{"id":355,"date":"2011-02-25T00:25:56","date_gmt":"2011-02-24T16:25:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/howto\/?p=355"},"modified":"2023-06-23T11:35:54","modified_gmt":"2023-06-23T11:35:54","slug":"how-to-configure-the-linux-bind-dns-server","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/howto\/how-to-configure-the-linux-bind-dns-server\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Configure the Linux Bind DNS Server"},"content":{"rendered":"

BIND (Berkeley Internet Name Domain) is a widely used DNS server that plays a crucial role in the majority of name-serving machines on both intranets and the Internet.<\/p>\n

This guide will walk you through the process of setting up an intranet DNS configuration using BIND on Linux, providing you with a fundamental understanding of Linux BIND DNS configuration.<\/p>\n

Before we proceed, it’s important to note that this tutorial assumes you have already installed the Bind DNS server on your CentOS or RHEL system. If you haven’t done so, you can follow this guide on how to install Bind DNS server on CentOS and RHEL<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Configuring the BIND DNS Server<\/h2>\n

To begin, navigate to the directory where the BIND configuration file is located:<\/p>\n

\r\n[root@server ~]# cd \/var\/named\/chroot\/etc\r\n<\/pre>\n
Open the configuration file named.conf:<\/p>\n
\r\n[root@server etc]# vi named.conf\r\n<\/pre>\n
In the configuration file, you will need to specify the directory, pid-file, and forwarders. Here’s an example of what your configuration might look like:<\/p>\n
options {\r\n        directory \"\/etc\";\r\n        pid-file \"\/var\/run\/named\/named.pid\";\r\n\tforwarders {\r\n\t\t202.188.0.133;\r\n\t\t202.188.1.5;\r\n\t\t};\r\n        };\r\n\r\nzone \"myintranet.local\" {\r\n        type master;\r\n        file \"\/var\/named\/myintranet.local.hosts\";\r\n        };\r\nzone \"2.168.192.in-addr.arpa\" {\r\n        type master;\r\n        notify no;\r\n        file \"\/var\/named\/db.192\";\r\n};\r\n<\/pre>\n
Next, you will need to define the zones for your intranet. In this example, we’re setting up a zone for “myintranet.local” and a reverse lookup zone for “2.168.192.in-addr.arpa”. The configuration should look something like this:<\/p>\n
\r\nzone \"myintranet.local\" {\r\n type master;\r\n file \"\/var\/named\/myintranet.local.hosts\";\r\n};\r\n\r\nzone \"2.168.192.in-addr.arpa\" {\r\n type master;\r\n notify no;\r\n file \"\/var\/named\/db.192\";\r\n};\r\n<\/pre>\n
After saving and closing the named.conf file, navigate to the directory where the zone files are located:<\/p>\n
\r\n[root@server ~]# cd \/var\/named\/chroot\/var\/named\r\n<\/pre>\n
Open the zone file for “myintranet.local”:<\/p>\n
\r\n[root@server named]# vi myintranet.local.hosts\r\n<\/pre>\n
In the zone file, you will need to specify the SOA (Start of Authority) record, NS (Name Server) record, and A (Address) records. Here’s an example of what your zone file might look like:<\/p>\n
$ttl 38400\r\nmyintranet.local.\tIN\tSOA\tns.myintranet.local. root.myintranet.local. (\r\n\t\t\t1298557357\r\n\t\t\t10800\r\n\t\t\t3600\r\n\t\t\t604800\r\n\t\t\t38400 )\r\nmyintranet.local.       IN      NS      ns.myintranet.local.\r\n\r\nns.myintranet.local.\tIN\tA\t192.168.2.5\r\nwww.myintranet.local.\tIN\tA\t192.168.2.5\r\n<\/pre>\n
Next, open the reverse lookup zone file:<\/p>\n
\r\n[root@server named]# vi db.192\r\n<\/pre>\n
In the reverse lookup zone file, you will need to specify the SOA record, NS record, and PTR (Pointer) records. Here’s an example of what your reverse lookup zone file might look like:<\/p>\n
$ttl 38400\r\n2.168.192.in-addr.arpa.\tIN\tSOA\tns.myintranet.local. root.myintranet.local. (\r\n\t\t\t1298557341\r\n\t\t\t10800\r\n\t\t\t3600\r\n\t\t\t604800\r\n\t\t\t38400 )\r\n@     IN      NS      ns.myintranet.local.\r\n5.2.168.192.in-addr.arpa.\tIN\tPTR\tns.myintranet.local.\r\n<\/pre>\n
Starting the BIND DNS Server<\/h2>\n
After you’ve finished configuring the BIND DNS server, you can start the server with the following command:<\/p>\n
\r\n[root@server \/]# \/etc\/rc.d\/init.d\/named start\r\n<\/pre>\n
You should see a message indicating that the server has started successfully:<\/p>\n
\r\nStarting named: [ OK ]\r\n<\/pre>\n
To ensure that the BIND DNS server starts automatically at boot time, use the following command:<\/p>\n
\r\n[root@server \/]# chkconfig named on\r\n<\/pre>\n
Testing the DNS Server<\/h2>\n
To verify that your DNS server is working correctly, you can use the nslookup command. However, before you do this, make sure that you have configured your DNS to 192.168.2.5.<\/p>\n
Here’s an example of a successful nslookup result:<\/p>\n
\r\nIP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.2\r\nSubnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0\r\nDefault Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1\r\nDNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.5\r\n\r\nC:\\>nslookup\r\nDefault Server:  ns.myintranet.local\r\nAddress:  192.168.2.5\r\n\r\n> myintranet.local\r\nServer:  ns.myintranet.local\r\nAddress:  192.168.2.5\r\n\r\nName:    myintranet.local\r\n\r\n> www.myintranet.local\r\nServer:  ns.myintranet.local\r\nAddress:  192.168.2.5\r\n\r\nName:    www.myintranet.local\r\nAddress:  192.168.2.5\r\n\r\n> ns.myintranet.local\r\nServer:  ns.myintranet.local\r\nAddress:  192.168.2.5\r\n\r\nName:    ns.myintranet.local\r\nAddress:  192.168.2.5\r\n\r\n> exit\r\n<\/pre>\n
Commands Mentioned<\/h2>\n