In this session, we’ll take a deeper look at the Domain Name System (DNS). DNS is a crucial fundamental piece in any modern network infrastructure, and it’s often times discovered to be the root cause of many seemingly unrelated problems. We’ll cover the overall structure of the DNS system including zones and nameservers, delegation, forwarding, and resolution, as well as how to use command line tools included in OS X to test and troubleshoot DNS. We’ll look at different DNS scenarios and discuss views, Active Directory DNS, and more. We’ll even briefly cover how DNS is implemented in OS X Server 10.8 Mt. Lion. If you’ve ever wondered how apple.com gets translated into 17.x.x.x, or what the heck forward-confirmed reverse DNS means, then this session is for you.
Mike Boylan is a recent graduate of Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, PA where he studied computer information systems. He’ll soon be pursuing a master’s of science in competitive intelligence systems. Mike is a programmer/systems analyst for the University and is the University’s sole Mac systems administrator. He also engineered and administers the current iteration of the University’s Asterisk based IP-PBX. He’s been doing Mac systems administration for over 6 years, having worked previously for Fox Chapel Area School District in Pittsburgh, PA. Fox Chapel holds one of the largest Mac deployments in the Pittsburgh area. When not at work or in class, Mike enjoys spending time with friends and exploring new restaurants. He’s on Twitter at @mboylan.