Re: [DNSOP] Where in a CNAME chain is the QNAME?

[Robert Edmonds <[e-mail]>]

Paul Hoffman wrote:
> On 26 Sep 2016, at 0:33, Peter van Dijk wrote:
> 
> > 2308 does not “redefine” QNAME. It clarifies that the usage in 1034
> > 4.3.2 is the definition we use in RFCs. 1035 4.1(.2) does not conflict
> > with this; the QNAME there is just the initial QNAME.
> 
> This seems like a very limited view of RFC 1034. RFC 1034 actually defines
> QNAME in Section 3.7.1:
> 
> 3.7.1. Standard queries
> 
> A standard query specifies a target domain name (QNAME), query type
> (QTYPE), and query class (QCLASS) and asks for RRs which match.
> 
> Further, the usage in Section 4.3.2 does not say that the QNAME is the last
> name in the chain, just that the algorithm itself repeats with a new value
> for QNAME:
> 
>             If the data at the node is a CNAME, and QTYPE doesn't
>             match CNAME, copy the CNAME RR into the answer section
>             of the response, change QNAME to the canonical name in
>             the CNAME RR, and go back to step 1.

If STD 13 were to be typeset like a technical book, "QNAME" in 1034
§4.3.2 would be styled using the book's typographical convention for a
variable name.

The exact same formulation in §4.3 ("change … to the canonical name in
the CNAME RR") is used again in the resolver algorithm in §5.3:

    The following resolver algorithm assumes that all functions have been
    converted to a general lookup function, and uses the following data
    structures to represent the state of a request in progress in the
    resolver:

    SNAME           the domain name we are searching for.

    STYPE           the QTYPE of the search request.

    SCLASS          the QCLASS of the search request.

    […]

    5.3.3. Algorithm

    The top level algorithm has four steps:

       […]

       4. Analyze the response, either:

       […]

             c. if the response shows a CNAME and that is not the
                answer itself, cache the CNAME, change the SNAME to the
                canonical name in the CNAME RR and go to step 1.

       […]

Since "SNAME" doesn't conflict with a term from another part of the
document set, it's clear that SNAME is being used as a variable name. So
the parallel use in §4.3.2 ("change QNAME to the canonical name") must
also be as a variable name, not a terminological (re)definition.

-- 
Robert Edmonds