Configuring Your Tier 2 Server:OpenNIC Wiki

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This is an old revision of Tier2ServerConfig made by AvoYager on 2008-05-25 23:53:58.

Configuring Your Tier 2 Server

Configuring Your Name Server

Here are some basic instructions on configuring your name server to access, and serve, the OpenNIC Top-Level Domains (TLDs). This page has, at the moment, instructions for only a limited range of nameservers. If you've configured another DNS server to use OpenNIC, please post some instructions to the MailingLists discussion list (or edit this page!) so we can expand this page.

Additional Information is at http://www.opennicproject.org/en/client_setup.html

General Information

Configuration entails a simple modification of the default configuration file to access the new Top-Level Domains (TLDs) by using the root (Tier1) servers administered by OpenNIC.

Note: In any place in the information below where you would normally see an IP number, those numbers have been replaced with a link to the page of VolunteerHosts Public Name Servers. Please see this list to choose the appropriate server for your use.

You should also join the appropriate MailingLists so you'll be notified of changing situations which may affect your operation..

BIND (8/9)

Most Unix systems put the BIND configuration file at either /etc/named.conf (as most Linux distributions do) or ar /var/named/named.conf (as the bind8 port installer for OpenBSD does).

In the named.conf (or one of its includes), you should find a block that looks like this:

zone "." in
{
	type hint;
	file "root.cache";
};

This specifies a hint zone named '.', the root zone. Hints specified int he root.cache file are used to locate root servers and perform recursive queries. The root.cache file may also be called named.cache. To switch from the IANA root servers to OpenNIC root servers, fetch http://smtp.jdcomputers.com.au/hints/db.root and replace your hint file with its contents.

BIND will query a root server in the hints file for the NS records for '.' (the root zone), and use that list of root servers to perform queries. This is how a normal recursive DNS server operates, even outside of OpenNIC. This is the easiest way to configure BIND to use the OpenNIC root.

Alternatively (slightly experimental), you can slave the root zone from root servers that allow transfer of the root zone. This may not be supported by all root servers. Note that slaving a zone via AXFR or IXFR uses a TCP connection, which requires more resources than a regular DNS query (via the connectionless UDP protocol). Note that historically, the only reason BIND 8/9 users were encouraged to slave the root was due to BIND mysteriously reverting to the IANA root servers. This behavior has not been fully documented and is presumed not to exist in current versions of BIND software.

Change it to look like this (you can have from 1 to many entries in the "master" section; we recommend at least 3 Tier1Status Master Pool (Tier 1) servers):

zone "." in
{
	type slave;
	file "tld-root";
	masters { [server IP number]; [server IP number]; [server IP number]; };
	notify no;
};

Alternatively OpenNIC now accepts the use of a hints file. To use the hints file issue;

dig . NS @ns0.opennic.glue > root.cache

This file then overwrites the current bind9 root.cache file.

BIND 4

Most Unix systems put the BIND 4 configuration file at either /etc/named.boot (as most Linux distributions do) or ar /var/named/named.boot (as the default install for OpenBSD does).

In the named.boot, you should have a line that looks like this:

cache			.		root.cache

Change it to look like this (please choose the nearest VolunteerHosts Tier 1 server for this):

secondary		.		[server IP number]		tld-root

DJBDNS

Instructions provided by Alan Hodgson, .geek hostnaster.

1) Change into your dnscache root/servers directory.

	# cd /service/dnscache/root/servers

2) Replace your root servers file (root/servers/@) with the IP numbers of the VolunteerHosts OpenNIC Tier 1 servers, obtained by using dnsq to query the Tier 0 IP number (this step can be done manually, as well).

	# cp -f @ /tmp/@.saved
	# dnsq ns . [Server IP number] | grep -iv ns0.opennic.glue \
	  | awk '{ if (/^additional/) print $5}' > /tmp/@.new
	# cat /tmp/@.new

3) If it looks okay (i.e. a list of IP addresses), replace the file.

	# mv -f /tmp/@.new @

4) Restart dnscache

	# svc -t /service/dnscache

5) Verify that it's working

	# dnsip www.opennic.glue

Windows 2000 DNS Server

Contributed by Michael Patrick.

Bring up the DNS Administrator from Administrative Tools...
Bring up the properties of the DNS Server
Go to the "Root Hints" tab
Remove the root server entries
Replace them with the Tier 1 servers from here.
Stop and Start the DNS service
If needed, clear and refresh your view of the cache and you should see .glue
try it out on http://www.opennic.glue.

My C:\WINNT\system32\dns\cache.dns file after modification (I would recommend keeping a copy of your file in case something bad happens to it). [And keep in mind that server IPs can change.]

CategoryHostmastering

OpenNIC Wiki : Tier2ServerConfig

Revision [1355]