NAMED(8)                      BIND9                      NAMED(8)



NAME
       named - Internet domain name server

SYNOPSIS
       named [-4] [-6] [-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
       initial data, and listen for queries.

OPTIONS
       -4     Use IPv4 only even if the host machine is capable
              of IPv6.  -4 and -6 are mutually exclusive.

       -6     Use IPv6 only even if the host machine is capable
              of IPv4.  -4 and -6 are mutually exclusive.

       -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
              configuration 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
              daemonize).

       -g     Run the server in the foreground and force all
              logging 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
              created.

       -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
              future release.

       -t directory
              chroot() to directory after processing the command
              line arguments, but before reading the
              configuration 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
              operations, 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
              process 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
              privileges 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
       control 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.

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 Systems Consortium



BIND9                     June 30, 2000                  NAMED(8)