Customer Reviews

Alternative DNS Servers: Choice and Deployment, and Optional SQL/LDAP Back-Ends

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This book is amazing. Jan-Piet Mens unbiasedly covers every modern authoritative and caching DNS server. This includes MaraDNS, tinydns, PowerDNS, and more that most people have never even heard of. Each server is given its own detailed chapter where you learn what sets it apart from the others and how to use it. But make no mistake, the coverage of each server is far from any simple tutorial or how-to you'd normally read. These chapters are packed with information that Jan could easily expand into small books on their own.

In addition to the several DNS servers covered, the amount of other DNS-related topics in this book is amazing. You'll also learn how to make your own DNS server and utility scripts with Perl, international domain names and how to make them work with your server, DNSSEC, nsswitch, DNS blacklists, and dynamic DNS.

I wouldn't recommend this book to people new to DNS. Instead, try O'Reilly's DNS and BIND or Apress's Pro DNS and BIND -- both are incredible books as well. But if you're familiar with DNS, maintain a DNS server or two, just want to widen your view of the DNS world, you would be a fool not to read this book.

Coverage:
- 8 Name servers (MaraDNS, MyDNS, PowerDNS, Bind, NSD, tinydns, ldapdns, dnsmasq)
- 5 caching name servers (Bind,PowerDNS,DNSCache, DNSProxy, Unbound)
- many Perl based scenarios
- Load balancing
- A HUGE variety of DNS Backend types (text files, DB, LDAP etc.)
- DNSSEC
- internationalization (i18n)
- OS Coverage of Windows and Linux
- incredible amount of detailed DNS products coverage never seen elsewhere !!


ADS is Mr. Jan Piet's Answer to the variety of DNS servers thats out there. Equipped with roughly 700 pages and a 40p. detailed Index !! he is describing at least 11 !! type of DNS servers.
( more if you count the variations and perl versions).

Regarding OS coverage the author stays in the Windows (Cygwin), Linux area but I think its fair to say that BSD and any *nix type system is not to much different to use.

The author is not just describing the DNS projects but illustrating their strength and weaknesses in countless carefully prepared scenarios.
Wether its the basics of how zones work or other nitty gritty details f.e where you place the caching DNS, how the resolver works or more specific special case scenarios - its all covered.

Once you ran through the preparation part of the book you basically run through a huge variety of case scenarios separated in 24 chapters.
The first 18 describe the DNS products and their usage, the next six describe operational issues (updating issues, internationalization, DNSSEC, Performance, Security etc.)

An 8 chapter strong appendix delivers background on subjects you might require additional help for coverage you might simply not find in any other books. f.e the not so known programming language LUA.

By the time you have worked through the book you will have inherited the equivalent of a bulk of not less than 5-10 years of senior system engineering experience.

I particularly like that the book is obviously well structured. The instructions detail level is thorough, instructive and inspirational at the same time.

The book is not only teaching you how to use the DNS projects, but also how to think outside of the box to enhance them f.e with Perl, scripting etc. to make them fit and work towards your needs.

I have never seen anything like it for the DNS sector within the last 10 years or more, neither in the USA, nor in Europe or Asia.
If your company or profession is closely related to DNS based products or their usage you owe it to yourself to pay close attention to this book.

This book is definitely highly recommended !!