NAMED(8)                                                 NAMED(8)


NAME
       named - Internet domain name server

SYNOPSIS
       named [ -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/named.conf, read any  ini-
       tial data, and listen for queries.

OPTIONS
       -c config-file
              Use  config-file  as the configuration file instead
              of the default,  /etc/named.conf.  To  ensure  that
              reloading  the configuration file continues to work
              after the server has changed its working  directory
              due  to  to a possible directory option in the con-
              figuration 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 dae-
              monize).

       -g     Run the server in the foreground and force all log-
              ging 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 cre-
              ated.

       -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



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NAMED(8)                                                 NAMED(8)


              future release.


       -t directory
              chroot()  to directory after processing the command
              line arguments, but before reading  the  configura-
              tion file.

              Warning:  This option should be used in conjunction
              with the -u option, as chrooting a process  running
              as  root  doesn't enhance security 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 opera-
              tions, 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 pro-
              cess 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 privi-
              leges 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 con-
       trol 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.





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NAMED(8)                                                 NAMED(8)


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

FILES
       /etc/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 Reference Manual.

AUTHOR
       Internet Software Consortium







































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