DNS stands for “Domain Name System”, translates hostnames or URLs into IP addresses. For example, if we type www.unixmen.com in the browser, the DNS server translates the domain name into its associated IP address. Since the IP addresses are hard to remember all time, DNS servers are used to translate the hostnames like www.unixmen.com to 173.xxx.xx.xxx. So it makes it easy to remember the domain names instead of their IP address.
This detailed tutorial will help you to set up a local DNS server on your CentOS 7 system. However, the steps are applicable for setting up DNS server on RHEL and Scientific Linux 7 too.
DNS Server Installation
Scenario
For the purpose of this tutorial, I will be using three nodes. One will be acting as Master DNS server, the second system will be acting as Secondary DNS, and the third will be our DNS client. Here are my three systems details.
Primary (Master) DNS Server Details:
Operating System : CentOS 7 minimal server Hostname : masterdns.unixmen.local IP Address : 192.168.1.101/24
Secondary (Slave) DNS Server Details:
Operating System : CentOS 7 minimal server Hostname : secondarydns.unixmen.local IP Address : 192.168.1.102/24
Client Details:
Operating System : CentOS 6.5 Desktop Hostname : client.unixmen.local IP Address : 192.168.1.103/24
Setup Primary (Master) DNS Server
Install bind9 packages on your server.
yum install bind bind-utils -y
1. Configure DNS Server
Edit ‘/etc/named.conf’ file.
vi /etc/named.conf
Add the lines as shown in bold:
// // 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;}; ### 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; 192.168.1.102; }; ### Slave DNS IP ### /* - If you are building an AUTHORITATIVE DNS server, do NOT enable recursion. - If you are building a RECURSIVE (caching) DNS server, you need to enable recursion. - If your recursive DNS server has a public IP address, you MUST enable access control to limit queries to your legitimate users. Failing to do so will cause your server to become part of large scale DNS amplification attacks. Implementing BCP38 within your network would greatly reduce such attack surface */ 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"; pid-file "/run/named/named.pid"; session-keyfile "/run/named/session.key"; }; 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.
vi /var/named/forward.unixmen
Add the following lines:
$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 192.168.1.101 @ IN A 192.168.1.102 @ IN A 192.168.1.103 masterdns IN A 192.168.1.101 secondarydns IN A 192.168.1.102 client IN A 192.168.1.103
2.2 Create Reverse Zone
Create reverse.unixmen file in the ‘/var/named’ directory.
vi /var/named/reverse.unixmen
Add the following lines:
$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 192.168.1.101 secondarydns IN A 192.168.1.102 client IN A 192.168.1.103 101 IN PTR masterdns.unixmen.local. 102 IN PTR secondarydns.unixmen.local. 103 IN PTR client.unixmen.local.
3. Start the DNS service
Enable and start DNS service:
systemctl enable named systemctl start named
4. Firewall Configuration
We must allow the DNS service default port 53 through firewall.
firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=53/tcp
firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=53/udp
5. Restart Firewall
firewall-cmd --reload
6. Configuring Permissions, Ownership, and SELinux
Run the following commands one by one:
chgrp named -R /var/namedchown -v root:named /etc/named.confrestorecon /etc/named.confrestorecon -rv /var/named
7. Test DNS Configuration and Zone Files for any Syntax Errors
Check DNS default configuration file:
named-checkconf /etc/named.conf
If it returns nothing, your configuration file is valid.
Check Forward zone:
named-checkzone unixmen.local /var/named/forward.unixmen
Sample output:
zone unixmen.local/IN: loaded serial 2011071001 OK
Check reverse zone:
named-checkzone unixmen.local /var/named/reverse.unixmen
Sample Output:
zone unixmen.local/IN: loaded serial 2011071001 OK
Add the DNS Server details in your network interface config file.
vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-enp0s3
TYPE="Ethernet" BOOTPROTO="none" DEFROUTE="yes" IPV4_FAILURE_FATAL="no" IPV6INIT="yes" IPV6_AUTOCONF="yes" IPV6_DEFROUTE="yes" IPV6_FAILURE_FATAL="no" NAME="enp0s3" UUID="5d0428b3-6af2-4f6b-9fe3-4250cd839efa" ONBOOT="yes" HWADDR="08:00:27:19:68:73" IPADDR0="192.168.1.101" PREFIX0="24" GATEWAY0="192.168.1.1" DNS="192.168.1.101" IPV6_PEERDNS="yes" IPV6_PEERROUTES="yes"
Edit file /etc/resolv.conf,
vi /etc/resolv.conf
Add the name server ip address:
nameserver 192.168.1.101
Save and close the file.
Restart network service:
systemctl restart network
8. Test DNS Server
dig masterdns.unixmen.local
Sample Output:
; <<>> DiG 9.9.4-RedHat-9.9.4-14.el7 <<>> masterdns.unixmen.local ;; global options: +cmd ;; Got answer: ;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 25179 ;; flags: qr aa rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 2, ADDITIONAL: 2 ;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION: ; EDNS: version: 0, flags:; udp: 4096 ;; QUESTION SECTION: ;masterdns.unixmen.local. IN A ;; ANSWER SECTION: masterdns.unixmen.local. 86400 IN A 192.168.1.101 ;; AUTHORITY SECTION: unixmen.local. 86400 IN NS secondarydns.unixmen.local. unixmen.local. 86400 IN NS masterdns.unixmen.local. ;; ADDITIONAL SECTION: secondarydns.unixmen.local. 86400 IN A 192.168.1.102 ;; Query time: 0 msec ;; SERVER: 192.168.1.101#53(192.168.1.101) ;; WHEN: Wed Aug 20 16:20:46 IST 2014 ;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 125
nslookup unixmen.local
Sample Output:
Server: 192.168.1.101 Address: 192.168.1.101#53 Name: unixmen.local Address: 192.168.1.103 Name: unixmen.local Address: 192.168.1.101 Name: unixmen.local Address: 192.168.1.102
Now the Primary DNS server is ready to use.
It is time to configure our Secondary DNS server.
Setup Secondary(Slave) DNS Server
Install bind packages using the following command:
yum install bind bind-utils -y
1. Configure Slave DNS Server
Edit file ‘/etc/named.conf’:
vi /etc/named.conf
Make the changes as shown in bold.
// // 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; 192.168.1.102; }; 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; }; . . . . zone "." IN { type hint; file "named.ca"; }; zone "unixmen.local" IN { type slave; file "slaves/unixmen.fwd"; masters { 192.168.1.101; }; }; zone "1.168.192.in-addr.arpa" IN { type slave; file "slaves/unixmen.rev"; masters { 192.168.1.101; }; }; include "/etc/named.rfc1912.zones"; include "/etc/named.root.key";
2. Start the DNS Service
systemctl enable named systemctl start named
Now the forward and reverse zones are automatically replicated from the Master DNS server to ‘/var/named/slaves/’ in the Secondary DNS server.
ls /var/named/slaves/
Sample Output:
unixmen.fwd unixmen.rev
3. Add the DNS Server Details
Add the DNS Server details in your network interface config file.
vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-enp0s3
TYPE="Ethernet" BOOTPROTO="none" DEFROUTE="yes" IPV4_FAILURE_FATAL="no" IPV6INIT="yes" IPV6_AUTOCONF="yes" IPV6_DEFROUTE="yes" IPV6_FAILURE_FATAL="no" NAME="enp0s3" UUID="5d0428b3-6af2-4f6b-9fe3-4250cd839efa" ONBOOT="yes" HWADDR="08:00:27:19:68:73" IPADDR0="192.168.1.102" PREFIX0="24" GATEWAY0="192.168.1.1" DNS1="192.168.1.101" DNS2="192.168.1.102" IPV6_PEERDNS="yes" IPV6_PEERROUTES="yes"
Edit file /etc/resolv.conf,
vi /etc/resolv.conf
Add the name server ip address:
nameserver 192.168.1.101 nameserver 192.168.1.102
Save and close the file.
Restart network service:
systemctl restart network
4. Firewall Configuration
We must allow the DNS service default port 53 through the firewall.
firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=53/tcp
5. Restart Firewall
firewall-cmd --reload
6. Configuring Permissions, Ownership, and SELinux
chgrp named -R /var/namedchown -v root:named /etc/named.confrestorecon /etc/named.confrestorecon -rv /var/named
7. Test DNS Server
dig masterdns.unixmen.local
Sample Output:
; <<>> DiG 9.9.4-RedHat-9.9.4-14.el7 <<>> masterdns.unixmen.local ;; global options: +cmd ;; Got answer: ;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 18204 ;; flags: qr aa rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 2, ADDITIONAL: 2 ;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION: ; EDNS: version: 0, flags:; udp: 4096 ;; QUESTION SECTION: ;masterdns.unixmen.local. IN A ;; ANSWER SECTION: masterdns.unixmen.local. 86400 IN A 192.168.1.101 ;; AUTHORITY SECTION: unixmen.local. 86400 IN NS masterdns.unixmen.local. unixmen.local. 86400 IN NS secondarydns.unixmen.local. ;; ADDITIONAL SECTION: secondarydns.unixmen.local. 86400 IN A 192.168.1.102 ;; Query time: 0 msec ;; SERVER: 192.168.1.102#53(192.168.1.102) ;; WHEN: Wed Aug 20 17:04:30 IST 2014 ;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 125
dig secondarydns.unixmen.local
Sample Output:
; <<>> DiG 9.9.4-RedHat-9.9.4-14.el7 <<>> secondarydns.unixmen.local ;; global options: +cmd ;; Got answer: ;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 60819 ;; flags: qr aa rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 2, ADDITIONAL: 2 ;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION: ; EDNS: version: 0, flags:; udp: 4096 ;; QUESTION SECTION: ;secondarydns.unixmen.local. IN A ;; ANSWER SECTION: secondarydns.unixmen.local. 86400 IN A 192.168.1.102 ;; AUTHORITY SECTION: unixmen.local. 86400 IN NS masterdns.unixmen.local. unixmen.local. 86400 IN NS secondarydns.unixmen.local. ;; ADDITIONAL SECTION: masterdns.unixmen.local. 86400 IN A 192.168.1.101 ;; Query time: 0 msec ;; SERVER: 192.168.1.102#53(192.168.1.102) ;; WHEN: Wed Aug 20 17:05:50 IST 2014 ;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 125
nslookup unixmen.local
Sample Output:
Server: 192.168.1.102 Address: 192.168.1.102#53 Name: unixmen.local Address: 192.168.1.101 Name: unixmen.local Address: 192.168.1.103 Name: unixmen.local Address: 192.168.1.102
Client Side Configuration
Add the DNS server details in ‘/etc/resolv.conf’ file in all client systems
vi /etc/resolv.conf
# Generated by NetworkManager search unixmen.local nameserver 192.168.1.101 nameserver 192.168.1.102
Restart network service or reboot the system.
Test DNS Server
Now, you can test the DNS server using any one of the following commands:
dig masterdns.unixmen.local
dig secondarydns.unixmen.local
dig client.unixmen.local
nslookup unixmen.local
That’s all about now. The primary and secondary DNS servers are ready to use.
If you want to setup DNS server on Ubuntu systems, check the following link.
Cheers!