Comments about oreilly DNS and BIND, 4th Edition:

DNS and Bind 4th Edition

O'Reilly: Paul Albitz and Cricket Liu

ISBN: 0596001584

Review

Suited well for either the entry-level computer user or the advanced network administrator, DNS and BIND is a concise guide to DNS basics and particulars of ISC's BIND. Those unfamiliar with DNS will find the preface an awakening to aspects of the operation of the internet most likely previously taken for granted. After the importance of DNS is explained, the first chapter discusses the reasons, including a brief history of the internet. From this point, the methods of operation are discussed, and an interactive fictional setup is performed, from choosing a domain name to configuring multiple DNS servers. Coming back to focus on specific topics in greater detail, such as the role of DNS in Electronic Mail, discussions on hierarchy and topology, advanced zone data configuration, and security, the work adequately fulfills the role of essential desktop reference material. Particularly useful is the information regarding the operation of DNS and, specifically, BIND with environments involving Active Directory, WINS, and other Microsoft implements. Whether you seek a well-organized guide and reference to advanced DNS administration, or are in the mood for a refreshing review and story-like overture and illustration of the Domain Name System, this book deserves a complete read and it's place on your reference desk.

-jre

Comments about oreilly DNS and BIND, 4th Edition:

Fantastic book, DNS isnt meant to be simple, but Oreilly make it simple enough, but not too simple.

This will probably be out of the depth of the average MSCE, so its probably not for people who arent interested in learning the specifics of dns outside the Microsoft Arena.

Comments about oreilly DNS and BIND, 4th Edition:

I'm just a linux novice but after buying this book, I manage to setup complicated and secured DNS server.

Thank's Paul and Cricket!! Keep up the good work!

Comments about oreilly DNS and BIND, 4th Edition:

Better even than the 3rd edition.

I used the 3rd edition as reference to fix a resolver problem in HP-UX. This involved bad nameserver maintenance from the parent. Having read half of the 3rd edition, and now nearly all of the 4th, I must say Cricket and Paul have truly improved on a great effort. This book gives everything you will need to manage DNS/BIND for version 4, 8 and 9. Anything more must be obtained from RFCs, of which there are numerous references. Thanks for the enjoyable reading.

Comments about oreilly DNS and BIND, 4th Edition:

Very difficult to read. I have experience in several high and low level languages, but this book was hard to follow. Microsoft recommends this book in their NT 4 server-TCP/ip accelerated course. The course in no way prepares you for this book. Unless you are a Unix pro, this book will give you a headache. I suggest looking else where for DNS info.

Comments about oreilly DNS and BIND, 4th Edition:

Not for the feint hearted. A book for the hardcore IT professional. Especially useful for designing and implementing diverse ISP and Internetwork oriented solutions. I specialise in Disaster Recovery solutions and projects requiring a high degree of security (Government and Banking solutions). I have found this book invaluable for utilising the flexible nature of 'Name Resolution' to extract and tweak the most out of the indeterminate nature of the Internet.

Comments about oreilly DNS and BIND, 4th Edition:

I found this book, along with all the others on DNS and the Linux Documentation Project's docs, all disappointing.

In this book, the authors leave you guessing in a number of areas. This is a book for experts, so if you don't have any experience with DNS and Bind, forget it. Hire a consultant or go to university and start at the beginning.

In chapter 3, "Where Do I Start?" it gives some fairly shallow information on setting up zone files. Like I said, this is obviously a book for experts. It leaves you to guess in anumber of areas.

I couldn't even finish writing the zone files properly as covered in chapter 3. And when I did, following the instructions to the letter (of which there weren't many - I had to guess) I got errors all over the place.

All I was looking for was the basics. How to setup nameservers so I could have ns0.myname.com and ns1.myname.com and tell my hosting customers who host their domains on my machines to alter the DNS records of their domain to point to my nameservers, and how to setup www.myname.com as an alias for the domain or whatever. And how to add other domains, so I can host websites for others on my dedicated server.

I am sorely disappointed I spent money I couldn't afford to spend anyway, but had to. There's just nowhere else to turn.

I am wishing hard for "DNS and BIND for Dummies" written in clear, plain English, and which doesn't leave you guessing.

The information in this book is scant and for DNS/Bind experts only.

James Buchanan

Owner/Operator of a very small web hosting company

Comments about oreilly DNS and BIND, 4th Edition:

I've had my trusty 1st edition for quite a while but am disappointed that the new edition doesn't even mention "djbdns", at least I didn't find it in the index.

I'm not here to bash BIND -- I've deployed it at a number of .gov, .com, and ISP sites -- but the book is called _DNS & BIND_ and IMHO should at least mention other implementations of domain name servers.

I have found that as I start using the djbdns suite of tools, there is a different philosophy and approach at work and this frequently leads to insights on DNS rather than the _de facto_ BIND view. Equating the global DNS with a single implementation leads to monoculture; alternate implementations of Internet standards are important. They should be at least mentioned in an edition as recent as this.