Resolving DNS issues!

Question

When I type "changeip" to change the host name of one of my Servers in school I get and error saying that there is no DNS server associated with the ip address of my server. Also when I type host command I get also an error saying the server can't be found. How do I approach these issues so I can resolve all the DNS problems and I can correctly connect to my server? Thanks

Answer 1

If it's an OD master and hosting it's own zone file locally, it's better (in my opinion) to configure BIND to use your ISP nameservers as forwarders, and put 127.0.0.1 into the DNS Servers field, in System Prefs > Network. To setup BIND forwarding, open your "/etc/named.conf" file (back it up first!) and look for:
zone "." IN {
type hint;
file "named.ca";
...and replace with...
zone "." IN {
//type hint;
//file "named.ca";
type forward;
forwarders {
1.2.3.4;
5.6.7.8;
...where 1.2.3.4 and 5.6.7.8 are the DNS server IP's you got from the admins. Then, as mentioned above, put "127.0.0.1" in the server Network configuration as the only resolver.
Reboot the server for good measure, and then try (from the server):
host yourdomain.com 127.0.0.1
host x.x.x.x 127.0.0.1 (where x.x.x.x is the local IP address of your server).
Both should resolve properly - if not, you probably have a DNS zone file configuration error.
At this point, you should be able to use the "changeip" command properly.
MacBook Pro   Mac OS X (10.4.8)