How can I query .local bonjour DNS entries?

Question

It\'s pretty straightforward to query out the guts of a DNS-SD entry via dig by asking your nameserver directly; but for multicast DNS, I\'m not sure where to look.

Answer 1

The main utility is dns-sd, e.g.:

% dns-sd -B _afpovertcp._tcp
Browsing for _afpovertcp._tcp
Timestamp     A/R Flags if Domain           Service Type              Instance Name
20:02:23.350  Add     2  4 local.           _afpovertcp._tcp.         myhost

Answer 2

Aha, the secret is the multicast address/port.

For example, to query available AFP servers:

dig @224.0.0.251 -p 5353 -t ptr _afpovertcp._tcp.local