Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uflorida!haven!aplcen!jhunix!ecf_hap
From: ecf_hap@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Andrew Poling)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: Re:  Domain resolver resets needed
Summary: would present high short-term loads
Keywords: coincident expiration of all nameservers
Message-ID: <1244@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU>
Date: 27 Mar 89 18:39:05 GMT
Expires: 26 Apr 89 23:00:00 GMT
References: <8903231027.aa08575@SEM.BRL.MIL> <16103@oberon.USC.EDU>
Reply-To: ecf_hap@jhunix.UUCP (Andrew Poling)
Followup-To: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Distribution: usa
Organization: The Johns Hopkins University - HCF
Lines: 28

In article <16103@oberon.USC.EDU> blarson@skat.usc.edu (Bob Larson) writes:
>Wouldn't it be better to give a specific exparation time to the name
>server, so the name server caches would all expire at the proper time
>without making the refresh interval to short or needing manual
>intervention?  (Is this just a case of the available software doesn't
>have this capability?)


Ouch!  Can you imagine every caching nameserver in the country assaulting
the root servers all at once?

I (and I'm sure alot of others do this too) get a full download from the
root servers of the top-level domains which see alot of traffic here.  I can
do this because the host in question hasn't got much else to do.  When that
TTL runs down, I query the root servers to see if I have to down load again.
That would mean that every machine like mine would be requesting a download
within ten minutes of each other (five minute ns_maint sleep gives +/-5
minute spread from the target time).

I don't think the root server's administrators would like that idea.  :-)


Andy
--
Andy Poling						andy@gollum.hcf.jhu.edu
Network Services Group					ecf_hap@jhunix.UUCP
Homewood Academic Computing				ECF_HAP@JHUVMS.BITNET
Johns Hopkins University