resolver: lower-case DNS names in record values (closes #157)

Nameservers may answer with DNS names in any letter case. For eeqj.de,
y.ns.joker.com answers in upper case while its peers answer in lower
case, so the inconsistency check fired on every cycle. extractRecordValue
now lower-cases CNAME, MX, SRV and NS targets, so the inconsistency check
and the record-change check both compare names regardless of case. A,
AAAA, TXT and CAA values are formatted as before. State saved before this
change can hold upper-case names, which report a one-time record change
on the first check after upgrading.

Model: opus-5-5

README.md

@@ -61,6 +61,10 @@ rejected.
   record types: A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, SRV, CAA, NS.
 - Stores results **per nameserver**. The state for a hostname is not a
   merged view — it is a map from nameserver to record set.
+- DNS names inside record values (CNAME, MX, SRV and NS targets) are
+  stored in lower case, because names are case-insensitive and
+  nameservers may answer in any letter case. TXT and CAA values keep
+  their letter case; they are not lower-cased.
 - Any observable change in any nameserver's response triggers a
   notification. This includes:
   - **Record change**: A nameserver returns different records than it

TODO.md

@@ -23,6 +23,9 @@ Rationale, Design, TODO, License, Author) if any are still missing.
 
 # Completed Steps
 
+- 2026-09-28: DNS names in record values (CNAME, MX, SRV and NS targets) are
+  lower-cased, so nameservers that answer in different letter case no longer
+  count as inconsistent or as a record change (closes #157).
 - 2026-09-28: `script/cibuild` and `script/docker` now pass
   `--no-cache-filter=lint,builder` so lint and tests run every build (closes
   #115).

internal/resolver/export_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+package resolver
+
+import "github.com/miekg/dns"
+
+// ExtractRecordValue exports extractRecordValue for testing.
+func ExtractRecordValue(rr dns.RR) string {
+	return extractRecordValue(rr)
+}

internal/resolver/iterative.go

@@ -608,7 +608,10 @@ func classifyResponse(resp *NameserverResponse, state queryState) {
 	}
 }
 
-// extractRecordValue formats a DNS RR value as a string.
+// extractRecordValue formats a DNS RR value as a string. DNS names
+// are case-insensitive and nameservers may answer in any letter case,
+// so names are lower-cased to compare equal. TXT and CAA values keep
+// their letter case.
 func extractRecordValue(rr dns.RR) string {
 	switch r := rr.(type) {
 	case *dns.A:
@@ -616,22 +619,22 @@ func extractRecordValue(rr dns.RR) string {
 	case *dns.AAAA:
 		return r.AAAA.String()
 	case *dns.CNAME:
-		return r.Target
+		return strings.ToLower(r.Target)
 	case *dns.MX:
-		return fmt.Sprintf("%d %s", r.Preference, r.Mx)
+		return fmt.Sprintf("%d %s", r.Preference, strings.ToLower(r.Mx))
 	case *dns.TXT:
 		return strings.Join(r.Txt, "")
 	case *dns.SRV:
 		return fmt.Sprintf(
 			"%d %d %d %s",
-			r.Priority, r.Weight, r.Port, r.Target,
+			r.Priority, r.Weight, r.Port, strings.ToLower(r.Target),
 		)
 	case *dns.CAA:
 		return fmt.Sprintf(
 			"%d %s \"%s\"", r.Flag, r.Tag, r.Value,
 		)
 	case *dns.NS:
-		return r.Ns
+		return strings.ToLower(r.Ns)
 	default:
 		return ""
 	}

internal/resolver/iterative_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+package resolver_test
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/miekg/dns"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+
+	"sneak.berlin/go/dnswatcher/internal/resolver"
+)
+
+func TestExtractRecordValue_LetterCase(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name string
+		rr   dns.RR
+		want string
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "MX target lower-cased",
+			rr:   &dns.MX{Preference: 1, Mx: "ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM."},
+			want: "1 aspmx.l.google.com.",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "NS target lower-cased",
+			rr:   &dns.NS{Ns: "x.ns.joker.COM."},
+			want: "x.ns.joker.com.",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "CNAME target lower-cased",
+			rr:   &dns.CNAME{Target: "WWW.Example.Com."},
+			want: "www.example.com.",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "SRV target lower-cased",
+			rr: &dns.SRV{
+				Priority: 10, Weight: 5, Port: 443,
+				Target: "SIP.Example.Com.",
+			},
+			want: "10 5 443 sip.example.com.",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "TXT value keeps its case",
+			rr:   &dns.TXT{Txt: []string{"Verify=AbC123"}},
+			want: "Verify=AbC123",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "CAA value keeps its case",
+			rr:   &dns.CAA{Flag: 0, Tag: "issue", Value: "LetsEncrypt.org"},
+			want: `0 issue "LetsEncrypt.org"`,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+
+			assert.Equal(t, tt.want, resolver.ExtractRecordValue(tt.rr))
+		})
+	}
+}