1ASKMARA(1)                          askmara                         ASKMARA(1)
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NAME

6       askmara - do simple dns queries
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DESCRIPTION

9       askmara queries the user-specified dns server for records, and outputs
10       the reply in a csv2-compatible format (csv2 is the format of zone files
11       that maradns uses).
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USAGE

14       askmara [-n] [ -v | -t timeout] query [ server ]
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OPTIONS

17       -t  If this is present, the following argument is the askmara timeout,
18           in seconds. Note that askmara can not both have a user-defined
19           timeout and verbose output.
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21       -v  If this is set, askmara will verbosely output the complete reply
22           that the server sent. Note that this verbose output is not
23           csv2-compatible.
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25       -n  If this is set, askmara, when sending out a query, will not request
26           DNS recursion; in other words, askmara will request that the remote
27           DNS server not contact other DNS servers to answer the query in
28           question.
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30       query
31           dns record to be queried. The query has two sections: The type of
32           record we desire, and the hostname we want this record for.
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34       The type of query can have two forms: A one-letter mnemonic, or a
35       numeric rtype followed by a colon. This is immediately concatenated by
36       the full name of the host name we wish to look up.
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38       For example, to ask for the IP of 'example.com.', we can use the one-
39       letter mnemonic, in the form 'Aexample.com.', or we can use the numeric
40       RR followed by a colon, giving the query '1:example.com.' (since A has
41       the record type of one). Note that the query name needs the trailing
42       dot at the end.
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44       Askmara supports a handful one-letter mnemonics, as follows:
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46       A signifies a request for an A (ipv4 address) RR
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48       N signifies a NS RR
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50       C signifies that we are asking for a CNAME RR
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52       S signifies that we want a SOA RR
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54       P signifies that we want a PTR RR
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56       @ signifies that we mant a MX RR
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58       T signifies that we want a TXT RR
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60       Z signifies that we want to ask for all RRs.
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62       server
63           IP address of the dns server to be queried. If no server is given,
64           askmara will query 127.0.0.1.
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EXAMPLES

67       Asking the server with the ip 127.0.0.1 for the IP address of
68       example.com:
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70       askmara Aexample.com.
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72       Asking the server with the ip 198.41.0.4 for the IP address of
73       example.com:
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75       askmara Aexample.com. 198.41.0.4
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77       Asking the server with the ip address 127.0.0.1 for the IP address of
78       example.com, using the rr_number:query format:
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80       askmara 1:example.com.
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82       Asking the server with the ip address 127.0.0.1 for a SRV record. In
83       particular, we ask for the "http over tcp" service for example.net.
84       Since askmara doesn't have a mnemonic for SRV record types, we use the
85       numeric code (33 for SRV):
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87       askmara 33:_http._tcp.example.net.
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89       Asking the server with the ip address 127.0.0.1 for the AAAA (ipv6 ip)
90       record for example.net:
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92       askmara 28:example.net.
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94       Note that the output will be a raw DNS packet in the SRV example, but
95       askmara shows an IPv6 address (albeit without :: to collapse 0 quads)
96       in the AAAA example.
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BUGS

99       When askmara is asked for an SOA record, the output of askmara closely
100       resembles the format of a csv2 file, but can not be parsed as a csv2
101       file without modification.
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103       askmara outputs multi-chunk ("character-string") TXT records
104       incorrectly (it only outputs the first chunk).
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SEE ALSO

107       maradns(8)
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109       http://www.maradns.org
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112       THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHORS ''AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESS OR
113       IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
114       WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
115       DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR
116       ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
117       DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
118       OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
119       HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT,
120       STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING
121       IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE
122       POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
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AUTHOR

125       MaraDNS is written by Sam Trenholme. Jaakko Niemi used 5 minutes to
126       roll this manpage together, which Sam has subsequently revised.
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131January 2002                        askmara                         ASKMARA(1)
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