Starting from version 2023.08.1, installation and configuration of the module is not supported. To integrate with the DNS server in the platform, use the Integration with DNSmanager 6 module.

If integration with PowerDNS was configured in the platform, the integration will continue to work until the Integration with DNSmanager 6 module is installed.

For some Internet services (e.g. sending email), on dedicated servers it is necessary to convert IP addresses into domain names. To perform this conversion, you need to configure DCImanager 6 integration with the DNS server.

DCImanager 6 supports integration with PowerDNS. PowerDNS is a high-performance, free, open-source DNS server. Read more about PowerDNS in the official documentation. You can install PowerDNS on a separate server or run it on a server with DCImanager 6 in a separate docker container.

After the integration, PTR records will be created on the DNS server, converting dedicated servers addresses into domain names.

The integration provides for the transfer of:

  • PTR records;
  • NS records, if additional name servers are specified in the module settings.

Transfer of other record types must be configured manually.

Matching of IP address and reverse domain name


To determine a domain name by IP address, the DNS server uses a PTR record of the reverse domain zone. To execute the request, the node address is converted to the reverse form. The translation method depends on the IP version.

IPv4

IPv4 address is written as four decimal numbers from 0 to 255, separated by dots. E.g., 192.168.0.1. To search for domain names by IPv4 addresses, the domain "in-addr.arpa." is used. The IP address is written in the domain name in reverse order. For example, the address 195.161.72.28 corresponds to the domain name "28.72.161.195.inaddr.arpa.".

IPv6

The IPv6 address is written as eight hexadecimal numbers from 0 to ffff, separated by colons. E.g., 3107:0c38:0a67:0000:0000:e446:3925:0091. To search for domain names by IPv6 addresses, the domain "ip6.arpa." is used. The IP address is written in the domain name in reverse order. For example, the address 3107:0c38:0a67:0000:0000:e446:3925:0091 corresponds to the domain name "1.9.0.0.5.2.9.3.6.4.4.e.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.7.6.a.0.8.3.c.0.7.0.1.3.ip6.arpa".

Configuring PowerDNS



In the basic configuration PowerDNS uses BIND as the backend. BIND does not support API write requests via HTTP, so it is not suitable for integration setup. To set up the integration, change the backend to Generic Mysql, Generic Postgresql or Generic SQLite3. Read more in the official PowerDNS documentation.

To find out which backend PowerDNS uses, check the value of the launch parameter in the configuration file /etc/pdns/pdns.conf.

If PowerDNS is installed on the server with DCImanager 6

  1. Create a /opt/ispsystem/dci/powerdns.yaml file:

    Configuration example

    version: "3.7"
    services:
      powerdns_mysql:
        image: mysql:5
        restart: always
        volumes:
        - /var/lib/powerdns_mysql:/var/lib/mysql
        environment:
          MYSQL_DATABASE: pdns
          MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: <mysql_pass>
        networks:
          - auth
      powerdns_server:
        image: psitrax/powerdns
        restart: always
        environment:
          MYSQL_HOST: powerdns_mysql
          MYSQL_USER: root
          MYSQL_PASS: <mysql_pass>
          MYSQL_DB: pdns
        command: ["--api=yes", "--api-key=<pdns_api_key>", "--webserver=yes", "--webserver-port=<pdns_port>", "--webserver-address=0.0.0.0", "--webserver-allow-from=0.0.0.0/0"]
        ports:
          - "53:53"
          - "<pdns_port>:<pdns_port>"
        networks:
          - auth
    networks:
      auth:
    CODE

    <mysql_pass> — MySQL password

    <pdns_api_key> — PowerDNS API access key. The minimum length is 6 characters.

    <pdns_port> — access port to the built-in PowerDNS web server

  2. Run a command:

    docker-compose -f powerdns.yaml up -d
    CODE

If PowerDNS is installed on a separate server

  1. Allow access to the PowerDNS API. To do this, add lines to the configuration file /etc/pdns/pdns.conf:

    api=yes
    api-key=<pdns_api_key> 
    webserver=yes
    webserver-port=<pdns_port>
    webserver-address=0.0.0.0
    webserver-allow-from=0.0.0.0/0
    CODE

    <pdns_api_key> — PowerDNS API access key. The minimum length is 6 characters.

    <pdns_port> — access port to the built-in PowerDNS web server

  2. Restart PowerDNS:

    systemctl restart pdns.service
    CODE
  3. Open the web server port in the firewall:

    firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=public --add-port=<pdns_port>/tcp && firewall-cmd --reload
    CODE

    <pdns_port> — access port to the built-in PowerDNS web server

Configuring DCImanager 6


Starting from version 2023.08.1, configuration is only possible via the platform API.

Diagnostics


DCImanager 6 integration with PowerDNS is performed by the DNSProxy service. You can check the operation of service via the log files in the dci_dns_proxy_1 docker container on the server with DCImanager 6:

  • /var/log/dns_proxy_integration.log

  • /var/log/dns_proxy_service_1_reader.log

  • /var/log/dns_proxy_service_1_writer.log