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NAMED(8)			      BIND9				NAMED(8)

NAME
     named - Internet domain name server

SYNOPSIS
     named  [-4]  [-6]	[-c config-file]  [-d debug-level]  [-f] [-g] [-n #cpus]
	   [-p port] [-s] [-t directory] [-u user] [-v] [-x cache-file]

DESCRIPTION
     named is a Domain Name System (DNS) server, part of the BIND 9 distribution
     from ISC. For more information on the DNS, see RFCs 1033, 1034, and 1035.

     When invoked without arguments, named will read the  default  configuration
     file /etc/namedb/named.conf, read any initial data, and listen for queries.

OPTIONS
     -4     Use  IPv4  only even if the host machine is capable of IPv6.  -4 and
	    -6 are mutually exclusive.

     -6     Use IPv6 only even if the host machine is capable of IPv4.	 -4  and
	    -6 are mutually exclusive.

     -c config-file
	    Use  config-file  as  the configuration file instead of the default,
	    /etc/namedb/named.conf. To ensure that reloading  the  configuration
	    file  continues to work after the server has changed its working di-
	    rectory due to to a possible directory option in  the  configuration
	    file, config-file should be an absolute pathname.

     -d debug-level
	    Set  the  daemon's debug level to debug-level. Debugging traces from
	    named become more verbose as the debug level increases.

     -f     Run the server in the foreground (i.e. do not daemonize).

     -g     Run the server in the foreground and force all logging to stderr.

     -n #cpus
	    Create #cpus worker threads to take advantage of multiple  CPUs.  If
	    not  specified,  named  will  try  to  determine  the number of CPUs
	    present and create one thread per CPU. If it is unable to  determine
	    the number of CPUs, a single worker thread will be created.

     -p port
	    Listen  for  queries  on port port. If not specified, the default is
	    port 53.

     -s     Write memory usage statistics to stdout on exit.
	    Note: This option is mainly of interest to BIND 9 developers and may
	    be removed or changed in a future release.

     -t directory
	    chroot() to directory after processing the command	line  arguments,
	    but before reading the configuration file.
	    Warning:  This  option should be used in conjunction with the -u op-
	    tion, as chrooting a process running as root doesn't  enhance  secu-
	    rity  on  most systems; the way chroot() is defined allows a process
	    with root privileges to escape a chroot jail.

     -u user
	    setuid() to user after completing  privileged  operations,	such  as
	    creating sockets that listen on privileged ports.
	    Note: On Linux, named uses the kernel's capability mechanism to drop
	    all  root  privileges  except  the ability to bind() to a privileged
	    port and set process resource limits. Unfortunately, this means that
	    the -u option only works when named  is  run  on  kernel  2.2.18  or
	    later,  or	kernel	2.3.99-pre3 or later, since previous kernels did
	    not allow privileges to be retained after setuid().

     -v     Report the version number and exit.

     -x cache-file
	    Load data from cache-file into the cache of the default view.
	    Warning: This option must not be used. It is  only	of  interest  to
	    BIND 9 developers and may be removed or changed in a future release.

SIGNALS
     In routine operation, signals should not be used to control the nameserver;
     rndc should be used instead.

     SIGHUP
	    Force a reload of the server.

     SIGINT, SIGTERM
	    Shut down the server.

     The result of sending any other signals to the server is undefined.

CONFIGURATION
     The  named  configuration file is too complex to describe in detail here. A
     complete description is provided in the BIND 9 Administrator Reference Man-
     ual.

FILES
     /etc/namedb/named.conf
	    The default configuration file.

     /var/run/named.pid
	    The default process-id file.

SEE ALSO
     RFC 1033, RFC 1034, RFC 1035, rndc(8), lwresd(8), BIND 9 Administrator Ref-
     erence Manual.

AUTHOR
     Internet Systems Consortium

BIND9				  June 30, 2000 			NAMED(8)

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