JumpStart II: Setting Up a Domain Using system-config-bind (FEDORA)


JumpStart II: Setting Up a Domain Using system-config-bind (FEDORA)

To display the BIND Configuration GUI window, enter system-config-bind on a command line (). From KDE select Main menu: Administration Server Settings Domain Name System or from GNOME select System: Administration Server Settings Domain Name System.

Figure 24-6. The BIND Configuration GUI window

If /etc/named.conf does not exist, system-config-bind displays a dialog box that informs you that it is installing a default configuration. Click OK.

Notes

The /etc/named.caching-nameserver.conf file, which is installed with the FEDORA bind-config package, is not recognized by system-config-bind as a named configuration file. See "" on page for more information about this file.

Tip: Using this JumpStart

The system-config-bind utility is a complex tool that you may find helpful for setting up BIND. Run this utility and click Help Manual on the menubar to display the Red Hat manual for this utility. Click Help ISC ARM to display the BIND 9 Administrator Reference Manual. You may want to experiment with this utility after you have set up one of the servers described at the end of this chapter, as its configuration information may make more sense after you go through the process of manually configuring BIND.

This section explains how to use system-config-bind but does not go into detail about what each of the files and settings does; that information is covered elsewhere in this chapter.

Each zone file that system-config-bind creates has a filename extension of .db.

Because the windows displayed by system-config-bind contain a lot of information, you may find it helpful to expand or maximize these windows so that you can view the information more easily.

The system-config-bind utility creates files in the /var/named/chroot directory hierarchy so that you can run named in a chroot jail. See page for more information.

Using the BIND Configuration GUI Window

Right-click on an object (line) in the BIND Configuration GUI window to display a pop-up context menu. This menu always has an Edit selection, which displays a window in which you can edit information pertaining to the object you clicked on. You can display the same window by double-clicking on the object or by highlighting the object and clicking Properties on the Icon menu. This pop-up menu also always has an Add selection that displays a submenu with choices appropriate to the object you are working with. (next page) shows the pop-up menu for the DNS Server object along with the Add submenu.

Figure 24-7. The BIND Configuration GUI window with a right-click menu

In the BIND Configuration GUI window, a triangle at the left end of a line indicates that the object holds other objects. Click a triangle so that it points down to expand an entry. Click it so that it points to the right to collapse an entry.

Setting Up a Domain Server

Highlight DNS Server in the BIND Configuration GUI window and click New Zone on the toolbar (or right-click and select Add Zone) to add a new zone (page ) and its associated nameserver. In response, system-config-bind displays the first New Zone window (), which allows you to specify information about the zone you are setting up.

Figure 24-8. The first New Zone window


With the Class combo box displaying IN Internet, click OK under this box.

Next select the origin type from the combo box under Origin Type. The most common choices are Forward or IPV4 Reverse. Click OK under this box. Assuming you selected a forward zone, the Forward Zone Origin text box replaces the origin type information. Enter the domain name of the zone, including a trailing period, in the text box.

Finally select the type of zone you want to set up by clicking the combo box in the Zone Type frame. You can select from master, slave, forward, hint, and other types of zones. Refer to "" page and type on page for information on types of zones.

After you make your selections and click OK, system-config-bind displays the second New Zone window (). This window enables you to set up SOA information for the zone. Refer to "" on page for information about the fields in the SOA record, including the serial number and the various times (refresh intervals). In this window, the authoritative (primary) nameserver (page ) defaults to the local system and the email address of the person responsible for the zone defaults to root on the local system. If you enter names that do not end with a period in these text boxes, system-config-bind appends the domain name of the zone to the name you have entered. Change the values in this window as necessary. All zone files that system-config-bind creates have a filename extension of .db by default. The default filename for the zone file is the name of the domain you are setting up with an extension of .db. Click OK to close the window when you are done making changes.

Figure 24-9. The second New Zone window


After you add a new zone, the information about this zone appears in the BIND Configuration GUI window (, page ). Click Save on the toolbar to save the changes you made before you close the window.

To view information about the new zone, you can by expand the object that holds the name of the new zone. You can further expand the Zone Authority Information and Name Server objects that appear when you expand the new zone object. Right-click any object to add to or modify the information in the object or to delete the object.

Adding Resource Records

You can add any of an extensive list of resource records to a domain. Right-click on the object representing the domain you just added to display a pop-up menu. Slide the mouse pointer over Add to display the domain Add menu (). The uppercase letters at the left end of each selection specify the type of resource record (page ) that the selection adds to the domain. Following are some of the choices available on this menu:

• A

IPv4 Address record (page )

• CNAME

Alias record (page )

• MX

Mail Exchange record (page )

• NS

Nameserver record (page )

• TXT

Text record (page )


Figure 24-10. The domain Add drop-down menu

To add a reverse zone (a PTR record [page ]), add a new zone as before, but this time select (or ) Reverse as the origin type. For more information refer to "" on page .

Click Save when you are done, close the BIND Configuration GUI window, and start the named daemon as explained on page .