Using Unbound with NSD | Unbound DNS Server

Unbound and NSD are both popular DNS server implementations that can be used together to provide a robust and flexible DNS infrastructure. Unbound can act as a recursive resolver, handling DNS queries from clients, while NSD can serve as an authoritative server for managing DNS zones.

Configuration:

1. Configure Unbound:
   • Set forward-zone in your Unbound configuration file to point to the IP address or hostname of your NSD server.
   • Configure any other necessary settings, such as caching, DNSSEC validation, and recursion control.
2. Configure NSD:
   In your NSD configuration file, ensure that the listen-on and allow-query directives are configured to allow queries from Unbound.
   If you’re using DNSSEC, configure NSD to validate DNSSEC signatures.

Example Unbound Configuration:

server:

    forward-zone:

        name: “.”

        forwarders: { 192.168.1.100; };

Example NSD Configuration:

options {

    listen-on { 127.0.0.1; };

    allow-query { 192.168.1.0/24; };

    dnssec-validation yes;

};

zone “.” IN {

    type master;

    file “/etc/bind/named.ca”;

};

Benefits of Using Unbound with NSD:

• Improved performance: Unbound can handle recursive queries efficiently, reducing the load on your NSD servers.
• Enhanced security: Unbound can provide additional security features, such as DNSSEC validation and filtering.
• Flexibility: This configuration allows you to use different DNS server implementations for different tasks.

Additional Considerations:

• Caching: Configure Unbound’s caching settings to optimize performance.
• Recursion control: If you want to restrict recursive queries, configure Unbound accordingly.
• DNSSEC: Ensure that both Unbound and NSD are configured to use DNSSEC.
• Monitoring: Monitor both Unbound and NSD to ensure they are running smoothly and handling DNS queries efficiently.

By using Unbound with NSD, you can create a robust and scalable DNS infrastructure that provides high performance, security, and flexibility.