ASKMARA(1)                          askmara                         ASKMARA(1)



NAME
       askmara - do simple dns queries

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

USAGE
       askmara [-n] [ -v | -t timeout] query [ server ]

OPTIONS
       -t  If this is present, the following argument is the askmara timeout,
           in seconds. Note that askmara can not both have a user-defined
           timeout and verbose output.

       -v  If this is set, askmara will verbosely output the complete reply
           that the server sent. Note that this verbose output is not
           csv2-compatible.

       -n  If this is set, askmara, when sending out a query, will not request
           DNS recursion; in other words, askmara will request that the remote
           DNS server not contact other DNS server to answer the query in
           question.

       query
           dns record to be queried. The query has two sections: The type of
           record we desire, and the hostname we want this record for.

       The type of query can have two forms: A one-letter mnemonic, or a
       numeric rtype followed by a colon. This is immediately concatenated by
       the full name of the host name we wish to look up.

       For example, to ask for the IP of 'example.com.', we can use the one-
       letter mnemonic, in the form 'Aexample.com.', or we can use the numeric
       RR followed by a colon, giving the query '1:example.com.' (since A has
       the record type of one). Note that the query name needs the trailing
       dot at the end.

       Askmara supports a handful one-letter mnemonics, as follows:

       A signifies a request for an A (ipv4 address) RR

       N signifies a NS RR

       C signifies that we are asking for a CNAME RR

       S signifies that we want a SOA RR

       P signifies that we want a PTR RR

       @ signifies that we mant a MX RR

       T signifies that we want a TXT RR

       Z signifies that we want to ask for all RRs.

       server
           IP address of the dns server to be queried. If no server is given,
           askmara will query 127.0.0.1.

EXAMPLES
       Asking the server with the ip 127.0.0.1 for the IP address of
       example.com:

       askmara Aexample.com.

       Asking the server with the ip 198.41.0.4 for the IP address of
       example.com:

       askmara Aexample.com. 198.41.0.4

       Asking the server with the ip address 127.0.0.1 for the IP address of
       example.com, using the rr_number:query format:

       askmara 1:example.com.

       Asking the server with the ip address 127.0.0.1 for a SRV record. In
       particular, we ask for the "http over tcp" service for example.net.
       Since askmara doesn't have a mnemonic for SRV record types, we use the
       numeric code (33 for SRV):

       askmara 33:_http._tcp.example.net.

       Asking the server with the ip address 127.0.0.1 for the AAAA (ipv6 ip)
       record for example.net:

       askmara 28:example.net.

       Note that the output will be a raw DNS packet in both the SRV and AAAA
       examples.

BUGS
       When askmara is asked for an SOA record, the output of askmara closely
       resembles the format of a csv2 file, but can not be parsed as a csv2
       file without modification.

       askmara outputs multi-chunk ("character-string") TXT records
       incorrectly (it only outputs the first chunk).

SEE ALSO
       maradns(8)

       http://www.maradns.org

LEGAL DISCLAIMER
       THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHORS ''AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESS OR
       IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
       WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
       DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR
       ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
       DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
       OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
       HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT,
       STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING
       IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE
       POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

AUTHOR
       MaraDNS is written by Sam Trenholme. Jaakko Niemi used 5 minutes to
       roll this manpage together, which Sam has subsequently revised.




January 2002                        askmara                         ASKMARA(1)
