[comp.protocols.tcp-ip.domains] Flaky name resolution

slevy@POINCARE.GEOM.UMN.EDU (08/20/90)

Do you-all have much trouble with host/domain names being sometimes resolved,
other times not?  We sometimes find mail which bounces with "Unknown host"
will other times get through.

The current case is with applelink.apple.com.  Poking around showed that
apple.com has four secondary name servers, some of which gave a correct
MX response, while others return an empty answer: nslookup reports
"no information" as opposed to "Non-existent domain".

One possibility: apple.com seems to contain no explicit
applelink.apple.com  IN  MX  ...
record, just an MX for *.apple.com.   Could some servers be willing to
match on wildcards while others aren't?  Is this behavior good grounds for
complaining to the administrator of a server which doesn't?

	Stuart Levy, Geometry Group, University of Minnesota
	slevy@geom.umn.edu