&`fail`& keyword causes a &'forced expansion failure'& &-- see section
&<<SECTforexpfai>>& for an explanation of what this means.
-The supported DNS record types are A, CNAME, MX, NS, PTR, SPF, SRV, TLSA and TXT,
-and, when Exim is compiled with IPv6 support, AAAA.
-If no type is given, TXT is assumed. When the type is PTR,
-the data can be an IP address, written as normal; inversion and the addition of
-&%in-addr.arpa%& or &%ip6.arpa%& happens automatically. For example:
-.code
-${lookup dnsdb{ptr=192.168.4.5}{$value}fail}
-.endd
-If the data for a PTR record is not a syntactically valid IP address, it is not
-altered and nothing is added.
+The supported DNS record types are A, CNAME, MX, NS, PTR, SOA, SPF, SRV, TLSA
+and TXT, and, when Exim is compiled with IPv6 support, AAAA.
+If no type is given, TXT is assumed.
For any record type, if multiple records are found, the data is returned as a
concatenation, with newline as the default separator. The order, of course,
.endd
It is permitted to specify a space as the separator character. Further
white space is ignored.
+For lookup types that return multiple fields per record,
+an alternate field separator can be specified using a comma after the main
+separator character, followed immediately by the field separator.
+
+.cindex "PTR record" "in &(dnsdb)& lookup"
+When the type is PTR,
+the data can be an IP address, written as normal; inversion and the addition of
+&%in-addr.arpa%& or &%ip6.arpa%& happens automatically. For example:
+.code
+${lookup dnsdb{ptr=192.168.4.5}{$value}fail}
+.endd
+If the data for a PTR record is not a syntactically valid IP address, it is not
+altered and nothing is added.
.cindex "MX record" "in &(dnsdb)& lookup"
.cindex "SRV record" "in &(dnsdb)& lookup"
For an MX lookup, both the preference value and the host name are returned for
each record, separated by a space. For an SRV lookup, the priority, weight,
port, and host name are returned for each record, separated by spaces.
-An alternate field separator can be specified using a comma after the main
-separator character, followed immediately by the field separator.
+The field separator can be modified as above.
.cindex "TXT record" "in &(dnsdb)& lookup"
.cindex "SPF record" "in &(dnsdb)& lookup"
For TXT records with multiple items of data, only the first item is returned,
-unless a separator for them is specified using a comma after the separator
-character followed immediately by the TXT record item separator. To concatenate
-items without a separator, use a semicolon instead. For SPF records the
+unless a field separator is specified.
+To concatenate items without a separator, use a semicolon instead.
+For SPF records the
default behaviour is to concatenate multiple items without using a separator.
.code
${lookup dnsdb{>\n,: txt=a.b.example}}
It is permitted to specify a space as the separator character. Further
white space is ignored.
+.cindex "SOA record" "in &(dnsdb)& lookup"
+For an SOA lookup, while no result is obtained the lookup is redone with
+successively more leading components dropped from the given domain.
+Only the primary-nameserver field is returned unless a field separator is
+specified.
+.code
+${lookup dnsdb{>:,; soa=a.b.example.com}}
+.endd
+
.section "Dnsdb lookup modifiers" "SECTdnsdb_mod"
.cindex "dnsdb modifiers"
.cindex "modifiers" "dnsdb"
See also the &$lookup_dnssec_authenticated$& variable.
+.cindex timeout "dns lookup"
+.cindex "DNS" timeout
+Timeout for the dnsdb lookup can be controlled by a retrans modifier.
+The form is &"retrans_VAL"& where VAL is an Exim time specification
+(eg &"5s"&).
+The default value is set by the main configuration option &%dns_retrans%&.
+
+Retries for the dnsdb lookup can be controlled by a retry modifier.
+The form if &"retry_VAL"& where VAL is an integer.
+The default count is set by the main configuration option &%dns_retry%&.
+
.section "Pseudo dnsdb record types" "SECID66"
.cindex "MX record" "in &(dnsdb)& lookup"
.vitem &*${sort{*&<&'string'&>&*}{*&<&'comparator'&>&*}{*&<&'extractor'&>&*}}*&
-.cindex sorting a list
+.cindex sorting "a list"
.cindex list sorting
+.cindex expansion "list sorting"
After expansion, <&'string'&> is interpreted as a list, colon-separated by
default, but the separator can be changed in the usual way.
The <&'comparator'&> argument is interpreted as the operator
.option dns_retrans main time 0s
.cindex "DNS" "resolver options"
+.cindex timeout "dns lookup"
+.cindex "DNS" timeout
The options &%dns_retrans%& and &%dns_retry%& can be used to set the
retransmission and retry parameters for DNS lookups. Values of zero (the
defaults) leave the system default settings unchanged. The first value is the
.cindex "DNS" "DNSSEC"
DNS lookups for domains matching &%dnssec_request_domains%& will be done with
the dnssec request bit set. Any returns not having the Authenticated Data bit
-(AD bit) set wil be ignored and logged as a host-lookup failure.
+(AD bit) set will be ignored and logged as a host-lookup failure.
This applies to all of the SRV, MX, AAAA, A lookup sequence.