DOCUMENT ID:  1535-02

SYNOPSIS:     DNS Client Setup instructions

OS RELEASE:   2.x

PRODUCT:      Solaris x86              

KEYWORDS:     DNS networking Domain Name Service


DESCRIPTION:          

The Solaris installation process does not include selecting DNS for
domain name - IP address binding as one of the configuration options. 

This document describes how to configure a Solaris system to use a DNS
server. 


SOLUTION: 

In order to do this setup you will need to have the IP address of your
name server.  It is possible to configure Solaris to try multiple
servers in the event that one of them goes down. 

You should also know the default domain for systems attached to your
network.  If you connect to a machine without giving the full domain
name (i.e., just a host name), DNS will assume the default domain. 

There are two steps required to make use of a DNS server.

1)  Create a file called /etc/resolv.conf

Place the following lines in the resolv.conf file:

    domain mydomain.com
    nameserver 127.0.0.1
	      
In the above example, replace mydomain.com with the default domain for
your network. 

Also the DNS IP address 127.0.0.1 should be replaced with the IP address
of your DNS nameserver.  It is possible to have multiple "nameserver"
lines in which case if the first name server does not respond,
subsequent ones will be tried. 

2)  Edit the file /etc/nsswitch.conf

It is necessary to change this file so that DNS will be consulted when
looking a given hosts IP address. 

Find the line that says

    hosts:      nis [NOTFOUND=return] files
	      
Note: This line may be slightly different depending on what networking
service (if any) the machine was configured to use when installed. 

Change the line to read:

   hosts:      files dns
	      
This will configure the system to first try to find a match for a given
hostname in the /etc/hosts file.  If a match is not found, then the dns
server is consulted. 


DATE APPROVED: 10/18/95