10.8. Additional Resources

The following sources of information provide additional resources regarding BIND.

10.8.1. Installed Documentation

BIND features a full range of installed documentation covering many different topics, each placed in its own subject directory. For each item below, replace version with the version of the bind package installed on the system:

/usr/share/doc/bind-version/: The main directory containing the most recent documentation.
/usr/share/doc/bind-version/arm/: The directory containing the BIND 9 Administrator Reference Manual in HTML and SGML formats, which details BIND resource requirements, how to configure different types of nameservers, how to perform load balancing, and other advanced topics. For most new users of BIND, this is the best place to start.
/usr/share/doc/bind-version/draft/: The directory containing assorted technical documents that review issues related to the DNS service, and propose some methods to address them.
/usr/share/doc/bind-version/misc/: The directory designed to address specific advanced issues. Users of BIND version 8 should consult the migration document for specific changes they must make when moving to BIND 9. The options file lists all of the options implemented in BIND 9 that are used in /etc/named.conf.
/usr/share/doc/bind-version/rfc/: The directory providing every RFC document related to BIND.

There is also a number of man pages for the various applications and configuration files involved with BIND:

man rndc: The manual page for rndc containing the full documentation on its usage.
man named: The manual page for named containing the documentation on assorted arguments that can be used to control the BIND nameserver daemon.
man lwresd: The manual page for lwresd containing the full documentation on the lightweight resolver daemon and its usage.
man named.conf: The manual page with a comprehensive list of options available within the named configuration file.
man rndc.conf: The manual page with a comprehensive list of options available within the rndc configuration file.