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🚀 deploy zonemaster on debian vps
Learn how to deploy zonemaster on debian vps!

This article provides a guide demonstrating how to deploy Zonemaster on Debian VPS.

Table of Contents

What is Zonemaster?

Zonemaster is an open-source DNS testing and validation framework designed to thoroughly analyze the health, correctness, and performance of a domain’s DNS configuration. It is jointly developed and maintained by AFNIC (registry for .fr) and IIS/Internetstiftelsen (registry for .se).

Think of it as a “DNS diagnostics engine” that performs deep, standards-compliant checks to help domain owners, hosting providers, and DNS administrators ensure their DNS is configured correctly.

⭐ What Zonemaster Does

Zonemaster performs comprehensive DNS tests that verify:

  1. 1. DNS Configuration Health
    • NS (nameserver) consistency
    • Glue records
    • SOA records
    • DNSSEC chain of trust
    • IPv4/IPv6 support
    • Delegation correctness
  2. 2. DNS Performance
    • Nameserver responsiveness
    • Packet loss
    • Latency and timeouts
    • TCP vs UDP responsiveness
  3. 3. Standards Compliance

    Zonemaster’s tests are based on:

    • IETF RFCs
    • Best practices from major TLD registries
    • DNSSEC technical norms
  4. 4. Error Detection

    Zonemaster identifies:

    • Misconfigured DNS records
    • Missing or incorrect glue
    • DNSSEC failures
    • Serial number mismatches
    • Recursion issues
    • Parent/child zone inconsistencies
    • Nameservers not authoritative
    • Email DNS issues (MX, SPF, etc., indirectly)

🔍 Three Major Components

Zonemaster is composed of:

  1. 1. Zonemaster Engine

    The core module that runs all tests and produces results.
    Used by the CLI and the web interface.

  2. 2. Zonemaster CLI

    A command-line tool for running tests directly on a server:

    zonemaster-cli example.com
  3. 3. Zonemaster Backend + GUI

    A web-based interface that allows anyone to run DNS tests in a browser.
    Your VPS can host a public Zonemaster instance.

🧪 Why People Use Zonemaster

✔ Hosting providers

Ensure domains hosted on their nameservers are working correctly.

✔ Domain registrars

Validate domains at time of registration or DNS change.

✔ DNS operators and sysadmins

Periodically audit DNS health and detect errors early.

✔ Security-conscious organizations

Validate DNSSEC configuration and trust chain.

✔ Developers and researchers

Automate DNS testing with API endpoints.

📦 Key Features

  • Deep DNS analysis comparable to DNSInspect, DNSViz, and IntoDNS
  • DNSSEC validation and chain-of-trust testing
  • Public API for integrations
  • Web-based user interface
  • Highly detailed test reports
  • Compatible with all TLDs
  • Actively maintained by major domain registries

🏁 In Short

Zonemaster is a professional-grade DNS testing suite that helps ensure domain configurations are correct, secure, and fully compliant with DNS standards.

This guide covers installations on Debian 12 (Bookworm).

✅ Overview: What You Will Install

Component Purpose
Zonemaster Engine Core DNS testing logic
Zonemaster CLI Command-line test runner
Zonemaster Backend RPC/REST API for web UI
Zonemaster Web GUI Browser-based interface for DNS testing

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How to Deploy Zonemaster on Debian VPS

To deploy Zonemaster on Debian VPS, follow the steps below:

  1. 🛠️ Prerequisites

    1. System Requirements

      • Debian 12 VPS (2 GB RAM minimum recommended)
      • Root or sudo access
      • Static public IP address
      • A domain name for GUI access (optional)

    2. Update System

      sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install curl git build-essential unzip ufw -y

  2. 🧱 Install Zonemaster Engine

    The Engine is the foundational component.

    1. Install Dependencies

      sudo apt install libmodule-install-perl perl libmoose-perl libmoosex-markasmethods-perl libfile-slurp-perl libhash-merge-perl libnetaddr-ip-perl libjson-perl libjson-pp-perl liblist-moreutils-perl liblocale-maketext-perl libmoosex-getopt-perl libnet-ip-perl libplack-perl libplack-middleware-debug-perl libtest-deep-perl libtest-fatal-perl libtest-json-perl libtie-ixhash-perl libtry-tiny-perl libyaml-libyaml-perl libdevel-checklib-perl libssl-dev libextutils-pkgconfig-perl libidn2-dev gettext -y
sudo apt update
sudo apt install autoconf automake build-essential cpanminus libclass-accessor-perl libclone-perl libdevel-checklib-perl libemail-valid-perl libextutils-pkgconfig-perl libfile-sharedir-perl libfile-slurp-perl libidn2-dev libintl-perl libio-socket-inet6-perl liblist-compare-perl liblist-moreutils-perl liblocale-po-perl liblog-any-perl libmail-spf-perl libmime-base32-perl libmodule-find-perl libmodule-install-perl libmodule-install-xsutil-perl libnet-dns-perl libnet-ip-xs-perl libpod-coverage-perl libreadonly-perl libssl-dev libsub-override-perl libtest-differences-perl libtest-exception-perl libtest-fatal-perl libtest-nowarnings-perl libtest-pod-perl libtext-csv-perl libyaml-libyaml-perl libtool m4 -y

    2. Download Zonemaster Engine

      cd /opt
sudo git clone https://github.com/zonemaster/zonemaster-engine.git
cd zonemaster-engine

    3. Install CPAN Dependencies

      sudo cpanm --installdeps .
sudo cpan install Zonemaster::Engine::Nameserver::Cache::RedisCache

    4. Install Zonemaster Engine

      sudo perl Makefile.PL
sudo make
sudo make test
sudo make install

  3. 🖥️ Install Zonemaster CLI (zonemaster-cli)

    The CLI is part of Engine but needs a small wrapper.

    Install:

    sudo apt install zonemaster-cli -y
sudo cpanm Zonemaster::CLI

    Test:

    zonemaster-cli example.com

    You should see DNS test output.

  4. 🔌 Install Zonemaster Backend (API)

    The Backend exposes an HTTP API for the GUI.

    1. Install Dependencies

      sudo perl -pi -e 's/^# (da_DK\.UTF-8.*|en_US\.UTF-8.*|es_ES\.UTF-8.*|fi_FI\.UTF-8.*|fr_FR\.UTF-8.*|nb_NO\.UTF-8.*|sl_SI\.UTF-8.*|sv_SE\.UTF-8.*)/$1/' /etc/locale.gen
sudo locale-gen
sudo apt install jq libclass-accessor-lite-perl libconfig-inifiles-perl libdaemon-control-perl libdata-validate-domain-perl libdata-validate-ip-perl libfuture-asyncawait-perl libfuture-perl libhttp-parser-xs-perl libio-multiplex-perl libio-socket-socks-perl libjq1 libjs-bootstrap4 libjs-highlight.js libjs-popper.js libjs-sizzle libjson-rpc-perl libjson-validator-perl liblog-any-adapter-dispatch-perl libmath-base85-perl libmojo-server-fastcgi-perl libmojolicious-perl libnet-cidr-perl libnet-idn-encode-perl libnet-ipv6addr-perl libnet-netmask-perl libnet-server-perl
libnet-server-ss-prefork-perl libonig5 libparallel-forkmanager-perl libplack-middleware-reverseproxy-perl librouter-simple-perl libsereal-encoder-perl libserver-starter-perl libsub-uplevel-perl libtest-exception-perl libtest-nowarnings-perl libxs-parse-keyword-perl libxs-parse-sublike-perl node-jquery openapi-specification perl-doc starman -y
sudo apt install libdbi-perl libdbd-sqlite3-perl sqlite3 libdaemon-generic-perl libio-captureoutput-perl liblog-any-perl liblog-dispatch-perl libsoap-lite-perl libfile-sharedir-perl -y

    2. Download Backend

      cd /opt
sudo git clone https://github.com/zonemaster/zonemaster-backend.git
cd zonemaster-backend

    3. Install Perl Dependencies

      sudo cpanm --installdeps .

    4. Configure Backend

      Copy example config:

      sudo cpanm --notest Zonemaster::Backend
sudo useradd -r -c "Zonemaster daemon user" zonemaster
cd `perl -MFile::ShareDir=dist_dir -E 'say dist_dir("Zonemaster-Backend")'`
sudo install -v -m 755 -d /etc/zonemaster
sudo install -v -m 775 -g zonemaster -d /var/log/zonemaster
sudo install -v -m 640 -g zonemaster ./backend_config.ini /etc/zonemaster/
sudo install -v -m 755 ./zm-rpcapi.lsb /etc/init.d/zm-rpcapi
sudo install -v -m 755 ./zm-testagent.lsb /etc/init.d/zm-testagent
sudo install -v -m 644 ./tmpfiles.conf /usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/zonemaster.conf
sudo install -v -m 755 -o zonemaster -g zonemaster -d /var/lib/zonemaster
sudo -u zonemaster $(perl -MFile::ShareDir -le 'print File::ShareDir::dist_dir("Zonemaster-Backend")')/create_db.pl
sudo systemd-tmpfiles --create /usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/zonemaster.conf
sudo systemctl enable zm-rpcapi
sudo systemctl enable zm-testagent
sudo systemctl start zm-rpcapi
sudo systemctl start zm-testagent

      Edit config:

      sudo nano /etc/zonemaster_backend_config.ini

      Recommended settings:

      [DB]
engine = SQLite
database_file = /var/lib/zonemaster/zonemaster.sqlite

[LOG]
level = INFO

[RPCAPI]
enable = yes
listen = 127.0.0.1
port = 5000

    5. Initialize Database

      sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/zonemaster/
sudo ./script/create_db.pl

    6. Create Systemd Service

      Create service file:

      sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/zonemaster-backend.service

      Add:

      [Unit]
Description=Zonemaster Backend API
After=network.target

[Service]
User=root
ExecStart=/usr/bin/plackup -R lib -s Starman --listen 127.0.0.1:5000 bin/zonemaster_backend.psgi
WorkingDirectory=/opt/zonemaster-backend
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

      Enable + start:

      sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now zonemaster-backend

      Test API:

      curl http://127.0.0.1:5000/api/version

  5. 🌐 Install Zonemaster Web GUI

    1. Install Dependencies

      sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade -y
sudo apt-get install -y apache2 unzip

    2. Basic Apache Configuration

      sudo a2enmod proxy proxy_http rewrite
sudo a2dissite 000-default
sudo systemctl enable apache2
sudo systemctl restart apache2

    3. Download GUI

      wget https://github.com/zonemaster/zonemaster-gui/releases/download/v4.4.0/zonemaster_web_gui.zip -O zonemaster_web_gui.zip
sudo unzip -d /var/www/html/zonemaster-web-gui zonemaster_web_gui.zip
sudo install -vd /var/log/zonemaster
sudo install -v /var/www/html/zonemaster-web-gui/zonemaster.conf-example /etc/apache2/sites-available/zonemaster.conf
rm -f zonemaster_web_gui.zip

    4. Configure Zonemaster Web GUI

      sudo a2ensite zonemaster

      Update the zonemaster.conf file with your own ServerName, ServerAlias and ServerAdmin:

      nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/zonemaster.conf

    5. Reload Apache

      sudo systemctl reload apache2

  6. 🔒 Enable SSL (Optional but Recommended)

    Using Let’s Encrypt:

    sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y
sudo certbot --apache -d zonemaster.example.com

    Auto-renews daily.

  7. 🧪 Test Zonemaster Deployment

    Visit:

    https://zonemaster.example.com
    Zonemaster results for radwebhosting. Com
    Zonemaster results for radwebhosting. Com

    Run a test on any domain.
    Zonemaster results for radwebhosting. Com

     

    Or test via API:

    curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:5000/api/run \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"domain":"example.com"}'

  8. 🔧 Useful Commands

    1. Restart Backend

      sudo systemctl restart zonemaster-backend

    2. Check Backend logs

      journalctl -u zonemaster-backend

🎉 You Now Have a Full Zonemaster Deployment on Debian!

This installation includes:

✔ Zonemaster Engine
✔ CLI tools
✔ Backend API
✔ Web GUI with Nginx
✔ Optional SSL for secure access
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Conclusion

You now know how to deploy Zonemaster on Debian VPS.

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