Question:
Since I upgraded to TCPware v5.4, I get the following OPCOM messages from NAMED. What are they and can I disable them?

   %%%%%%%%%%% OPCOM 28-JAN-2000 10:05:01.64 %%%%%%%%%%%
   Message from user SYSTEM on PSC1
   named: NSTATS 949053901 949053895

   %%%%%%%%%%% OPCOM  28-JAN-2000 10:05:01.65 %%%%%%%%%%%
   Message from user SYSTEM on PSC1
   named: XSTATS 949053901 949053895 RR=1 RNXD=0 RFwdR=0 RDupR=0 RFail=0
   RFErr=0 RErr=0 RAXFR=0 RLame=0 ROpts=0 SSysQ=1 SAns=0 SFwdQ=0
   SDupQ=0 SErr=0 RQ=0 RIQ=0 RFwdQ=0 RDupQ=0 RTCP=0 SFwdR=0 SFail=0 SFErr=0
   SNaAns=0 SNXD=0

   %%%%%%%%%%%  OPCOM 29-JAN-2000 10:41:20.02 %%%%%%%%%%%
   Message from user SYSTEM on PSC1
   named: Lame server on 'node1.process.com'  (in 'process.com'?):
   [10.1.0.2].53 'C.ROOT-SERVERS.NET'

Answer:
These are informational messages from the new BIND v8 nameserver; none of them represents a serious problem. The NSTATS and XSTATS messages (the first two shown) are the statistics for the currently running nameserver and the last message means the nameserver has found a 'lame server.' A lame server is a supposedly a server with authority for a particular zone, but is not configured as such.

Using the new configuration options, these and other informational messages can be surpressed easily or even sent to a file rather than to OPCOM. The new nameserver in TCPware has a truly advanced logging configuration that provides a lot more control than in the previous version.

Add the following logging statement to your NAMED.CONF file keep all informational messages from going to OPCOM:

  logging {
    channel no_info_opcom {
        syslog daemon;
        severity notice;
        print-severity yes;
        print-category yes;
      };

    category default { no_info_opcom; default_debug; };
  };

The Bind 8 Configuration File Guide has in depth information on how to configure logging for the BIND v8 server. You can find the guide at http://www.support.process.com/bind_v_8.html.