I really like this approach. Thanks! -- Andrew Sullivan Please excuse my clumbsy thums.
> On Nov 30, 2014, at 9:02, Tony Finch <d...@dotat.at> wrote: > > Andrew Sullivan <a...@anvilwalrusden.com> wrote: >>> On Sat, Nov 29, 2014 at 12:06:28PM +1100, Mark Andrews wrote: >>> >>> A iterative resolver make RD=0 queries. >>> A resursive resolver make RD=1 queries. >> >> The problem with that definition, though I guess it is technically >> most accurate, is that it doesn't help anyone who doesn't already >> understand the difference. After all, the second of these only says, >> "a recursive resolver says that it wants recursion", which is hardly >> elicidating for the uninitiated. >> >> I think Tony's proposal is on the right track (certainly better than >> the quick excerpt we did from STD 13, which is at least as confusing). >> But I think Paul put his finger on the problem with that text: there's >> no way to know in advance what sort of server you're querying. > > I think it is worth noting that RFC 1034 talks about the resolution > process, i.e. recursive resolution and iterative resolution - it does not > talk about iterative resolvers or recursive resolvers. Which sort-of makes > sense since whether a resolver is being iterative or recursive is to a > large extent a matter of configuration - as Mark said BIND can do both, > and this is also true for Unbound, ldns, getdns-api, etc. The exception is > pure stub resolvers (e.g. the libc resolver or adns) which can only > perform recursive queries. > > So I think to clarify the terminology, first describe the iterative and > recursive resolution processes, and mention the expected values of the > RD,RA,AA bits. Then you can describe the distinctions between recursive > and iterative clients, and between recursive and authoritative servers, in > terms of the roles they play in the different resolution processes. > > I would say a full resolver is one that contains a cache and is capable of > iterative resolution [citation needed]. A stub is (traditionally) > cacheless and recursive only. There are intermediate cases - a lot of > stubby resolvers have caches. > > Tony. > -- > f.anthony.n.finch <d...@dotat.at> http://dotat.at/ > Rockall: Southwesterly 4, increasing 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 in northwest, > veering northwesterly 4 or 5 later. Moderate or rough, occasionally very rough > later in northwest. Occasional rain. Good, occasionally poor. _______________________________________________ DNSOP mailing list DNSOP@ietf.org https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/dnsop
