How to Forward DNS Server? Follow these Simple Steps

If you want to ensure that your domain name system (DNS) requests are handled as quickly and accurately as possible, DNS forwarding is an essential tool to use. Forwarding your DNS server helps to improve internet connectivity and overall performance. In this blog post, we will guide you through the simple steps to configure DNS forwarding on both Windows and Linux servers.

First, we will discuss what DNS forwarding is and how it works, before moving on to the benefits of using it. We will then dive into the specific steps required to set up DNS forwarding on Windows and Linux servers. Along the way, we will provide you with tips on verifying your configuration and troubleshooting any issues that may arise.

By the end of this article, you will have all the information you need to optimize your DNS server with forwarding, helping you to deliver a better user experience and faster internet speeds for your users. Keep reading to find out how to get started with DNS forwarding today!

Step 1: Understanding DNS Forwarding

If you are wondering what DNS forwarding is, it is a process where a DNS server forwards requests to another DNS server when it is unable to resolve the request. When a DNS server is unable to resolve a request, it sends the request to another DNS server that has the ability to resolve it.

DNS forwarding is useful for organizations that have a large network and multiple DNS servers. It helps to optimize DNS resolution and ensure that requests are quickly resolved. DNS forwarding is also useful when an organization is using multiple DNS servers from different vendors.

In simple terms, DNS forwarding is a technique used to improve DNS resolution by forwarding requests to another DNS server that has the ability to resolve them. By using DNS forwarding, organizations can optimize DNS resolution and ensure that requests are quickly resolved.

When a DNS server receives a request that it cannot resolve, it can forward the request to another DNS server that has the ability to resolve it. This process is known as DNS forwarding.

Another benefit of DNS forwarding is that it helps to reduce network traffic. When a DNS server forwards a request to another DNS server, it reduces the amount of traffic on the network.

What is DNS Forwarding?

DNS forwarding is a process that enables a DNS server to forward DNS queries to one or more DNS servers to resolve the queries. The DNS server that forwards the queries is known as the forwarder, while the DNS server that ultimately resolves the queries is known as the resolver.

1. How DNS Forwarding Works: When a DNS server receives a query for a domain name that it does not have in its cache, it can forward the query to another DNS server that is more likely to have the information. The forwarded query includes the original query’s parameters.
2. Types of DNS Forwarding: There are two types of DNS forwarding: conditional forwarding and forwarders. Conditional forwarding is used to forward queries for specific domains to specific DNS servers, while forwarders are used to forward all queries to specific DNS servers.
3. Benefits of DNS Forwarding: DNS forwarding can improve the performance of DNS servers and reduce network traffic by enabling DNS servers to resolve queries more efficiently. It also helps to ensure that DNS queries are resolved correctly, which is crucial for the proper functioning of many network applications.
4. Configuring DNS Forwarding: DNS forwarding can be configured on both Windows and Linux servers. The process involves specifying the IP addresses of the forwarder or forwarders in the DNS server’s configuration.
5. Limitations of DNS Forwarding: DNS forwarding is not a perfect solution and has some limitations, including the potential for DNS cache poisoning attacks and the risk of creating DNS loops.

Understanding DNS forwarding is essential for network administrators who want to optimize their DNS infrastructure for performance and reliability.

How Does DNS Forwarding Work?

When a DNS query is made, the request is sent to the local DNS resolver first. If the local resolver doesn’t have the information in its cache, it contacts the DNS root servers and then the appropriate top-level domain (TLD) servers until it finds the authoritative nameserver for the domain.

With DNS forwarding, the local resolver can be configured to send requests to a designated forwarding DNS server instead of going through the recursive process. The forwarding DNS server then retrieves the answer and sends it back to the local resolver, which in turn delivers it to the client.

The forwarding DNS server can be configured to forward requests to other servers until it finds the authoritative server for the domain. This can reduce the workload on the local resolver and speed up the response time for clients.

Step 2: Benefits of DNS Forwarding

Improved network performance: DNS forwarding reduces the number of DNS queries sent across the network, resulting in faster network performance and reduced network traffic.

Reduced network latency: By forwarding DNS requests to an external DNS server, you can reduce network latency and provide faster response times to clients.

Better network security: DNS forwarding can improve network security by preventing clients from communicating directly with unauthorized DNS servers, which can be a source of malware or other security threats.

More reliable DNS resolution: DNS forwarding can improve the reliability of DNS resolution by providing redundancy and failover capabilities if the primary DNS server is unavailable.

Easier management: DNS forwarding can simplify DNS management by allowing you to configure a centralized DNS server to handle DNS queries for all clients on your network.

Improved Network Performance

DNS forwarding can help improve network performance by reducing the workload on the local DNS server. Instead of having to process every request that comes through, the local server can forward requests to another server that may be better equipped to handle the workload.

By offloading some of the requests, the local DNS server can reduce its response time and provide faster resolution times for clients. This means that users will experience faster web browsing, reduced latency, and improved overall network performance.

In addition, DNS forwarding can also help reduce the amount of network traffic on the local network. Since requests are being forwarded to other servers, there are fewer requests that need to be processed locally, which can help reduce the amount of network congestion.

Overall, DNS forwarding can help improve network performance by reducing the workload on local DNS servers and offloading requests to other servers that are better equipped to handle the workload.

Step 3: Configuring Forwarders on Windows Server

Step 1: Launch the DNS Manager on your Windows server.

Step 2: Right-click the server name and select Properties.

Step 3: Click on the Forwarders tab and click Edit.

Step 4: Enter the IP address of the DNS server you want to forward queries to in the Selected domain’s forwarder IP address list.

Step 5: Click OK and then Apply to save the changes.

Open DNS Manager

To configure forwarders on Windows Server, you first need to open the DNS Manager. This can be done by clicking on the Windows button and searching for “DNS Manager”. Alternatively, you can open the Server Manager and navigate to the “DNS” section.

Once you have opened the DNS Manager, you will see a list of DNS servers in the left pane. Select the server you want to configure forwarders for.

Next, right-click on the server name and select “Properties” from the context menu.

In the Properties window, click on the “Forwarders” tab to begin configuring your forwarders.

Now that you have opened the DNS Manager and accessed the Forwarders tab, you are ready to start configuring your DNS forwarders.

Add a Forwarder

To configure a forwarder on Windows Server, you will need to perform the following steps:

1. Open DNS Manager.
2. Right-click the server name and select Properties.
3. Click on the Forwarders tab.
4. Click Edit.
5. In the DNS Domain box, type the name of the domain you want to forward queries to.
6. In the Selected domain’s forwarder IP address list box, type the IP addresses of the DNS servers that you want to forward queries to.

Once you have added the forwarder, click OK to save the changes. Your DNS server will now forward queries for the specified domain to the specified DNS servers.

Step 4: Configuring Forwarders on Linux Server

Linux servers can also be configured to use DNS forwarding. The following steps illustrate the process:

Step 1: Open the named.conf.options file, which is typically located in the /etc/bind/ directory.

Step 2: Add the IP addresses of the DNS servers you want to use as forwarders. You can do this by adding the following lines to the options block:

Step 3: Save the named.conf.options file and restart the DNS service. You can do this using the following command:

Step 4: Verify that the forwarders have been configured correctly by checking the named.conf.options file again, or by using the nslookup command.

Step 5: You can also configure conditional forwarding on a Linux server by adding the forward and forwarders options to a zone block in the named.conf file.

Install BIND DNS Server

If you are using a Linux distribution that does not have BIND DNS Server installed by default, you will need to install it. To install BIND on Ubuntu, for example, you can run the command sudo apt-get install bind9. Once you have installed BIND, you can configure it to use forwarders to resolve DNS queries.

• Step 1: Open the BIND configuration file, usually located at /etc/bind/named.conf.options, using a text editor.
• Step 2: Locate the forwarders directive and add the IP addresses of the DNS servers you want to use as forwarders.
• Step 3: Save and close the file.
• Step 4: Restart the BIND service using the command sudo systemctl restart bind9.

Once you have configured forwarders in BIND, you should be able to resolve DNS queries faster and with greater reliability.

Configure Forwarders in named.conf.options File

Once BIND is installed, the next step is to configure forwarders in the named.conf.options file. This file contains global options for the DNS server, including forwarders. To add a forwarder, you need to edit the named.conf.options file and add the IP address of the forwarder.

To edit the named.conf.options file, use a text editor such as vi or nano. The file is usually located in the /etc/bind/ directory. Open the file and look for the options block. If there is already a forwarders statement, add the IP address of your forwarder to the list. If there is no forwarders statement, create one and add the IP address of your forwarder:

options forwarders 192.0.2.1; ; // other options here ;

Replace 192.0.2.1 with the IP address of your forwarder. You can add multiple forwarders by separating them with semicolons:

options forwarders 192.0.2.1; 192.0.2.2; 192.0.2.3; ; // other options here ;

Save and close the file. Then, restart the BIND service to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl restart bind9

Your DNS server should now be configured to use forwarders. You can test the configuration by querying a domain name that is not in your local DNS zone. The DNS server should forward the query to the forwarder and return the result.

Restart the DNS Service

After adding the forwarder information to the named.conf.options file, the DNS service needs to be restarted for the changes to take effect.

To restart the DNS service on a Linux server, you can use the following command:

sudo systemctl restart bind9

This command will stop and start the BIND DNS service, which will reload the configuration file with the new forwarder information.

It’s important to note that restarting the DNS service will cause a brief period of DNS unavailability, so it’s best to plan for this during a maintenance window or during a time of low traffic on your network.

Once the DNS service has been restarted, you can confirm that the forwarders are working correctly by using the dig command to query external DNS servers, as described in Step

Step 5: Verifying DNS Forwarding

Test the DNS resolution on the server: Use the command-line tool “nslookup” or “dig” to test if the DNS server is able to resolve hostnames using the configured forwarders.

Test the DNS resolution on a client machine: On a client machine, set the DNS server to the IP address of the DNS server configured for forwarding. Test if the client machine can resolve external hostnames using the DNS server.

Monitor DNS traffic: Use network monitoring tools to monitor the DNS traffic to ensure that the DNS server is forwarding the requests to the configured forwarders.

Check DNS logs: Check the DNS server logs for any errors or warnings related to forwarding. This can help in troubleshooting any issues related to DNS forwarding.

Using nslookup Command

Step 1: Open the Command Prompt or Terminal on your computer.

Step 2: Type “nslookup” followed by the domain name you want to query. For example, “nslookup google.com”.

Step 3: Verify that the response shows the IP address of the DNS server configured as the forwarder. If it does, then the DNS forwarding is working properly.

Step 4: If the response shows a different IP address, then the DNS server may not be configured to use the correct forwarder. Check the configuration file and restart the DNS service if necessary.

Using Dig Command

The dig command is a versatile DNS lookup tool that can be used to query DNS servers to obtain various types of DNS records.

To use the dig command, open a terminal on your Linux server and type the following command:

dig @forwarder-IP-address domain-name DNS-record-type

The @ symbol is used to specify the DNS server that you want to query. Replace forwarder-IP-address with the IP address of your DNS forwarder server. Replace domain-name with the domain name that you want to query, and replace DNS-record-type with the type of DNS record that you want to retrieve.

The dig command can be used to retrieve a variety of DNS records, including A, AAAA, MX, NS, SOA, TXT, and more.

Using GUI Tools

Graphical User Interface (GUI) tools provide an easy-to-use interface to perform DNS queries. One of the popular GUI tools is Network Tools, which can be installed on Linux systems. To use it, launch the tool and select the “DNS Lookup” tab. Enter the domain name you want to look up and click “Lookup”. The tool will display the results of the query, including the IP address of the domain.

Another popular GUI tool is Dig, which is available for Windows and Mac systems. To use it, launch the tool and enter the domain name in the “Query” field. Click “Lookup” to perform the query. The tool will display the results of the query, including the IP address of the domain.

There are also web-based GUI tools available, such as DNSstuff and MxToolbox. These tools allow you to perform DNS queries from any device with internet access, without the need for any software installation. To use them, simply navigate to their website, enter the domain name you want to look up, and click “Lookup”. The tool will display the results of the query.

Step 6: Troubleshooting DNS Forwarding Issues

Check DNS Forwarding Configuration: Verify that the forwarding configuration is correct in the named.conf.options file. Ensure that the forwarders are set up correctly and that there are no typos or syntax errors in the file.

Check DNS Server Status: Check the status of the DNS server to ensure that it is running and responding to queries. Use the nslookup or dig command to test the server’s response to queries.

Check Firewall Settings: Check that the firewall settings allow DNS traffic. Check the firewall logs for any blocked traffic that may be related to DNS forwarding.

Check Network Connectivity: Ensure that the network connection is functioning correctly. Check for any network issues such as misconfigured IP addresses, incorrect subnet masks, or routing problems that may be affecting DNS forwarding.

Check DNS Server Logs

If you are experiencing issues with DNS forwarding, one of the first things to do is to check the DNS server logs. The logs can provide valuable information about the problem and help you to identify the root cause. To check the logs, you can use the following command:

sudo tail -f /var/log/syslog

This will display the logs in real-time, and you can see if there are any errors or issues related to DNS forwarding.

If you see any errors related to DNS forwarding, you can use the information in the logs to troubleshoot and resolve the issue. The logs may also contain information about other services or systems that may be causing issues with DNS forwarding.

Verify Firewall Settings

If DNS forwarding issues persist after checking the DNS server logs, you may need to verify the firewall settings. Firewalls can block DNS queries from reaching your DNS server, resulting in failed DNS forwarding.

To verify your firewall settings, you should check the firewall rules to ensure that DNS queries are allowed through. You may need to create a rule to allow DNS traffic if one does not already exist. Additionally, you should check the firewall logs to see if any DNS traffic is being blocked.

It is important to note that firewalls can exist at different levels of your network, including on the DNS server itself, on the client machines, or on network devices such as routers. It is important to check the firewall settings at each level to ensure that DNS traffic is not being blocked.

Once you have verified and adjusted your firewall settings as necessary, you can attempt to perform the nslookup or dig commands again to verify that DNS forwarding is working correctly.

Frequently Asked Questions