DNS setup? Ubuntu 8.04.1 & Bind 9.4.2

[spacetrucker]

I'm setting up a full functioned name server. I'm new to Ubuntu, but I've worked with Bind 8 on Solaris. I'm sticking with the default install so I have the three files, named.conf, named.conf.local, and named.conf.options.

I'm asking why the named.conf.options file has the line
directory /var/cache/bind when there are no files in it?

All the files are in /etc/bind. So I'm asking if that line shouldn't be changed to directory /etc/bind where the files are located? Or should I leave it as it is?

I've got Mark Sobell's book "A Practical Guide to Ubuntu Linux" and I'm using that along with Ubuntu's site as my guides.

Thanks

[oz]

I'm asking why the named.conf.options file has the line directory /var/cache/bind when there are no files in it?

All the files are in /etc/bind. So I'm asking if that line shouldn't be changed to directory /etc/bind where the files are located? Or should I leave it as it is?

Welcome to the forums!

Leave it as is.

That's where all the cached names will be stored/cached for future use once you start using your new nameserver setup. It's been a while since I last used/ran bind, but I'm pretty sure this is correct.

[spacetrucker]

Thanks for the quick reply, explanation and advice on /var/cache/bind.

Other questions on the setup.

We do have a firewall between the master and the slaves.
Should i uncomment out the query-source directive?
//query-source address * port 53;

This will be our domains master name server. An outside vendor hosts the two slaves. The vendor has also provided us with two forwarders that will do recursive lookups.

Should I add the ip addresses of these two forwarders to the name.conf.options file?

Check me if I'm wrong, but without the forwarders, if the master don't have the the info, it passes the query along to the root servers.
If I add the forwarders and they don't have the answer they would pass the query the root servers.

Thanks