[comp.protocols.tcp-ip] NS.NASA.GOV nameserver problems

netser@PARIS.ICS.UCI.EDU (UCI ICS Network Services) (09/10/88)

The nameserver at NS.NASA.GOV is listed as a root nameserver.  It just happens
to be the fastest one we can reach from here so our nameserver chooses that
one as the place to forward queries.  However, if you try sending a query
to it asking for information about a top level domain that doesn't exist,
you don't get "NXDOMAIN" the way you should.  Instead you get "SERVFAIL"!
This is really messing things up left and right!

I called the person in charge of this system (did "whois ns.nasa.gov") a few
days ago and he recognized that it was wrong and restarted it.  That fixed it
for a while.  Well, it's wrong again.  I have tried calling him again but
the phone just rings.

Does anyone have changes to BIND to make it ignore certain root nameservers?
(I think I'll start working on it.)  Lacking that does anyone know of a way
of crashing someone else's nameserver?

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Richard Johnson                          netser@ics.uci.edu       (Internet)
UCI ICS Network Services                 ...!ucbvax!ucivax!netser     (UUCP)