From 388bdb1cc0e7384a1d97d51e581776291cde5738 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Marcel Holtmann Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2008 23:56:18 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] Add copy of RFC 1035 (DNS system) --- doc/rfc1035.txt | 3077 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 3077 insertions(+) create mode 100644 doc/rfc1035.txt diff --git a/doc/rfc1035.txt b/doc/rfc1035.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b1a9bf5 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/rfc1035.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3077 @@ +Network Working Group P. Mockapetris +Request for Comments: 1035 ISI + November 1987 +Obsoletes: RFCs 882, 883, 973 + + DOMAIN NAMES - IMPLEMENTATION AND SPECIFICATION + + +1. STATUS OF THIS MEMO + +This RFC describes the details of the domain system and protocol, and +assumes that the reader is familiar with the concepts discussed in a +companion RFC, "Domain Names - Concepts and Facilities" [RFC-1034]. + +The domain system is a mixture of functions and data types which are an +official protocol and functions and data types which are still +experimental. Since the domain system is intentionally extensible, new +data types and experimental behavior should always be expected in parts +of the system beyond the official protocol. The official protocol parts +include standard queries, responses and the Internet class RR data +formats (e.g., host addresses). Since the previous RFC set, several +definitions have changed, so some previous definitions are obsolete. + +Experimental or obsolete features are clearly marked in these RFCs, and +such information should be used with caution. + +The reader is especially cautioned not to depend on the values which +appear in examples to be current or complete, since their purpose is +primarily pedagogical. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. + + Table of Contents + + 1. STATUS OF THIS MEMO 1 + 2. INTRODUCTION 3 + 2.1. Overview 3 + 2.2. Common configurations 4 + 2.3. Conventions 7 + 2.3.1. Preferred name syntax 7 + 2.3.2. Data Transmission Order 8 + 2.3.3. Character Case 9 + 2.3.4. Size limits 10 + 3. DOMAIN NAME SPACE AND RR DEFINITIONS 10 + 3.1. Name space definitions 10 + 3.2. RR definitions 11 + 3.2.1. Format 11 + 3.2.2. TYPE values 12 + 3.2.3. QTYPE values 12 + 3.2.4. CLASS values 13 + + + +Mockapetris [Page 1] + +RFC 1035 Domain Implementation and Specification November 1987 + + + 3.2.5. QCLASS values 13 + 3.3. Standard RRs 13 + 3.3.1. CNAME RDATA format 14 + 3.3.2. HINFO RDATA format 14 + 3.3.3. MB RDATA format (EXPERIMENTAL) 14 + 3.3.4. MD RDATA format (Obsolete) 15 + 3.3.5. MF RDATA format (Obsolete) 15 + 3.3.6. MG RDATA format (EXPERIMENTAL) 16 + 3.3.7. MINFO RDATA format (EXPERIMENTAL) 16 + 3.3.8. MR RDATA format (EXPERIMENTAL) 17 + 3.3.9. MX RDATA format 17 + 3.3.10. NULL RDATA format (EXPERIMENTAL) 17 + 3.3.11. NS RDATA format 18 + 3.3.12. PTR RDATA format 18 + 3.3.13. SOA RDATA format 19 + 3.3.14. TXT RDATA format 20 + 3.4. ARPA Internet specific RRs 20 + 3.4.1. A RDATA format 20 + 3.4.2. WKS RDATA format 21 + 3.5. IN-ADDR.ARPA domain 22 + 3.6. Defining new types, classes, and special namespaces 24 + 4. MESSAGES 25 + 4.1. Format 25 + 4.1.1. Header section format 26 + 4.1.2. Question section format 28 + 4.1.3. Resource record format 29 + 4.1.4. Message compression 30 + 4.2. Transport 32 + 4.2.1. UDP usage 32 + 4.2.2. TCP usage 32 + 5. MASTER FILES 33 + 5.1. Format 33 + 5.2. Use of master files to define zones 35 + 5.3. Master file example 36 + 6. NAME SERVER IMPLEMENTATION 37 + 6.1. Architecture 37 + 6.1.1. Control 37 + 6.1.2. Database 37 + 6.1.3. Time 39 + 6.2. Standard query processing 39 + 6.3. Zone refresh and reload processing 39 + 6.4. Inverse queries (Optional) 40 + 6.4.1. The contents of inverse queries and responses 40 + 6.4.2. Inverse query and response example 41 + 6.4.3. Inverse query processing 42 + + + + + + +Mockapetris [Page 2] + +RFC 1035 Domain Implementation and Specification November 1987 + + + 6.5. Completion queries and responses 42 + 7. RESOLVER IMPLEMENTATION 43 + 7.1. Transforming a user request into a query 43 + 7.2. Sending the queries 44 + 7.3. Processing responses 46 + 7.4. Using the cache 47 + 8. MAIL SUPPORT 47 + 8.1. Mail exchange binding 48 + 8.2. Mailbox binding (Experimental) 48 + 9. REFERENCES and BIBLIOGRAPHY 50 + Index 54 + +2. INTRODUCTION + +2.1. Overview + +The goal of domain names is to provide a mechanism for naming resources +in such a way that the names are usable in different hosts, networks, +protocol families, internets, and administrative organizations. + +From the user's point of view, domain names are useful as arguments to a +local agent, called a resolver, which retrieves information associated +with the domain name. Thus a user might ask for the host address or +mail information associated with a particular domain name. To enable +the user to request a particular type of information, an appropriate +query type is passed to the resolver with the domain name. To the user, +the domain tree is a single information space; the resolver is +responsible for hiding the distribution of data among name servers from +the user. + +From the resolver's point of view, the database that makes up the domain +space is distributed among various name servers. Different parts of the +domain space are stored in different name servers, although a particular +data item will be stored redundantly in two or more name servers. The +resolver starts with knowledge of at least one name server. When the +resolver processes a user query it asks a known name server for the +information; in return, the resolver either receives the desired +information or a referral to another name server. Using these +referrals, resolvers learn the identities and contents of other name +servers. Resolvers are responsible for dealing with the distribution of +the domain space and dealing with the effects of name server failure by +consulting redundant databases in other servers. + +Name servers manage two kinds of data. The first kind of data held in +sets called zones; each zone is the complete database for a particular +"pruned" subtree of the domain space. This data is called +authoritative. A name server periodically checks to make sure that its +zones are up to date, and if not, obtains a new copy of updated zones + + + +Mockapetris [Page 3] + +RFC 1035 Domain Implementation and Specification November 1987 + + +from master files stored locally or in another name server. The second +kind of data is cached data which was acquired by a local resolver. +This data may be incomplete, but improves the performance of the +retrieval process when non-local data is repeatedly accessed. Cached +data is eventually discarded by a timeout mechanism. + +This functional structure isolates the problems of user interface, +failure recovery, and distribution in the resolvers and isolates the +database update and refresh problems in the name servers. + +2.2. Common configurations + +A host can participate in the domain name system in a number of ways, +depending on whether the host runs programs that retrieve information +from the domain system, name servers that answer queries from other +hosts, or various combinations of both functions. The simplest, and +perhaps most typical, configuration is shown below: + + Local Host | Foreign + | + +---------+ +----------+ | +--------+ + | | user queries | |queries | | | + | User |-------------->| |---------|->|Foreign | + | Program | | Resolver | | | Name | + | |<--------------| |<--------|--| Server | + | | user responses| |responses| | | + +---------+ +----------+ | +--------+ + | A | + cache additions | | references | + V | | + +----------+ | + | cache | | + +----------+ | + +User programs interact with the domain name space through resolvers; the +format of user queries and user responses is specific to the host and +its operating system. User queries will typically be operating system +calls, and the resolver and its cache will be part of the host operating +system. Less capable hosts may choose to implement the resolver as a +subroutine to be linked in with every program that needs its services. +Resolvers answer user queries with information they acquire via queries +to foreign name servers and the local cache. + +Note that the resolver may have to make several queries to several +different foreign name servers to answer a particular user query, and +hence the resolution of a user query may involve several network +accesses and an arbitrary amount of time. The queries to foreign name +servers and the corresponding responses have a standard format described + + + +Mockapetris [Page 4] + +RFC 1035 Domain Implementation and Specification November 1987 + + +in this memo, and may be datagrams. + +Depending on its capabilities, a name server could be a stand alone +program on a dedicated machine or a process or processes on a large +timeshared host. A simple configuration might be: + + Local Host | Foreign + | + +---------+ | + / /| | + +---------+ | +----------+ | +--------+ + | | | | |responses| | | + | | | | Name |---------|->|Foreign | + | Master |-------------->| Server | | |Resolver| + | files | | | |<--------|--| | + | |/ | | queries | +--------+ + +---------+ +----------+ | + +Here a primary name server acquires information about one or more zones +by reading master files from its local file system, and answers queries +about those zones that arrive from foreign resolvers. + +The DNS requires that all zones be redundantly supported by more than +one name server. Designated secondary servers can acquire zones and +check for updates from the primary server using the zone transfer +protocol of the DNS. This configuration is shown below: + + Local Host | Foreign + | + +---------+ | + / /| | + +---------+ | +----------+ | +--------+ + | | | | |responses| | | + | | | | Name |---------|->|Foreign | + | Master |-------------->| Server | | |Resolver| + | files | | | |<--------|--| | + | |/ | | queries | +--------+ + +---------+ +----------+ | + A |maintenance | +--------+ + | +------------|->| | + | queries | |Foreign | + | | | Name | + +------------------|--| Server | + maintenance responses | +--------+ + +In this configuration, the name server periodically establishes a +virtual circuit to a foreign name server to acquire a copy of a zone or +to check that an existing copy has not changed. The messages sent for + + + +Mockapetris [Page 5] + +RFC 1035 Domain Implementation and Specification November 1987 + + +these maintenance activities follow the same form as queries and +responses, but the message sequences are somewhat different. + +The information flow in a host that supports all aspects of the domain +name system is shown below: + + Local Host | Foreign + | + +---------+ +----------+ | +--------+ + | | user queries | |queries | | | + | User |-------------->| |---------|->|Foreign | + | Program | | Resolver | | | Name | + | |<--------------| |<--------|--| Server | + | | user responses| |responses| | | + +---------+ +----------+ | +--------+ + | A | + cache additions | | references | + V | | + +----------+ | + | Shared | | + | database | | + +----------+ | + A | | + +---------+ refreshes | | references | + / /| | V | + +---------+ | +----------+ | +--------+ + | | | | |responses| | | + | | | | Name |---------|->|Foreign | + | Master |-------------->| Server | | |Resolver| + | files | | | |<--------|--| | + | |/ | | queries | +--------+ + +---------+ +----------+ | + A |maintenance | +--------+ + | +------------|->| | + | queries | |Foreign | + | | | Name | + +------------------|--| Server | + maintenance responses | +--------+ + +The shared database holds domain space data for the local name server +and resolver. The contents of the shared database will typically be a +mixture of authoritative data maintained by the periodic refresh +operations of the name server and cached data from previous resolver +requests. The structure of the domain data and the necessity for +synchronization between name servers and resolvers imply the general +characteristics of this database, but the actual format is up to the +local implementor. + + + + +Mockapetris [Page 6] + +RFC 1035 Domain Implementation and Specification November 1987 + + +Information flow can also be tailored so that a group of hosts act +together to optimize activities. Sometimes this is done to offload less +capable hosts so that they do not have to implement a full resolver. +This can be appropriate for PCs or hosts which want to minimize the +amount of new network code which is required. This scheme can also +allow a group of hosts can share a small number of caches rather than +maintaining a large number of separate caches, on the premise that the +centralized caches will have a higher hit ratio. In either case, +resolvers are replaced with stub resolvers which act as front ends to +resolvers located in a recursive server in one or more name servers +known to perform that service: + + Local Hosts | Foreign + | + +---------+ | + | | responses | + | Stub |<--------------------+ | + | Resolver| | | + | |----------------+ | | + +---------+ recursive | | | + queries | | | + V | | + +---------+ recursive +----------+ | +--------+ + | | queries | |queries | | | + | Stub |-------------->| Recursive|---------|->|Foreign | + | Resolver| | Server | | | Name | + | |<--------------| |<--------|--| Server | + +---------+ responses | |responses| | | + +----------+ | +--------+ + | Central | | + | cache | | + +----------+ | + +In any case, note that domain components are always replicated for +reliability whenever possible. + +2.3. Conventions + +The domain system has several conventions dealing with low-level, but +fundamental, issues. While the implementor is free to violate these +conventions WITHIN HIS OWN SYSTEM, he must observe these conventions in +ALL behavior observed from other hosts. + +2.3.1. Preferred name syntax + +The DNS specifications attempt to be as general as possible in the rules +for constructing domain names. The idea is that the name of any +existing object can be expressed as a domain name with minimal changes. + + + +Mockapetris [Page 7] + +RFC 1035 Domain Implementation and Specification November 1987 + + +However, when assigning a domain name for an object, the prudent user +will select a name which satisfies both the rules of the domain system +and any existing rules for the object, whether these rules are published +or implied by existing programs. + +For example, when naming a mail domain, the user should satisfy both the +rules of this memo and those in RFC-822. When creating a new host name, +the old rules for HOSTS.TXT should be followed. This avoids problems +when old software is converted to use domain names. + +The following syntax will result in fewer problems with many + +applications that use domain names (e.g., mail, TELNET). + + ::= | " " + + ::=