Date: Sun, 12 Mar 2000 22:37:12 -0800 From: Doug Barton <Doug@gorean.org> To: Ryan Thompson <ryan@sasknow.com> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: CNAME vs A records (clarification) Message-ID: <38CC8C98.F6595463@gorean.org> References: <Pine.BSF.4.21.0003121724230.7591-100000@ren.sasknow.com>
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This is exactly the conversation I didn't want to have.
Ryan Thompson wrote:
>
> Doug Barton wrote to Ryan Thompson:
>
> > I knew this post was coming as soon as I saw your post to the list.
> > What you're discussing are style issues. I wouldn't ever bring up the
> > topics you're discussing with someone new to DNS, they just get too far
> > into details that shouldn't be addressed with someone who doesn't even
> > know what A and CNAME records are.
>
> Someone who doesn't know what A and CNAME records are shouldn't really be
> running a nameserver in the first place...
Absolutely true. But they do. So the question is do you want to try and
force several years worth of experience and education down the throat of
someone who is just getting their feet wet, or do you want to give them
enough information to get them up and running, and point them to
resources to learn more?
> > Show me the word "alias" in the definition of any RR in any RFC. The
> > fact that "DNS and BIND" chooses to use this extremely bad and
> > potentially confusing definition aside.
>
> >From RFC 1034, Page 12:
Yes, the RFC's refer to "aliases" in common terms. But even the RFC's
use the term in conflicting ways, which is why I strongly discourage
it's use. Far better to describe in precise terms what it is you want to
accomplish.
> > Sorry, "someone else is doing it that way" is never a sound argument
> > for any aspect of system administration.
>
> If thousands of experienced sysadmins, as well as RFCs, widely-accepted
> technical books and other publications aren't enough to convince you of
> the benefits and usefulness of the CNAME record, then you are clearly too
> acute in your viewpoint to hold a discussion with.
You obviously aren't paying attention to what I'm writing. I have said
repeatedly that I do use them when it's appropriate. But I'm experienced
enough to know what the implications of using them are. The original
poster's setup had no reason to use any CNAME's, so I suggested in
strong terms that he avoid using them.
> So, you would have the novice sysadmin kludge up his/her zone files with
> many A records, have headache upon downtime-induced headache when he moves
> services between machines, then come back to you and say "Doug, why the
> heck didn't you tell me about CNAMEs in the first place?!". I firmly
> believe that people should know as many of the facts associated with a
> particular issue as possible before they dive feet-first into it.
Not at all what I'm saying. I think that novice sysadmins should learn
as much as possible. But I don't want to put barriers or complications
in front of them before they get a chance to get started.
At this point we've both said what we have to say, so I'll let it stand
as is.
Doug
--
"Welcome to the desert of the real."
- Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus, "The Matrix"
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