</dnsmasq_intro>

<dnsmasq_DNS_cache_settings>DNS Cache settings<//dnsmasq_intro>
<dnsmasq_DNS_cache_settings>DNS Cache settings</dnsmasq_DNS_cache_settings>
<dnsmasq_DNS_cache_settings_text>Parameters in order to drive the DnsMasq caching addresses </dnsmasq_DNS_cache_settings_text>
<dnsmasq_intro>
Dnsmasq is a lightweight, easy to configure DNS forwarder and DHCP server.[br]
 It is designed to provide DNS and, optionally, DHCP, to a small network.[br]
It can serve the names of local machines which are not in the global DNS.[br]
The DHCP server integrates with the DNS server and allows machines with DHCP-allocated addresses to appear in the DNS with names configured either in each host or in a central configuration file.[br]
Dnsmasq supports static and dynamic DHCP leases and BOOTP/TFTP for network booting of diskless machines.[br]
Dnsmasq is targeted at home networks using NAT and connected to the internet via a modem, cable-modem or ADSL connection but would be a good choice for any smallish network (up to 1000 clients is known to work) where low resource use and ease of configuration are important. 
[H4]Dnsmasq provides the following features:[/H4]
<ul>
[li]The DNS configuration of machines behind the firewall is simple and doesn't depend on the details of the ISP's dns servers[/li]
[li]Clients which try to do DNS lookups while a modem link to the internet is down will time out immediately.[/li]
[li]Dnsmasq will serve names from the /etc/hosts file on the firewall machine: If the names of local machines are there, then they can all be addressed without having to maintain /etc/hosts on each machine.[/li]
[li] The integrated DHCP server supports static and dynamic DHCP leases and multiple networks and IP ranges.[br] It works across BOOTP relays and supports DHCP options including RFC3397 DNS search lists.[br]
Machines which are configured by DHCP have their names automatically included in the DNS and the names can specified by each machine or centrally by associating a name with a MAC address in the dnsmasq config file.[/li]
[li]<strong>Dnsmasq caches internet addresses (A records and AAAA records) and address-to-name mappings (PTR records), reducing the load on upstream servers and improving performance (especially on modem connections).</dnsmasq_intro>
<domain-needed>domain needed</domain-needed>
<domain-needed_text>Never forward plain names (without a dot or domain part)</domain-needed_text>
