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DNS: Create a Forward Zone

Zones and zone files are key components in configuring DNS servers. In this lab, we will configure a forward zone and a forward zone file, then add TTL, SOA, NS, and A records. Next, we will run a syntax check on the `named.conf` and the forward zone file with `named-checkconf` and `named-checkzone`, respectively. This allows a name server to resolve a query, given the hostname, and returns the IP address. This is the most common type of DNS query.

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Path Info

Level
Clock icon Intermediate
Duration
Clock icon 15m
Published
Clock icon May 01, 2020

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Table of Contents

  1. Challenge

    Add the forward zone configuration to the `/etc/named.conf` file. Then run the `named-checkconf` command to verify the configuration.

    1. Add the forward zone configuration:
    vim /etc/named.conf
    1. Insert the zone configuration just before the include statements at the bottom of the file:
    zone "mylabserver.com" {
   type master;
   file "/var/named/fwd.mylabserver.com.db";
};
    1. Run the named-checkconf command to verify the configuration.
    named-checkconf

  2. Challenge

    Create the forward zone file and check the configuration for syntax errors with `named-checkzone`.

    1. Create the forward zone file and enter the following information:
    vim /var/named/fwd.mylabserver.com.db
    1. Enter in the following:
    $TTL    86400
@       IN      SOA     nameserver.mylabserver.com. root.mylabserver.com. (
                          10030         ; Serial
                           3600         ; Refresh
                           1800         ; Retry
                         604800         ; Expiry
                          86400         ; Minimum TTL
)
; Name Server
@        IN      NS       nameserver.mylabserver.com.
; A Record Definitions
nameserver       IN      A       172.31.18.93
mailprod         IN      A       172.31.18.30
mailbackup       IN      A       172.31.18.72
; Canonical Name/Alias
dns        IN    CNAME    nameserver.mylabserver.com.
; Mail Exchange Records
@        IN    MX    10    mailprod.mylabserver.com.
@        IN    MX    20    mailbackup.mylabserver.com.
    1. Run the named-checkzone command to check the zone file for syntax errors.
    named-checkzone mylabserver.com /var/named/fwd.mylabserver.com.db

  3. Challenge

    Change the file permissions and the group owner for `/var/named/fwd.mylabserver.com.db`.

    1. Change the file permissions for /var/named/fwd.mylabserver.com.db:
    chmod 760 /var/named/fwd.mylabserver.com.db
    1. Change the group owner of the file to named.
    chgrp named /var/named/fwd.mylabserver.com.db

  4. Challenge

    Restart the named service. 

    systemctl restart named

  5. Challenge

    Run a query to test the configuration. 

    nslookup mailprod.mylabserver.com localhost
A Cloud Guru - Labs - DNS: Create a Forward Zone
Author
A Cloud Guru

The Cloud Content team comprises subject matter experts hyper focused on services offered by the leading cloud vendors (AWS, GCP, and Azure), as well as cloud-related technologies such as Linux and DevOps. The team is thrilled to share their knowledge to help you build modern tech solutions from the ground up, secure and optimize your environments, and so much more!

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