Question

I have a small home network that just got larger ( New roommate, My existing roommate got a laptop (on top of her computer)j, my friends coming over with laptop, etc ).

I'd like to run a local DNS server for lookups of my local network stuff (fileserver.local, windowsTV.local, machineA.local, machineB.local, appletv.local). I used to have a business line with a static IP, and run bind/named internally. However, now, I have a normal account.

My ISP's DNS servers are constantly changing (for whatever reasons my ISP doesn't like to keep the same IP range for long). I need my local DNS to be automatically updated to use my ISP's DNS for external traffic, but be able to maintain an internal DNS server (getting to update the hosts file is being a hassle with every new machine on top of rebuilding existing machines with win7 or Ubuntu 9.04).

Additionally, My ISP's DNS servers often crash or become unresponsive. Are there any open DNS servers that are reliable (i don't want to reconfig every day) that I could use as my primary, then if those fail, then use my ISP's?

UPDATE: Also looking for each workstation to be able to use dhcp to connect, but instead of getting ISP dns servers, getting my internal one....

Thanks

Answer 1

Are there any open DNS servers that are reliable

You said it: OpenDNS.

208.67.222.222
208.67.220.220

Answer 2

If you want internal fake domains to work you can't configure your workstations with any DNS servers except your own. Once you set up BIND it can work by itself and you don't need your ISP's or any other non-authoritative DNS servers at all.

Answer 3

4.2.2.1 & 4.2.2.2 are what I use

edit: that is, in regard to public servers. Easy to remember and I don't think I've seen them fail since I've been using them.

Answer 4

Any Broadband router delivers both DNS & DHCP services for the local network. If you want INcomming connections from internet to local machines you need a router that also supports DynDNS and Incomming PortForwarding.

If you pick one from the DD-wrt supported hardware list you can flash it with that Firmware and it will support any feature you could ever need in your small network.

Answer 5

Unbound is pretty easy, supports bind style config files and fairly reliable. If the server will be a stand-alone 'gateway' type box, and you'd like a few extra niceties, you might want to take a look at the firewall/gateway distro called untangle as well.

Answer 6

If you are running Windows - you should take a look at Simple DNS Plus - it is a full DNS server that also comes with a DHCP server plug-in - and has an easy-to-use GUI.

Answer 7

For running a DNS server on your LAN, you can use take a look at 'pdnsd' which is a nameserver for *nix.

Answer 8

If you download the DNS benchmark program from link text, it will benchmark a list of public DNS servers as well as your local DNS server. After running this program, try putting a copy of the fastest servers into the DNS setting on your router and then renew your DHCP session and running the test again.

If your router allows it, add both the router and one of the fast external DNS servers to the list of DNS servers that it hands to DHCP client (but pick a different one from the one that you entered for the router DNS server addresses).

Answer 9

If you have a linux box then you'd want to setup DNSMASq got your local addresses and use it as a forwarding/caching DNS server for external addresses. This is also often what is used on linux distributions for home routers such as openwrt/ddwrt/tomato.

Alternately, on mostly Apple/Mac networks you'd be using Bonjour/Zeroconf which both Linux and Apple computers can communicate on for broadcast level DNS/service resolution.

That being said, on a purely hybrid network with all three OS running, you'll definately want a local DNS server with forwarding to either OpenDNS, GoogleDNS, or your local ISP DNS depending on your location/needs.