[SWLUG] How do I check operation of DNS system.

[Neil Jones]

I have finally taken the plunge and I am renting a server for my websites.
I am in the process of transfering them over but I am having some problems 
with set up.

I have set up named.conf and a zone file for one of the domains and named is 
running.

I have my secondary DNS else where.

However when I try to enter the primary DNS with my Domain registrar 
Godady.com I get "Unavailable error in field Host name".

Now researching this with google finds someone who has emailed Godaddy about 
this problem and 

Got the following answer
 "GoDaddy.com limits the transfer of domain names handled by us to 
unrecognized domain name servers in order to protect our customers interests. 
Please contact your server administrator in order to have these name servers 
registered with Verisign and to update the status on these DNS servers."

I am going to contact Godaddy myself because I find this baffling and there is 
nothing on Verisign's website. (  have googled it) that makes anysense in 
relation to this.
Given that I am using my own brand new nameserver for primary DNS
I seem to be in a catch 22.

However before I contact Godaddy. I want first of all to know if there is 
anyway to validate the DNS settings to ensure that they are correct.
I don't want them telling me "oh the problem is on the nameserver".
I have managed a server with hundreds of domains on it and I designed a 
bespoke DNS configuration system for it and I have based the setting on this 
so I am fairly confident, but I am a little uncertain of how you check the 
settings are actually working. Everything seems fine but I just don't trust 
Bind

Secondly does this busines of registering nameservers make sense to anyone.
When ever I google I get information on how to change the nameservers on a 
domain I know how to do that it is a trivial exercise It is just that Godaddy 
doesn't seem to recognise the name of the new nameserver.
 
--
Neil Jones- Neil at nwjones.demon.co.uk