[ntp:questions] slow start

[Richard B. Gilbert]

Danny Mayer wrote:
> Richard B. Gilbert wrote:
> 
>>>Don't use nslookup, use dig. nslookup is really bad as a diagnostic tool.
>>
>>I suggested nslookup, rather than dig, because nslookup is installed on 
>>both Solaris and Windoze and I think Linux as well.  Dig is not 
>>installed on Solaris and, AFAIK not installed on Windoze either.
>>
> 
> 
> It should be installed on Solaris. I don't set up Solaris systems but
> it's always been there. It's not on Windows but I've made sure that it's
> in the BIND 9 binary kits for Windows.
>
man dig
shows nothing which leads me to believe that it's not present.

There's a "dig" service on the web that I found with google, but that 
presuposes a working name service in order to find it.  It's a hell of a 
name for the tool as well; "dig" is what I do with a shovel, why would 
anyone think of it as a tool for address lookups?

> 
>>I've been using nslookup for years on many different operating systems 
>>and it has always met my modest needs.  Why and how is dig better?
> 
> 
> It's provides so little useful information that ISC tried to deprecated
<snip>
It provides the little information that I want; e.g. the IP address I 
asked for.  ISTR that it can be persuaded to do more; e.g. things like 
returning MX records but that's something I need once in ten years!

Learn to live with it!  People want the tools they are familiar with. 
Unless you figure out how to retrain a few million people, nslookup will 
be around for many years yet.

There's a lot of software that maybe should never have seen the light of 
day,
including at least one well known O/S but once it has a user base it 
acquires a life of its own!