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Table Of Contents  The TCP/IP Guide
 9  TCP/IP Application Layer Protocols, Services and Applications (OSI Layers 5, 6 and 7)
      9  Name Systems and TCP/IP Name Registration and Name Resolution
           9  TCP/IP Name Systems: Host Tables and Domain Name System (DNS)
                9  TCP/IP Domain Name System (DNS)
                     9  DNS Name Servers and Name Resolution
                          9  DNS Name Server Concepts and Operation

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DNS Name Server Functions, Name Server Architecture and General Operation
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 DNS Name Server Types and Roles: Primary/Master, Secondary/Slave and Caching-Only Servers
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DNS Name Server Data Storage: Resource Records and Classes
(Page 2 of 4)

Use of Resource Records and Master Files

Each node may have a variable number of records, depending on the node type and what information is being kept for it. The resource records are added, changed or deleted when DNS information changes, by administrators who make modifications to the text master files on the server computer. These files are then read into memory by the DNS server software, parsed (interpreted) and converted into binary form. They are then ready for use in resolving DNS name requests and other queries. This is illustrated in Figure 241.

I describe both the binary RR field formats and master file format in the section on DNS messaging and formats.


Figure 241: DNS Resource Record Master File and Binary Field Formats

To meet the needs of humans and computers, DNS uses two representations for the data stored in resource records. Administrators enter and maintain information in textual DNS master files. These are read by DNS server software and internally stored in binary format for answering DNS requests.

 

Key Concept: DNS name servers store DNS information in the form of resource records (RRs). Each RR contains a particular type of information about a node in the DNS tree. There are two representations for resource records: conventional binary field formats are used for communication between DNS name servers and resolvers, while text master files are edited by administrators to manage DNS zones.



Previous Topic/Section
DNS Name Server Functions, Name Server Architecture and General Operation
Previous Page
Pages in Current Topic/Section
1
2
34
Next Page
 DNS Name Server Types and Roles: Primary/Master, Secondary/Slave and Caching-Only Servers
Next Topic/Section

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