Version 2.5 User's Guide
DNS Sentry	Previous | Next Contents

The DNS Sentry acts as a low-level resolver and connects directly to the target Domain Name System server to perform a query. This means that the test is completely independent of the host files, DNR cache, or resolver code on the PageSentry Macintosh, whether running Open Transport or MacTCP. Figure 11 shows the DNS Edit Sentry dialog box.

Figure 11: Configuring a new DNS Sentry.

To configure the Sentry, fill in the appropriate fields. In addition to the common configuration options, the DNS Sentry has the following options:

DNS Address

This is the domain name or IP number of the machine running the DNS server that you wish to monitor. The Sentry will connect to TCP port 53 (the default) to perform the query. Using a domain name in the DNS Address field requires that the domain name be resolved before the Domain Name Server can be tested, creating ambiguity in testing. It is best to enter the IP address of your Domain Name Server, as opposed to the domain name, so that the test will always report the correct error in the event of a DNS failure.

Domain Name

This is the domain name the Sentry will try to resolve into an IP number. You can check the intranet ability of the name server by asking it to resolve a machine name within the domain for which it is authoritative (like yourmachine.yourcompany.com). Or, you can check its Internet ability by asking it to resolve an external machine name (like www.foreign.com). If you choose domain names that can resolve to multiple IP addresses (like www.apple.com or www.microsoft.com), different answers will be returned to PageSentry each time it tries to resolve that domain name. In this case, use the "*" option in the IP Address field, described below.

IP Address

This is the IP number that will be compared with the address returned from the DNS being tested. You can use the Execute Test button to have PageSentry fill in this field, or you can enter the expected IP number yourself.

In some cases, domain names can resolve to more than one IP Address, as is the case with "Round Robin" Web sites. For this reason, you can enter an asterisk ("*") in the IP Address field, which tells PageSentry that any valid response from the Domain Name Server is acceptable. TCP/IP problems and errors sent by the DNS will still be reported by PageSentry, but in this case PageSentry will not verify the exact IP Address returned.

Copyright © 1995-98 Maxum Development Corporation 820 South Bartlett Road - Suite 104 Streamwood, IL 60107 http://www.maxum.com/ Rev. 2/18/98	Previous | Next Contents