linux: bind dns server

you can use bind to set up your own dns server on a linux box

get it from http://www.bind9.net/download for source file or get your rpms from installation package

i use rpms for easier installation procedure ;D

you'll need the ff:
bind, bind-utils, bind-libs, bind-chroot

your /var/named/chroot/etc/named.conf should contain:
// Default named.conf generated upon installation of bind-9.2.4-30.el4_7.2
options {
        directory "/var/named";
        dump-file "/var/named/data/cache_dump.db";
        statistics-file "/var/named/data/named_stats.txt";
        forwarders {8.8.8.8; 8.8.4.4;}; // i use google's dns servers
        forward only;
};
include "/etc/rndc.key";


your /etc/resolv.conf should have:
nameserver 127.0.0.1

tada!!

(source: http://www.redhat.com/magazine/025nov06/features/dns/)

linux: slow local network when not connected to the internet

we have more than a handful of boxes with multiple ips. one to connect to the local network the other to connect to the internet for public access. we noticed that our network speed through the local network degrades whenever the link to the internet is down. can you guess what's causing it?...

apparently, the slowdown is caused when the box cannot reach its dns.

we tried removing dns entries from our resolv.conf and it restored our local network speed. we tried setting up a local dns that connects to other dns servers but when our local dns server's internet access is down, the same network slowdown is experienced.

we better use linux hosts file instead. hehe