool <boolean>; // obsolete
        use-ixfr <boolean>;
        version <quoted_string>;
        allow-recursion { <address_match_element>; ... };
        allow-v6-synthesis { <address_match_element>; ... };
        sortlist { <address_match_element>; ... };
        topology { <address_match_element>; ... }; // not implemented
        auth-nxdomain <boolean>; // default changed
        minimal-responses <boolean>;
        recursion <boolean>;
        provide-ixfr <boolean>;
        request-ixfr <boolean>;
        fetch-glue <boolean>; // obsolete
        rfc2308-type1 <boolean>; // not yet implemented
        additional-from-auth <boolean>;
        additional-from-cache <boolean>;
        query-source <querysource4>;
        query-source-v6 <querysource6>;
        cleaning-interval <integer>;
        min-roots <integer>; // not implemented
        lame-ttl <integer>;
        max-ncache-ttl <integer>;
        max-cache-ttl <integer>;
        transfer-format ( many-answers | one-answer );
        max-cache-size <size_no_default>;
        check-names <string> <string>; // not implemented
        cache-file <quoted_string>;
        allow-query { <address_match_element>; ... };
        allow-transfer { <address_match_element>; ... };
        allow-update-forwarding { <address_match_element>; ... };
        allow-notify { <address_match_element>; ... };
        notify <notifytype>;
        notify-source ( <ipv4_address> | * ) [ port ( <integer> | * ) ];
        notify-source-v6 ( <ipv6_address> | * ) [ port ( <integer> | * ) ];
        also-notify [ port <integer> ] { ( <ipv4_address> | <ipv6_address>
            ) [ port <integer> ]; ... };
        dialup <dialuptype>;
        forward ( first | only );
        forwarders [ port <integer> ] { ( <ipv4_address> | <ipv6_address> )
            [ port <integer> ]; ... };
        maintain-ixfr-base <boolean>; // obsolete
        max-ixfr-log-size <size>; // obsolete
        transfer-source ( <ipv4_address> | * ) [ port ( <integer> | * ) ];
        transfer-source-v6 ( <ipv6_address> | * ) [ port ( <integer> | * ) ];
        max-transfer-time-in <integer>;
        max-transfer-time-out <integer>;
        max-transfer-idle-in <integer>;
        max-transfer-idle-out <integer>;
        max-retry-time <integer>;
        min-retry-time <integer>;
        max-refresh-time <integer>;
        min-refresh-time <integer>;
        sig-validity-interval <integer>;
        zone-statistics <boolean>;
};

controls {
        inet ( <ipv4_address> | <ipv6_address> | * ) [ port ( <integer> | *
            ) ] allow { <address_match_element>; ... } [ keys { <string>; ... } ];
        unix <unsupported>; // not implemented
};

acl <string> { <address_match_element>; ... };

logging {
        channel <string> {
                file <logfile>;
                syslog <optional_facility>;
                null;
                stderr;
                severity <logseverity>;
                print-time <boolean>;
                print-severity <boolean>;
                print-category <boolean>;
        };
        category <string> { <string>; ... };
};

view <string> <optional_class> {
        match-clients { <address_match_element>; ... };
        match-destinations { <address_match_element>; ... };
        match-recursive-only <boolean>;
        key <string> {
                algorithm <string>;
                secret <string>;
        };
        zone <string> <optional_class> {
                type ( master | slave | stub | hint | forward );
                allow-update { <address_match_element>; ... };
                file <quoted_string>;
                ixfr-base <quoted_string>; // obsolete
                ixfr-tmp-file <quoted_string>; // obsolete
                masters [ port <integer> ] { ( <ipv4_address> |
                    <ipv6_address> ) [ port <integer> ] [ key <string> ]; ... };
                pubkey <integer> <integer> <integer> <quoted_string>; //
                    obsolete
                update-policy { ( grant | deny ) <string> ( name |
                    subdomain | wildcard | self ) <string> <rrtypelist>; ... };
                database <string>;
                check-names <string>; // not implemented
                allow-query { <address_match_element>; ... };
                allow-transfer { <address_match_element>; ... };
                allow-update-forwarding { <address_match_element>; ... };
                allow-notify { <address_match_element>; ... };
                notify <notifytype>;
                notify-source ( <ipv4_address> | * ) [ port ( <integer> | *
                    ) ];
                notify-source-v6 ( <ipv6_address> | * ) [ port ( <integer>
                    | * ) ];
                also-notify [ port <integer> ] { ( <ipv4_address> |
                    <ipv6_address> ) [ port <integer> ]; ... };
                dialup <dialuptype>;
                forward ( first | only );
                forwarders [ port <integer> ] { ( <ipv4_address> |
                    <ipv6_address> ) [ port <integer> ]; ... };
                maintain-ixfr-base <boolean>; // obsolete
                max-ixfr-log-size <size>; // obsolete
                transfer-source ( <ipv4_address> | * ) [ port ( <integer> |
                    * ) ];
                transfer-source-v6 ( <ipv6_address> | * ) [ port (
                    <integer> | * ) ];
                max-transfer-time-in <integer>;
                max-transfer-time-out <integer>;
                max-transfer-idle-in <integer>;
                max-transfer-idle-out <integer>;
                max-retry-time <integer>;
                min-retry-time <integer>;
                max-refresh-time <integer>;
                min-refresh-time <integer>;
                sig-validity-interval <integer>;
                zone-statistics <boolean>;
        };
        server {
                bogus <boolean>;
                provide-ixfr <boolean>;
                request-ixfr <boolean>;
                support-ixfr <boolean>; // obsolete
                transfers <integer>;
                transfer-format ( many-answers | one-answer );
                keys <server_key>;
                edns <boolean>;
        };
        trusted-keys { <string> <integer> <integer> <integer>
            <quoted_string>; ... };
        allow-recursion { <address_match_element>; ... };
        allow-v6-synthesis { <address_match_element>; ... };
        sortlist { <address_match_element>; ... };
        topology { <address_match_element>; ... }; // not implemented
        auth-nxdomain <boolean>; // default changed
        minimal-responses <boolean>;
        recursion <boolean>;
        provide-ixfr <boolean>;
        request-ixfr <boolean>;
        fetch-glue <boolean>; // obsolete
        rfc2308-type1 <boolean>; // not yet implemented
        additional-from-auth <boolean>;
        additional-from-cache <boolean>;
        query-source <querysource4>;
        query-source-v6 <querysource6>;
        cleaning-interval <integer>;
        min-roots <integer>; // not implemented
        lame-ttl <integer>;
        max-ncache-ttl <integer>;
        max-cache-ttl <integer>;
        transfer-format ( many-answers | one-answer );
        max-cache-size <size_no_default>;
        check-names <string> <string>; // not implemented
        cache-file <quoted_string>;
        allow-query { <address_match_element>; ... };
        allow-transfer { <address_match_element>; ... };
        allow-update-forwarding { <address_match_element>; ... };
        allow-notify { <address_match_element>; ... };
        notify <notifytype>;
        notify-source ( <ipv4_address> | * ) [ port ( <integer> | * ) ];
        notify-source-v6 ( <ipv6_address> | * ) [ port ( <integer> | * ) ];
        also-notify [ port <integer> ] { ( <ipv4_address> | <ipv6_address>
            ) [ port <integer> ]; ... };
        dialup <dialuptype>;
        forward ( first | only );
        forwarders [ port <integer> ] { ( <ipv4_address> | <ipv6_address> )
            [ port <integer> ]; ... };
        maintain-ixfr-base <boolean>; // obsolete
        max-ixfr-log-size <size>; // obsolete
        transfer-source ( <ipv4_address> | * ) [ port ( <integer> | * ) ];
        transfer-source-v6 ( <ipv6_address> | * ) [ port ( <integer> | * ) ];
        max-transfer-time-in <integer>;
        max-transfer-time-out <integer>;
        max-transfer-idle-in <integer>;
        max-transfer-idle-out <integer>;
        max-retry-time <integer>;
        min-retry-time <integer>;
        max-refresh-time <integer>;
        min-refresh-time <integer>;
        sig-validity-interval <integer>;
        zone-statistics <boolean>;
};

lwres {
        listen-on [ port <integer> ] { ( <ipv4_address> | <ipv6_address> )
            [ port <integer> ]; ... };
        view <string> <optional_class>;
        search { <string>; ... };
        ndots <integer>;
};

key <string> {
        algorithm <string>;
        secret <string>;
};

zone <string> <optional_class> {
        type ( master | slave | stub | hint | forward );
        allow-update { <address_match_element>; ... };
        file <quoted_string>;
        ixfr-base <quoted_string>; // obsolete
        ixfr-tmp-file <quoted_string>; // obsolete
        masters [ port <integer> ] { ( <ipv4_address> | <ipv6_address> ) [
            port <integer> ] [ key <string> ]; ... };
        pubkey <integer> <integer> <integer> <quoted_string>; // obsolete
        update-policy { ( grant | deny ) <string> ( name | subdomain |
            wildcard | self ) <string> <rrtypelist>; ... };
        database <string>;
        check-names <string>; // not implemented
        allow-query { <address_match_element>; ... };
        allow-transfer { <address_match_element>; ... };
        allow-update-forwarding { <address_match_element>; ... };
        allow-notify { <address_match_element>; ... };
        notify <notifytype>;
        notify-source ( <ipv4_address> | * ) [ port ( <integer> | * ) ];
        notify-source-v6 ( <ipv6_address> | * ) [ port ( <integer> | * ) ];
        also-notify [ port <integer> ] { ( <ipv4_address> | <ipv6_address>
            ) [ port <integer> ]; ... };
        dialup <dialuptype>;
        forward ( first | only );
        forwarders [ port <integer> ] { ( <ipv4_address> | <ipv6_address> )
            [ port <integer> ]; ... };
        maintain-ixfr-base <boolean>; // obsolete
        max-ixfr-log-size <size>; // obsolete
        transfer-source ( <ipv4_address> | * ) [ port ( <integer> | * ) ];
        transfer-source-v6 ( <ipv6_address> | * ) [ port ( <integer> | * ) ];
        max-transfer-time-in <integer>;
        max-transfer-time-out <integer>;
        max-transfer-idle-in <integer>;
        max-transfer-idle-out <integer>;
        max-retry-time <integer>;
        min-retry-time <integer>;
        max-refresh-time <integer>;
        min-refresh-time <integer>;
        sig-validity-interval <integer>;
        zone-statistics <boolean>;
};

server {
        bogus <boolean>;
        provide-ixfr <boolean>;
        request-ixfr <boolean>;
        support-ixfr <boolean>; // obsolete
        transfers <integer>;
        transfer-format ( many-answers | one-answer );
        keys <server_key>;
        edns <boolean>;
};

trusted-keys { <string> <integer> <integer> <integer> <quoted_string>; ... };

Multicast DNS and Service Discovery

Two extensions to the DNS protocol are multicast DNS (mDNS) and DNS Service Discovery (DNS-SD). mDNS extends the Domain Name Service system to operate over link-local multicast. DNS-SD adds support needed to discover network services over DNS.

Multicast DNS

Multicast DNS (mDNS) provides a naming service system that is easy to set up and maintain, for computers on a local link. All participating network devices on the same local link perform standard DNS functions, using multicast DNS rather than unicast, and do not need a unicast DNS server. For administrators, the primary advantage of mDNS is that no unicast DNS server needs to be maintained on the local network. There is no need, for example, to update and maintain host names in files to resolve hostname to IP address for devices on the local link that are using mDNS.

Service Discovery

Network services include printing, file transfer, music sharing, servers for photo, document and other file sharing, and services provided by other local devices. DNS service discovery support in the Solaris OS includes open source framework and tools from Apple to enable applications to advertise and discover network services, using DNS on the Solaris OS.

For users, network service discovery makes computing easier by enabling users to browse for services on the network, rather than needing to find the service manually. Existing standards, and work done by other companies and groups, assure that cross-platform support is available.

Administering mDNS

Use the Service Management Facility (SMF) to administer the mDNS daemon. You can use SMF to start and stop the mDNS service.

For an overview of SMF, refer to Chapter 17, Managing Services (Overview), in System Administration Guide: Basic Administration. Also refer to the svcadm(1M) and svcs(1) man pages for more details.

mDNS Deployment

For mDNS to function, it must be deployed on all peers that are to participate in mDNS. It is used to advertise the availability of services provided on the peer.

Multicast DNS and Service Discovery are both installed by default in the “all” cluster, when installing the Solaris OS. For other types of devices, for example, printers, music, video, and communication devices, many already have mDNS installed.

In addition to being installed, mDNS must be enabled, and must be included in the /etc/nsswitch.conf file. See nsswitch.conf(4)

Enable mDNS

For the Solaris OS, as root, or as a user with appropriate privileges, enable mDNS on each computer that will participate in mDNS.


# svcadm enable svc:/network/dns/multicast:default

Enabling mDNS this way persists through upgrades and reboots. For more information, see svcadm(1M).

Edit nsswitch.conf

To be able to resolve local hosts, edit the nsswitch.conf file and add mdns to the list of name services. For example, the file might look like the following:


# /etc/nsswitch.conf   
hosts: files dns mdns   
ipnodes: files dns mdns

For an example of the form such a file should take, see /etc/nswitch.conf.dns.

Review Errors or Messages

Check the multicast DNS service log for errors or messages.

/var/svc/log/network-dns-multicast:default.log

mDNS and dns-sd Tool

Use the dns-sd command as a network diagnosis tool, to browse and discover services, similar to how you would use ping (1M) or traceroute (1M).

The dns-sd command is intended primarily for interactive use, mainly because its command line arguments and its output format can change over time, which makes invoking it from a shell script unpredictable and risky. Additionally, the asynchronous nature of DNS Service Discovery does not easily lend itself to script-oriented programming.

For complete dns-sd information, see the man page for dns-sd (1M) and to incorporate DNS service in applications, see the libdns_sd (3DNS_SD) man page.

EXAMPLES of the dns-sd command

Advertising a printing service

The following command advertises the existence of LPR printing service on port 515 on “My Test” machine, so that it will be available to DNS-SD compatible printing clients:


dns-sd -R "My Test" _printer._tcp. . 515 pdl=application/postscript

For this registration to be useful, the LPR service should be available on port 515.

Advertising a web page

The following command advertises a web page being served by an HTTP server on port 80 on My Test machine. The web page will appear on the Bonjour list in Safari and other DNS-SD compatible Web clients:


dns-sd -R "My Test" _http._tcp . 80 path=/path-to-page.html