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

Question

Options

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

• A
  6% (2)
• B
  14% (5)
• C
  3% (1)
• D
  77% (27)

Explanation

/etc/resolv.conf is the DNS resolver configuration file on Linux/Unix systems, and it uses a specific set of directives - domain, search, nameserver, and options. Option D (domain mycompany.com) is valid because the domain directive sets the default search domain appended to unqualified hostnames, making it a legitimate entry in this file.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A (order hosts,bind) - This syntax belongs to /etc/host.conf, the older resolver configuration file that controls lookup order on some systems.
• B (192.168.168.4 dns-server) - This format (IP followed by hostname) is the syntax for /etc/hosts, not resolv.conf. In resolv.conf, a nameserver is declared as nameserver 192.168.168.4 (keyword first, no hostname label).
• C (hosts: files,dns) - This is NSS (Name Service Switch) syntax from /etc/nsswitch.conf, which controls which sources are consulted and in what order for various lookups.

Memory tip: Think of resolv.conf as containing only four keywords - nameserver, domain, search, and options. If you see anything else (a bare IP with a label, order, or a colon-separated list), it belongs to a different file.

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