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running a dns server

W

watts3000

Senior member
Guys I have a friend that has a business flavor of dsl. So he's starting his own website he wants to run his own dns servers. Are their any advantages in running your own dns server.
 
More control

On the downside you get to worry about patching more than you would if you didnt run your own dns. What is he going to use for it?
 
Where did he register the domain? Some registrars have a management interface to change resource records. I don't think it is worth managing a server for 1 domain.

 
He plains to eventually start hosting websites for our area. Baically providing clients with things such as coldfusion access asp.net access and database connectivity. He works as a web developer and he said that he noticed a large number of clients that could not get certain business services so I guess he plains to give it to them. Also what dns software should I tell him to use I'm sure that you can use a flavor of 2000 server but I was reading somewhere that linux rocks when it comes to internet dns servers.
 
Linux/Unix always rocks 😉

But if you can't get hold of a nix system running BIND you can still stay with Win2k and run Simple DNS, don't let the name fool you. It's more robust and faster than Win2k Server's DNS server implementation (which doesn't even stick to the rules of the trade... that's MS for you)

Make sure you have a static IP to go with the hostname and *always* have a backup dns server elsewhere (outside your office, outside the netblock - meaning, different ISP)
 
I'll have him download a demo copy and check it out.But I still would like to know about part of my original question whats the benefit of running your own. n0cmonkey noted that you have more control but more control over what. Do you mean the ability to just make sure its up and running.
 
Well, more control over your records basically. You can set-up your own subdomains on the fly, set pointers wherever you wish, create new domains, set TTL's for the records (very useful if you need to move over a new IP block for example) and a lot more....

... all without waiting for your ISP to do it for you.

Additionally, you can also set your local machines to query your own DNS server as opposed to your ISP. Though the benefits of this isn't that obvious and it's userfullness is dependent on the traffic, it is somewhat bandwidth saving (e.g. less queries outside of the network since records are cached) and a teeny bit faster for people in the internal network.
 
Do you use simple dns plus for your own personnel use, and also can you explain this part "Additionally, you can also set your local machines to query your own DNS server as opposed to your ISP" Are you speaking of pages that have already cached so the user will pull the requested page from cache instead of actually going on to the internet to obtain it.
 
I used it to host somewhere in the range of 130 sites. Total of 1500 records if i remember correctly. I then switched over to Windows DNS as it came with Win2k Advanced Server and the box running Simple DNS was then used as a secondary dns server.

What i meant by that was, (simplifying things) whenever someone visits a site, sends an email or goes on FTP the browser/mailer/whatnot sends a request to the DNS server for a doman = ip# conversion. The DNS server in return queries the root DNS server then the respective DNS server of the site you're trying to contact which then sends back the IP# to the requester (your DNS server) and ultimately your browser/mailer which in turn finally connects to the proper server.

If you had your browser query your own DNS server some of those steps may be eliminated (for some time) as those Name = IP conversions are cached locally.

 
I have set up netoworks that use dns servers to reslove names on the lan side. How much of a difference is it in setting up a dns server that will be used for internet activities.
Is advanced server any good for internet dns.
 
Not that much more different except you just deal with more records (A, MX, PTR, FTP, WWW, etc...).

MS DNS will do the job for you, just be sure to patch the OS well itself and always monitor traffic. Set-up a packet filter if need be and don't forget your firewall.

As your hosting customer base starts growing you can count on having more DOS attacks, script kiddies hitting you and a whole slew of other things coming your way. So it's better to be prepared for it right from the start. Always be vigilant and you'll be successful 🙂
 
btw, you'll also need to register hostnames for your dns server. (e.g. ns1.whatever.ext). A unique static ip is needed for each hostname.

You can usually do this with your current registrar.
 
you must realize that running your own dns servers on a dsl line can be dangerous, I hope its not mission-critical stuff... outsourcing the hosting/dns may give you less control but they are more prepared for power outages, technical OS/software problems/setup, more reliable internet connection, etc
 
I realize how you came up with that statement Valhalla1 and from your posts on the board i know you know what you're talking about. 🙂

But i must also concur by saying, i've run my setup on my previous SDSL line for 2 years w/o a glitch. Having a business-class DSL line is far better in terms of reliability, stability and overall quality (esp with the SLA's backing it up) than regular DSL lines. There's far more local ISP's i know of that have regular uptime problems and they're supposed to have better equipment and lines. Go figure 🙂
 
How many ip addresses must you have in order to run a dns server. We called godaddy.com and a rep said you needed to have at least 2 in order to run your own dns server. I'm sure he has more than 2. If this is true can someone explain why.
 
1 for each DNS hostname (e.g. ns1 and ns2). You can only register one IP/hostname for security and reliability purposes.

Generally speaking, if your DNS server is down for some reason or records aren't set straight at least the root level servers would still know which IP to query.

You can actually get away with just one nameserver/hostname but i highly advise you stay away from that solution.

There was a time i had to run both DNS servers off a single machine (which was assigned 2 IP's). It's stupid but given i didn't have a separate server on a different IP block elsewhere that was my only solution.

Additionally, some domain registrars won't let you input just one nameserver on the registration/modification form.
 


<< you must realize that running your own dns servers on a dsl line can be dangerous, I hope its not mission-critical stuff... outsourcing the hosting/dns may give you less control but they are more prepared for power outages, technical OS/software problems/setup, more reliable internet connection, etc >>



You could easily outsource one DNS server and run the second yourself. If you really wanted to you could run the primary yourself, and let the isp run your secondary. That way you have dns up, hopefully, at all times. Plus you get the control you may want.
 
Is it possble to run your own DNS server without registering a name just to speed up lookups? Or do you need to have a registered name in order to stay synchronized? I wouldn't need to it synch both ways, just my server with the rest of the world.

Thanks.
 


<< Is it possble to run your own DNS server without registering a name just to speed up lookups? Or do you need to have a registered name in order to stay synchronized? I wouldn't need to it synch both ways, just my server with the rest of the world.

Thanks. >>



dnscache (part of djbdns) can be used just to cache these ip addresses. I run BIND 4.something on my home network so I can practice and have a quick lookup server for my internal hosts. So the answer is you can run one just to "speed up lookups."
 
Yeah, Internal DNS hosts only the internal network. It is configured to forward to ISP's DNS. It doesnt speed up internet name resolution, b/c you are going through a middle man (your internal DNS first). No one will be able to resolve your internal network either, which is good.
If you have servers (www ftp, etc) that need to be published to the internet, just register them with a hosting service.
 
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