Latest News And Updates - Rad Web Hosting Blog

Here's a step-by-step guide demonstrating how to setup BIND DNS server on Ubuntu VPS. This will walk you through installing BIND9, configuring it as a primary (master) DNS server, setting up a domain zone, and ensuring it runs securely and correctly. What is BIND DNS? BIND (Berkeley Internet Name Domain) is the most widely used DNS server software on the Internet. It acts as the backbone of DNS (Domain Name System) services, resolving domain names into IP addresses and vice versa. What Does BIND DNS Do? BIND allows you to: Host authoritative DNS zones (e.g., for example.com) Perform recursive DNS queries (if configured) Handle forward and reverse DNS lookups Serve as primary (master) or secondary (slave) DNS server Support features like DNSSEC, TSIG, and views How It Works You configure zone files with mappings like: example.com → 192.0.2.1 (A record) 192.0.2.1 → example.com (PTR record) BIND responds to DNS queries for those zones. You can also configure it to forward or recursively resolve external queries (like a caching resolver). Core BIND Components File / Feature Role named The BIND daemon named.conf Main config file named.conf.local Zone definitions named.conf.options Global options (like recursion settings) Zone files Hold actual DNS records Use Cases Hosting your own DNS for a website Running internal DNS for a LAN or enterprise Acting as a caching resolver Building a DNS infrastructure with master/slave or split-horizon DNS Why Use BIND? Open-source and widely supported Highly configurable and powerful Proven, stable, and trusted in production environments Prerequisites Ubuntu 24.04 VPS Root access or a user with sudo privileges A registered domain (e.g., example.com) Your VPS’s public IP address (e.g., 192.0.2.1) How to Setup BIND DNS Server on Ubuntu VPS To setup BIND DNS server on Ubuntu VPS, follow the steps provided below: Install BIND9 Update your package list and install BIND9 and its utilities. sudo apt update sudo apt install bind9 bind9utils bind9-doc dnsutils -y Enable and start the BIND service: sudo systemctl enable named sudo systemctl start named Configure BIND9 Define Your Zone in named.conf.local sudo nano /etc/bind/named.conf.local Add the following block (replace with your actual domain and zone file path): zone "example.com" { type master; file "/etc/bind/zones/db.example.com"; allow-transfer { none; }; }; Create the Zones Directory sudo mkdir /etc/bind/zones Create the Forward Zone File sudo nano /etc/bind/zones/db.example.com Paste this template and adjust accordingly: $TTL 604800 @ IN SOA ns1.example.com. admin.example.com. ( 3 ; Serial 604800 ; Refresh 86400 ; Retry 2419200 ; Expire 604800 ) ; Negative Cache TTL ; @ IN NS ns1.example.com. @ IN A 192.0.2.1 ns1 IN A 192.0.2.1 www IN A 192.0.2.1 Explanation: ns1.example.com. is your name server admin.example.com. is your email (replace @ with .) www and @ point to your VPS IP Verify Configurations Check Syntax: sudo named-checkconf sudo named-checkzone example.com /etc/bind/zones/db.example.com Fix any errors if they appear. Restart BIND9 sudo systemctl restart named Configure Domain Registrar At your domain registrar: Set your domain’s nameserver to your VPS (e.g., ns1.example.com) Create a glue record (A record) for ns1.example.com pointing to 192.0.2.1 Test the DNS Server Use dig to test: dig @192.0.2.1 example.com dig @192.0.2.1 www.example.com You should see a proper A record response for each. Harden the Server (Optional but Recommended) Limit Recursion (no open resolver): Edit /etc/bind/named.conf.options: sudo nano /etc/bind/named.conf.options Inside the options {} block, add: recursion no; allow-query { any; }; Restart BIND: sudo systemctl restart named Conclusion You now know how to setup BIND DNS server on Ubuntu VPS.

Rad Web Hosting Blog

Recent Posts

Nothing Found

My Feed at https://radwebhosting.com

Services

Categories

Recent Posts

Save on VPS Hosting!

We’re Social!

Rad Web Hosting Blog