[BUGS] dns, a question

[Andrew Reilly]

Hi Jonathan,

On Thu, Nov 15, 2007 at 12:57:36PM +1100, jonathan michaels wrote:
> ok, here goes, i have set an alias in my dns A records part of

By "alias" do you mean a CNAME, or just another A record that
refers to the same IP address?

> teh named.conf, now whenever i use dig/host/nslookup et al, to
> lookup the alias (for mail..com.au) i get the physical machines
> details that is running this particular facility, so far so
> good.
> 
> now, i assume that the dns is working as it should, yes ? can i
> use the alias interchangably with the 'real name' for gnome
> based x11 objects like kmail, epiphany, so on ??

You can use a DNS name wherever you would otherwise use an IP
address.  That is, to refer to *machines*.  You still need a
service name or socket number (see /etc/services) in order to
make a connection.  Then you get into the TCP/IP mechanics.

GNOME is not *usually* all that involved with network
connectivity, except for where the application is a networking
application.  So: epiphany, being a web browser, has a spot
where you need to identify the server (the URL bar), and you can
use DNS-based names and aliases there.  KMail is a mail reader,
I think, so you might use the DNS name to tell it where your
SMTP and IMAP servers are, during configuration.  E-mail
addresses are also somewhat associated with DNS names, but
rather more peripherally.

> maybe i am asking a silly/obvious question, i ask because i
> really want an answer, which will colour my thinking going
> forward .. which is why i ask this question.

There aren't many silly questions.  Certainly yours wasn't.  I'm
just not sure that I've understood the question clearly enough
to answer it.  Perhaps if it seems that I'm answering a
different question than you intended, you could try re-phrasing?

Cheers,

-- 
Andrew