Setting Up Local Caching DNS

[trlists at clayst.com (trlists at clayst.com)]

I have a firewall on my home network running Slackware, with the 2.4.20 
kernel and using iptables.

My questions are about how to set up named for caching (when I get this 
sorted out I'll look to set up sendmail to handle outbound mail).

I have named set up now with the files shown below, which I got from 
somewhere as a caching configuration.  I understood them when I 
installed them, and they seemed right, but as time goes on I'm not at 
all clear that the caching is working.  I often see what look like DNS 
delays for domains I've accessed recently, and I also cannot find any 
log entries for named even though the reference manual seems to say 
that logging to syslog is enabled by default.  It is definitely running 
as shown via ps, and the startup line in rc.inet2 starts it with no 
parameters.

Does anyone see any problems with what's below?  Am I missing something 
obvious that needs to be set here to enable the logging and see if it 
is really caching?

I do know that I have not limited access to the DNS in the config file, 
and probably should. However the iptables settings should take care of 
any attempted external connections.

Thanks,

Tom

================================================================


named.conf:

     options {
             directory "/var/named";
             forward first;
             forwarders {
                ..... < DNS addresses for my ISP here>
             };
     };
     
     zone "." IN {
             type hint;
             file "root.hints";
     };
     
     zone "localhost" IN {
             type master;
             file "localhost.zone";
             allow-update { none; };
     };
     
     zone "0.0.127.in-addr.arpa" IN {
             type master;
             file "127.0.0";
             allow-update { none; };
     };

root.hints lists the root servers with IPs

localhost.zone is:

     $TTL    86400
     $ORIGIN localhost.
     @   1D IN SOA   @ root (
                      1               ; serial (TER)
                         3H              ; refresh
                         15M             ; retry
                         1W              ; expiry
                         1D )            ; minimum

                         1D IN NS        @
                         1D IN A         127.0.0.1


and 127.0.0 is:

     $TTL    86400
     @       IN  SOA   localhost. root.localhost.  (
                         1          ; Serial
                         28800      ; Refresh
                         14400      ; Retry
                         3600000    ; Expire
                         86400 )    ; Minimum
                   IN      NS      localhost.

     1       IN      PTR     localhost.