resolv.conf doesn't really need a "search" directive, unless the box is in a different domain. Just setup as such
domain yourdomain.tld
nameserver 10.0.0.5
nameserver 10.0.0.7
etc... obviously replace the nameservers with whatever you're using.
You don't need a "client" for DNS, most network applications have dns resolution system calls built-in.
You can test the setup using any one of several DNS diagnostic tools: dig, host, and nslookup. Note that nslookup is deprecated, so I suggest learning to use dig and host. dig wil give you a lot more information, while host has neat and tidy output.
As long as you have your resolv.conf file configured to use your own nameserver, then doing
$ dig
www.google.com
should use your own server.
You'll know what server was used by the last few lines of the dig output:
Code:
;; Query time: 325 msec
;; SERVER: 10.0.0.5#53(10.0.0.5)
;; WHEN: Mon Dec 22 13:49:29 2003
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 257
