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DNS Server Installation Step by Step Using CentOS 6.3

Written by SK on . Posted in CentOS, Fedora, Linux tutorials, Suse

DNS, Domain Name System, translates hostnames or URLs into IP addresses. For example if we type www.unixmen.com in browser, the DNS server translates the domain name into its associated ip address. Since the IP addresses are hard to remember, DNS servers are used to translate the hostnames like www.unixmen.com to 173.xxx.xx.xxx. So it makes easy to remember the domain names instead of its ip address.

DNS Server Installation in CentOS 6.3

Scenario

Primary(Master) DNS Server Details:

Operating System     : CentOS 6.3 server
Hostname             : masterdns.unixmen.local
IP Address           : 192.168.1.100/24

Secondary(Slave) DNS Server Details:

Operating System     : CentOS 6.3 server
Hostname             : secondarydns.unixmen.local
IP Address           : 192.168.1.101/24

Client Details:

Operating System     : CentOS 6.3 Desktop  
Hostname             : Client.unixmen.local
IP Address           : 192.168.1.102/24

Setup Primary(Master) DNS Server

[root@masterdns ~]# yum install bind* -y

1. Configure DNS Server

Add the lines as shown below in ‘/etc/named.conf’ file

[root@masterdns ~]# vi /etc/named.conf 
//
// named.conf
//
// Provided by Red Hat bind package to configure the ISC BIND named(8) DNS
// server as a caching only nameserver (as a localhost DNS resolver only).
//
// See /usr/share/doc/bind*/sample/ for example named configuration files.
//
options {
listen-on port 53 { 127.0.0.1; 192.168.1.100;}; ### Master DNS IP ###
listen-on-v6 port 53 { ::1; };
directory "/var/named";
dump-file "/var/named/data/cache_dump.db";
        statistics-file "/var/named/data/named_stats.txt";
        memstatistics-file "/var/named/data/named_mem_stats.txt";
allow-query     { localhost; 192.168.1.0/24;}; ### IP Range ### 
allow-transfer{ localhost; 192.168.1.101; };   ### Slave DNS IP ###
recursion yes;
dnssec-enable yes;
dnssec-validation yes;
dnssec-lookaside auto;
/* Path to ISC DLV key */
bindkeys-file "/etc/named.iscdlv.key";
managed-keys-directory "/var/named/dynamic";
};
logging {
        channel default_debug {
                file "data/named.run";
                severity dynamic;
        };
};
zone "." IN {
type hint;
file "named.ca";
};
zone"unixmen.local" IN {
type master;
file "forward.unixmen";
allow-update { none; };
};
zone"1.168.192.in-addr.arpa" IN {
type master;
file "reverse.unixmen";
allow-update { none; };
};
include "/etc/named.rfc1912.zones";
include "/etc/named.root.key";

2. Create Zone files

Create forward and reverse zone files which we mentioned in the ‘/etc/named.conf’ file.

2.1 Create Forward Zone

Create forward.unixmen file in the ‘/var/named’ directory.

[root@masterdns ~]# vi /var/named/forward.unixmen
$TTL 86400
@   IN  SOA     masterdns.unixmen.local. root.unixmen.local. (
        2011071001  ;Serial
        3600        ;Refresh
        1800        ;Retry
        604800      ;Expire
        86400       ;Minimum TTL
)
@       IN  NS          masterdns.unixmen.local.
@       IN  NS          secondarydns.unixmen.local.
@       IN  A           192.168.1.100
@       IN  A           192.168.1.101
@       IN  A           192.168.1.102
masterdns       IN  A   192.168.1.100
secondarydns    IN  A   192.168.1.101
client          IN  A   192.168.1.102

2.2 Create Reverse Zone

Create reverse.unixmen file in the ‘/var/named’ directory.

[root@masterdns ~]# vi /var/named/reverse.unixmen 
$TTL 86400
@   IN  SOA     masterdns.unixmen.local. root.unixmen.local. (
        2011071001  ;Serial
        3600        ;Refresh
        1800        ;Retry
        604800      ;Expire
        86400       ;Minimum TTL
)
@       IN  NS          masterdns.unixmen.local.
@       IN  NS          secondarydns.unixmen.local.
@       IN  PTR         unixmen.local.
masterdns       IN  A   192.168.1.100
secondarydns    IN  A   192.168.1.101
client          IN  A   192.168.1.102
100     IN  PTR         masterdns.unixmen.local.
101     IN  PTR         secondarydns.unixmen.local.
102     IN  PTR         client.unixmen.local.

3. Start the DNS service

[root@masterdns ~]# service named start
Starting named:                                            [  OK  ]
[root@masterdns ~]# chkconfig named on

4. Adjust iptables to allow DNS server from outside of the network

Add the lines as shown below in ‘/etc/sysconfig/iptables’ file.

[root@masterdns ~]# vi /etc/sysconfig/iptables
# Firewall configuration written by system-config-firewall
# Manual customization of this file is not recommended.
*filter
:INPUT ACCEPT [0:0]
:FORWARD ACCEPT [0:0]
:OUTPUT ACCEPT [0:0]
-A INPUT -p udp -m state --state NEW --dport 53 -j ACCEPT
-A INPUT -p tcp -m state --state NEW --dport 53 -j ACCEPT
-A INPUT -m state --state ESTABLISHED,RELATED -j ACCEPT
-A INPUT -p icmp -j ACCEPT
-A INPUT -i lo -j ACCEPT
-A INPUT -m state --state NEW -m tcp -p tcp --dport 22 -j ACCEPT
-A INPUT -j REJECT --reject-with icmp-host-prohibited
-A FORWARD -j REJECT --reject-with icmp-host-prohibited
COMMIT

5. Restart iptables

[root@masterdns ~]# service iptables restart
iptables: Flushing firewall rules:                         [  OK  ]
iptables: Setting chains to policy ACCEPT: filter          [  OK  ]
iptables: Unloading modules:                               [  OK  ]
iptables: Applying firewall rules:                         [  OK  ]

6. Test DNS configuration and zone files for any syntax errors

[root@masterdns ~]# named-checkconf /etc/named.conf 
[root@masterdns ~]# named-checkzone unixmen.local /var/named/forward.unixmen 
zone unixmen.local/IN: loaded serial 2011071001
OK
[root@masterdns ~]# named-checkzone unixmen.local /var/named/reverse.unixmen 
zone unixmen.local/IN: loaded serial 2011071001
OK

7. Test DNS Server

[root@masterdns ~]# dig masterdns.unixmen.local
; <<>> DiG 9.8.2rc1-RedHat-9.8.2-0.10.rc1.el6_3.6 <<>> masterdns.unixmen.local
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 49834
;; flags: qr aa rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 2, ADDITIONAL: 1
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;masterdns.unixmen.local.INA
;; ANSWER SECTION:
masterdns.unixmen.local. 86400INA192.168.1.100
;; AUTHORITY SECTION:
unixmen.local.86400INNSsecondarydns.unixmen.local.
unixmen.local.86400INNSmasterdns.unixmen.local.
;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
secondarydns.unixmen.local. 86400 INA192.168.1.101
;; Query time: 6 msec
;; SERVER: 192.168.1.100#53(192.168.1.100)
;; WHEN: Thu Mar  7 13:07:56 2013
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 114
[root@masterdns ~]# nslookup unixmen.local
Server:192.168.1.100
Address:192.168.1.100#53
Name:unixmen.local
Address: 192.168.1.102
Name:unixmen.local
Address: 192.168.1.100
Name:unixmen.local
Address: 192.168.1.101

Now the Primary DNS server is ready to use.

Setup Secondary(Slave) DNS Server

[root@secondarydns ~]# yum install bind* -y

1. Configure Slave DNS Server

Open the main configuration file ‘/etc/named.conf’ and add the lines as shown below.

[root@secondarydns ~]# vi /etc/named.conf 
//
// named.conf
//
// Provided by Red Hat bind package to configure the ISC BIND named(8) DNS
// server as a caching only nameserver (as a localhost DNS resolver only).
//
// See /usr/share/doc/bind*/sample/ for example named configuration files.
//
options {
listen-on port 53 { 127.0.0.1; 192.168.1.101;};
listen-on-v6 port 53 { ::1; };
directory "/var/named";
dump-file "/var/named/data/cache_dump.db";
        statistics-file "/var/named/data/named_stats.txt";
        memstatistics-file "/var/named/data/named_mem_stats.txt";
allow-query     { localhost; 192.168.1.0/24;};
recursion yes;
dnssec-enable yes;
dnssec-validation yes;
dnssec-lookaside auto;
/* Path to ISC DLV key */
bindkeys-file "/etc/named.iscdlv.key";
managed-keys-directory "/var/named/dynamic";
};
logging {
        channel default_debug {
                file "data/named.run";
                severity dynamic;
        };
};
zone "." IN {
type hint;
file "named.ca";
};
zone"unixmen.local" IN {
type slave;
file "slaves/unixmen.fwd";
masters { 192.168.1.100; };
};
zone"1.168.192.in-addr.arpa" IN {
type slave;
file "slaves/unixmen.rev";
masters { 192.168.1.100; };
};
include "/etc/named.rfc1912.zones";
include "/etc/named.root.key";

2. Start the DNS Service

[root@secondarydns ~]# service named start
Generating /etc/rndc.key:                                  [  OK  ]
Starting named:                                            [  OK  ]
[root@secondarydns ~]# chkconfig named on

Now the forward and reverse zones are automatically replicated from Master DNS server to ‘/var/named/slaves/’ in Secondary DNS server.

[root@secondarydns ~]# ls /var/named/slaves/
unixmen.fwd  unixmen.rev
[root@secondarydns ~]# cat /var/named/slaves/unixmen.fwd 
$ORIGIN .
$TTL 86400; 1 day
unixmen.localIN SOAmasterdns.unixmen.local. root.unixmen.local. (
2011071001 ; serial
3600       ; refresh (1 hour)
1800       ; retry (30 minutes)
604800     ; expire (1 week)
86400      ; minimum (1 day)
)
NS masterdns.unixmen.local.
NS secondarydns.unixmen.local.
A192.168.1.100
A192.168.1.101
A192.168.1.102
$ORIGIN unixmen.local.
clientA192.168.1.102
masterdnsA192.168.1.100
secondarydnsA192.168.1.101
[root@secondarydns ~]# cat /var/named/slaves/unixmen.rev 
$ORIGIN .
$TTL 86400; 1 day
1.168.192.in-addr.arpaIN SOAmasterdns.unixmen.local. root.unixmen.local. (
2011071001 ; serial
3600       ; refresh (1 hour)
1800       ; retry (30 minutes)
604800     ; expire (1 week)
86400      ; minimum (1 day)
)
NS masterdns.unixmen.local.
NS secondarydns.unixmen.local.
PTRunixmen.local.
$ORIGIN 1.168.192.in-addr.arpa.
100PTRmasterdns.unixmen.local.
101PTRsecondarydns.unixmen.local.
102PTRclient.unixmen.local.
clientA192.168.1.102
masterdnsA192.168.1.100
secondarydnsA192.168.1.101

3. Add the DNS Server details to all systems

[root@secondarydns ~]# vi /etc/resolv.conf
# Generated by NetworkManager
search ostechnix.com
nameserver 192.168.1.100
nameserver 192.168.1.101
nameserver 8.8.8.8

4. Test DNS Server

[root@secondarydns ~]# dig masterdns.unixmen.local
; <<>> DiG 9.8.2rc1-RedHat-9.8.2-0.10.rc1.el6_3.6 <<>> masterdns.unixmen.local
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 21487
;; flags: qr aa rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 2, ADDITIONAL: 1
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;masterdns.unixmen.local.INA
;; ANSWER SECTION:
masterdns.unixmen.local. 86400INA192.168.1.100
;; AUTHORITY SECTION:
unixmen.local.86400INNSmasterdns.unixmen.local.
unixmen.local.86400INNSsecondarydns.unixmen.local.
;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
secondarydns.unixmen.local. 86400 INA192.168.1.101
;; Query time: 15 msec
;; SERVER: 192.168.1.100#53(192.168.1.100)
;; WHEN: Thu Mar  7 13:27:57 2013
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 114
[root@secondarydns ~]# dig secondarydns.unixmen.local
; <<>> DiG 9.8.2rc1-RedHat-9.8.2-0.10.rc1.el6_3.6 <<>> secondarydns.unixmen.local
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 20958
;; flags: qr aa rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 2, ADDITIONAL: 1
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;secondarydns.unixmen.local.INA
;; ANSWER SECTION:
secondarydns.unixmen.local. 86400 INA192.168.1.101
;; AUTHORITY SECTION:
unixmen.local.86400INNSmasterdns.unixmen.local.
unixmen.local.86400INNSsecondarydns.unixmen.local.
;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
masterdns.unixmen.local. 86400INA192.168.1.100
;; Query time: 4 msec
;; SERVER: 192.168.1.100#53(192.168.1.100)
;; WHEN: Thu Mar  7 13:31:53 2013
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 114
[root@secondarydns ~]# nslookup unixmen.local
Server:192.168.1.100
Address:192.168.1.100#53
Name:unixmen.local
Address: 192.168.1.101
Name:unixmen.local
Address: 192.168.1.102
Name:unixmen.local
Address: 192.168.1.100

Client Side Configuration

Add the DNS server details in ‘/etc/resolv.conf’ file in all client systems

[root@client unixmen]# vi /etc/resolv.conf
# Generated by NetworkManager
search unixmen.local
nameserver 192.168.1.100
nameserver 192.168.1.101
nameserver 8.8.8.8

Test DNS Server

[root@client unixmen]# dig masterdns.unixmen.local
; <<>> DiG 9.8.2rc1-RedHat-9.8.2-0.10.rc1.el6 <<>> masterdns.unixmen.local
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 19496
;; flags: qr aa rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 2, ADDITIONAL: 1
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;masterdns.unixmen.local.INA
;; ANSWER SECTION:
masterdns.unixmen.local. 86400INA192.168.1.100
;; AUTHORITY SECTION:
unixmen.local.86400INNSmasterdns.unixmen.local.
unixmen.local.86400INNSsecondarydns.unixmen.local.
;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
secondarydns.unixmen.local. 86400 INA192.168.1.101
;; Query time: 30 msec
;; SERVER: 192.168.1.100#53(192.168.1.100)
;; WHEN: Thu Mar  7 13:47:55 2013
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 114
[root@client unixmen]# dig secondarydns.unixmen.local
; <<>> DiG 9.8.2rc1-RedHat-9.8.2-0.10.rc1.el6 <<>> secondarydns.unixmen.local
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 14852
;; flags: qr aa rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 2, ADDITIONAL: 1
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;secondarydns.unixmen.local.INA
;; ANSWER SECTION:
secondarydns.unixmen.local. 86400 INA192.168.1.101
;; AUTHORITY SECTION:
unixmen.local.86400INNSsecondarydns.unixmen.local.
unixmen.local.86400INNSmasterdns.unixmen.local.
;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
masterdns.unixmen.local. 86400INA192.168.1.100
;; Query time: 8 msec
;; SERVER: 192.168.1.100#53(192.168.1.100)
;; WHEN: Thu Mar  7 13:48:38 2013
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 114
[root@client unixmen]# dig client.unixmen.local
; <<>> DiG 9.8.2rc1-RedHat-9.8.2-0.10.rc1.el6 <<>> client.unixmen.local
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 14604
;; flags: qr aa rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 2, ADDITIONAL: 2
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;client.unixmen.local.INA
;; ANSWER SECTION:
client.unixmen.local.86400INA192.168.1.102
;; AUTHORITY SECTION:
unixmen.local.86400INNSmasterdns.unixmen.local.
unixmen.local.86400INNSsecondarydns.unixmen.local.
;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
masterdns.unixmen.local. 86400INA192.168.1.100
secondarydns.unixmen.local. 86400 INA192.168.1.101
;; Query time: 5 msec
;; SERVER: 192.168.1.100#53(192.168.1.100)
;; WHEN: Thu Mar  7 13:49:11 2013
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 137
[root@client unixmen]# nslookup unixmen.local
Server:192.168.1.100
Address:192.168.1.100#53
Name:unixmen.local
Address: 192.168.1.102
Name:unixmen.local
Address: 192.168.1.100
Name:unixmen.local
Address: 192.168.1.101

Thats all about it. Now the primary and secondary DNS servers are ready. Enjoy.

For questions please refer to our Q/A forum at : http://ask.unixmen.com

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5 Comment(s)

SK

I'm Senthilkumar a.k.a SK, a Linux Admin & Tech blogger, based and raised in Tamilnadu, India. I love very much to write about Linux, Open Source, Computers and Internet to help newbies of Linux and Open Source world. Apart from that, i like to review Internet tools and web services which are helpful for me and as well as for my readers.

  • Pingback: DNS (server) on CentOS 6.3 | 0ddn1x: tricks with *nix

  • Pingback: Setup your personal Cloud server in minutes using ownCloud | Ostechnix

  • AVG

    Hello SK,

    I have system with Centos 6.3 loaded on it and I want to convert it into a server that can be accessed over the internet and also shared with friends and family with read access.

    I know this post would be my starting point and I will have to also refer you owncloud post.

    This is my very first time using linux so could you please help me out? In the starting of the post you mention about Primary and Slave would this be applicable in my case too? Also are there any prerequisites that I need to follow before I jump onto setting up the DNS server? I would just be copying the code that you have typed out.

    FYI
    I do not have a domain name registered in my name.
    I have a internet connection that does not provide static ip.

    Thanks,
    AVG.

    • SK

      Hi AVG My apologies for the long delayed reply. I am not well for the last three weeks. So i took off from office and writing articles. Anyhow let us get through the point. You don’t need to setup secondary DNS server and if you wanna to access the cloud server from your local network, you don’t need to setup primary DNS server either. You can access owncloud server using “http://your-cloud-ip/owncloud”. If you wanna to access owncloud server through WAN, then only you need a static ip and you have to configure DNS server. The ISP members will point out your ip address to your domain, then you can access the owncloud using domain name instead of its ip address. You don’t have to do anything related this. The ISP team will take care of this. Hope it helps you.

      • AVG

        SK,
        I would like to have a system which can be accessed over the
        internet using credentials. So I am guessing I need to set up the
        secondary server.

        As I mentioned I am very new to Linux and
        had to even search for the terminal to enter the code. At this point I
        have a machine with Centos installed on it and that’s it. I need to
        create a web-site or something similar in which people can log-in and
        choose which files they need to download. In your reply if you break-up
        the steps in more granular format it would be helpful. If you would like to that this discussion offline you can email me as well.

        Thanks,

        AVG.

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You can actually unzip your secret archive by leaving out the -t option, instead using:

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it went to china.

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