Hello Scott,
Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:07:08 -0700 Scott Baker wrote: > If I run dig without any options it outputs a list of root servers: > > ;; ANSWER SECTION: > . 482765 IN NS K.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. > . 482765 IN NS E.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. > . 482765 IN NS L.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. > . 482765 IN NS M.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. > . 482765 IN NS J.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. > . 482765 IN NS H.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. > . 482765 IN NS I.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. > . 482765 IN NS F.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. > . 482765 IN NS G.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. > . 482765 IN NS B.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. > . 482765 IN NS A.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. > . 482765 IN NS C.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. > . 482765 IN NS D.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. > > Where does that information come from? This data come from the server's cache which is initialized at the server startup using the named.root file (the hints). This file acts as a source of the names and IP addresses of the name servers holding the copy of "." (the root zone). > Have the IPs of the root servers ever had to change? Yes, sometimes - that's why you should update your hints file periodically. -- Yours sincerely, Andrey G. Sergeev (AKA Andris) http://www.andris.name/
