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DNS and BIND Cookbook 1st Edition Cricket Liu Published by O'Reilly and Associates ISBN:0-596-00410-9 240 pages £ 24.95 Published: 10th October 2002 reviewed by Raza Rizvi    in the December 2002 issue (pdf), (html)

Wow, here I am again, reviewing yet another book on DNS and BIND by Cricket Liu! So what does this bring you that the other O'Reilly books don't?

Well nothing in essence but this nicely captures all those things that you are supposed to know off the top of your hostmaster head.

Building from basic questions - what version am I running, getting BIND, starting a name server etc - the book slowly and cleverly picks out those questions that are likely to form the bulk of matters you need to know about.

The book chapters follow the same logic as the larger reference works on DNS and BIND by the same author, namely, creating the zones files, configuring the server, handling mail, running the DNS server, security, upgrading (and this goes back to BIND 4, as well as having questions on the Windows implementation), programming, troubleshooting, and finally IPv6.

Each question follows the same sensible format: What is the problem? -- What is the solution? -- Discussion (so you actually learn 'why' rather than just 'how') -- See Also (references to other related questions and anchors to the main DNS and BIND book)

Largely the questions and answers are based around BIND 8 and 9, since no one should be running BIND 4 now, and the well-ordered layout and contents page make it an easy book to pick up as the need arises.

I really tried hard to think of something the book should cover that was not already in between the covers, and other than really esoteric stuff, I failed. This is a book for novice and expert alike, and really does make an essential desktop reference for all those creating, modifying, or supporting zone files.

If I had to give criticism, and this is really small fry and almost embarrassing as my only niggle, I think the book could do with a lay-flat spine?

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