ANAME vs aname

2018-02-01 - Future - Tony Finch

The IETF dnsop working group are currently discussing a draft specification for an ANAME RR type. The basic idea is that an ANAME is like a CNAME, except it only works for A and AAAA IP address queries, and it can coexist with other records such as SOA (at a zone apex) or MX.

I'm following the ANAME work with great interest because it will make certain configuration problems much simpler for us. I have made some extensive ANAME review comments.

An ANAME is rather different from what the IP Register database calls an aname object. An aname is a name for a set of existing IP addresses, which can be an arbitrary subset of the combined addresses of multiple boxes or vboxes, whereas an ANAME copies all the addresses from exactly one target name.

There is more about the general problem of aliases in the IP Register database in one of the items I posted in December. I am still unsure how the new aliasing model might work; perhaps it will become more clear when I have a better idea about how the existing aname implementation and its limitations.