# Tools to analyse DNS traffic
-DNS is highly mission critical, it is therefore necessary to be able to study and compare DNS traffic. Since version 2.9.18, PowerDNS comes with various tools to aid in analysis. These tools are best documented by their manpages, and their `--help` output.
+DNS is highly mission critical, it is therefore necessary to be able to
+study and compare DNS traffic. Since version 2.9.18, PowerDNS comes with
+various tools to aid in analysis. These tools are best documented by their
+manpages, and their `--help` output.
+
+The PowerDNS tools do not (yet) follow an independent release process.
+However, we keep them working, and they are shipped with PowerDNS
+Authoritative Server tarballs.
+
+In addition, our build infrastructure creates fresh Linux packages for every
+commit, and these can be found on:
+
+ * <https://autotest.powerdns.com/job/auth-git-semistatic-deb-amd64/>
+ * <https://autotest.powerdns.com/job/auth-git-semistatic-deb-i386/>
+ * <https://autotest.powerdns.com/job/auth-git-semistatic-rpm-amd64/>
+ * <https://autotest.powerdns.com/job/auth-git-semistatic-rpm-i386/>
## `dnsreplay pcapfile [ipaddress] [port number]`
This program takes recorded questions and answers and replays them to a specified nameserver and reporting afterwards which percentage of answers matched, were worse or better.
## `dnsscope pcapfile`
Calculates statistics without replaying traffic.
+## `dnsgram`
+Creates statistics on 5-second segments of a pcap, allowing you to study intermittent
+performance problems.
+
## `dnsbulktest`
Send out thousands of queries in parallel from Alexa top list to stress out resolvers.
## `dnstcpbench`
Stress out DNS servers with TCP based queries, as read from a file.
+