Which of the following lines would you find in the file /etc/host.conf?

Question

Options

• Aorder hosts, bind
• B192.168.168.4 dns-server
• Chosts: files, dns
• Ddomain mycompany.com

• A
  71% (24)
• B
  9% (3)
• C
  3% (1)
• D
  18% (6)

Explanation

Option A is correct because /etc/host.conf is the resolver configuration file that controls how hostname resolution is performed - specifically, the order in which resolution methods are tried. The directive order hosts, bind tells the system to check /etc/hosts first, then query a DNS server (bind).

Why the distractors are wrong:

• B (192.168.168.4 dns-server) follows the IP-then-hostname format of /etc/hosts (the static lookup table), not host.conf.
• C (hosts: files, dns) belongs in /etc/nsswitch.conf, which uses that colon-and-comma syntax to configure the Name Service Switch.
• D (domain mycompany.com) is a directive for /etc/resolv.conf, which configures DNS resolver settings like the default search domain and nameserver addresses.

Memory tip: Think of host.conf as the traffic controller - it doesn't contain addresses or server names, it just sets the order of lookup methods. If a line tells the system where to look (IP addresses, domains, server names), it belongs in a different file.

No community discussion yet for this question.