named(8)

NAME
     named - Internet domain name server

SYNOPSIS
     named [ -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
     -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 Software Consortium