While troubleshooting uneven DNS-server load on a Linux workstation, you find that every name lookup is sent to the first IP address listed in /etc/resolv.conf, even when the query succeeds instantly. You want the resolver to cycle through the three configured name servers so that each successive lookup uses the next server in the list, distributing traffic more evenly. Which single line should you add to /etc/resolv.conf to achieve this behavior?
The directive that enables round-robin selection of the name servers listed in /etc/resolv.conf is the option rotate. Adding the line "options rotate" sets the RES_ROTATE flag in the resolver, so each new lookup starts with the next name server instead of always using the first. The other directives do not affect server-selection order:
"options attempts:5" only increases the number of retry cycles before the resolver gives up.
"options timeout:1" reduces the per-server response-wait time but does not rotate among servers if the first responds quickly.
"options ndots:5" changes when the search list is appended to unqualified names; it has no impact on which name server is chosen.
Therefore, adding "options rotate" is the correct solution.
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