DNSOnDebianUbuntu: Installation and Configuration of DNS Servers on Debian and Ubuntu
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# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
# any later version.
#
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# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
# GNU General Public License for more details.
#
# - You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
# along with this program. If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
# - There will be 2 DNS Servers, 1 Primary (Master) and 1 Replica (Slave).
# - For every domain on the internet, at least 2 DNS Servers are needed. So if
# you want to run your own DNS Server, you need at least 2 servers.
# - If you need DNS Servers for your internal network, it might be a good idea
# to install a spare one.
# - I, myself prefer using www.cloudfare.com for DNS services of my domain. But
# you may prefer running on your servers.
#
# My Specs: (Change the values to your ones)
# Both DNS Servers can be Debian 12/11 or Ubuntu 22.04/20.04 Server
# Domain Name: x11.xyz (Change it to your domain name)
# Primary DNS Server: ns1.x11.xyz 192.168.1.224
# Replica DNS Server: ns2.x11.xyz 192.168.1.225
# Some sample servers to add as DNS records:
# filesrv.x11.xyz: 192.168.1.171
# mail.x11.xyz: 192.168.1.172
# mailsrv as a canonical name for mail
# mail as a mail server for the domain
# Google DNS server 8.8.8.8 is used as forwarder DNSs
#
# - I tested the tutorial with Debian 11, Debian 12, Ubuntu 22.04 and Ubuntu
# 22.04 pairs.
#
# Sources:
https://www.linuxtechi.com/install-configure-bind-9-dns-server-ubuntu-debian/
https://www.packtpub.com/networking-and-servers/mastering-ubuntu-server-second-edition
https://bind9.readthedocs.io
#-- 1.0. Update Repositories
sudo apt update
#-- 1.1. Install bind9 (DNS Server)
sudo apt -y install bind9
#
#-- 1.2. Edit main config file
sudo nano /etc/bind/named.conf.options
# Change as below
options {
# Cache Directory
directory "/var/cache/bind";
# Allow replica to transfer zone files
allow-transfer { localhost; 192.168.1.225; };
# Allow queries from any hosts
allow-query { any; };
# Use Google DNS as forwarder
forwarders { 8.8.8.8; };
# Automatic DNS Security validation
dnssec-validation auto;
# Listen on IP4 from all interfaces
listen-on { any; };
# Allow recursions
recursion yes;
};
#
#-- 1.3. Add a Forward and a Reverse Zone.
sudo nano /etc/bind/named.conf.local
# Forward zone
zone "x11.xyz" IN {
type master;
file "/etc/bind/forward.x11.xyz";
};
# Reverse zone
zone "1.168.192.in-addr.arpa" IN {
type master;
file "/etc/bind/reverse.x11.xyz";
};
#
#-- 1.4. Fill the Forward File We Just Defined
sudo nano /etc/bind/forward.x11.xyz
$TTL 1D
@ IN SOA ns1.x11.xyz hostmaster.x11.xyz (
2022060501 ; serial
8H ; Refresh
4H ; Retry
4W ; Expire
1D ; Minimum TTL
)
; Name Server of the domain
@ IN NS ns1.
; Mail server of the domain
@ IN MX 10 mail.x11.xyz.
; A Records for Hosts
ns1 IN A 192.168.1.224
ns2 IN A 192.168.1.225
filesrv IN A 192.168.1.171
mail IN A 192.168.1.172
# CNAME Record
mailsrv IN CNAME mail.x11.xyz.
#-- 2.0. Update Repositories
sudo apt update
#-- 2.1. Install bind9 (DNS Server)
sudo apt -y install bind9
#
#-- 2.2. Edit Main Config File
sudo nano /etc/bind/named.conf.options
options {
# Cache Directory
directory "/var/cache/bind";
# Allow queries from any hosts
allow-query { any; };
# Use Google DNS as forwarder
forwarders { 8.8.8.8; };
# Automatic DNS Security validation
dnssec-validation auto;
# Listen on IP4 from all interfaces
listen-on { any; };
# Allow recursions
recursion yes;
};
#
#-- 2.3. Add the Local Zones
# These zones will be replicated from the Primary DNS
sudo nano /etc/bind/named.conf.local
zone "x11.xyz" IN {
type slave;
masters { 192.168.1.224; };
file "/var/lib/bind/forward.x11.xyz";
};
zone "1.168.192.in-addr.arpa" IN {
type slave;
masters { 192.168.1.224; };
file "/var/lib/bind/reverse.x11.xyz";
};
# This time local zone file is placed at /var/lib
# and it will be populated automatically
#
#-- 2.4. Check Configuration Files
sudo named-checkconf /etc/bind/named.conf.options
sudo named-checkconf /etc/bind/named.conf.local
#-- 3.1. Restart DNS on both primary and replica
sudo systemctl restart bind9
# - Your name servers must be working now. You can query them from any host
# in the network with dig command:
dig @192.168.1.224 mail.x11.xyz
#
#-- 3.2. Notes
# !!! Remember !!!
# - When you change the zone file on your primary server, remember to increase
# the number given before serial.
# - You can change DNS server settings of your computers (including DNS Servers)
# to the new DNS servers.