BIND DNS Server for Local Network

A containerized BIND9 DNS server solution for managing domain names and DNS resolution within your local network. Perfect for internal network DNS management, development environments, and local domain hosting.

Quick Start • Configuration • Features • Troubleshooting

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📋 Overview

This project provides a fully containerized BIND9 DNS server setup using Docker and Docker Compose. It enables you to:

• Host custom domain names on your local network
• Manage DNS records for internal services
• Control query resolution with ACL-based access control
• Forward DNS queries to external resolvers as fallback
• Deploy easily with pre-configured Docker setup

⚠️ Important Note: This configuration requires static IP addresses for reliable DNS resolution. Ensure all devices and the DNS server have fixed IPs before deployment.

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✨ Features

• 🐳 Docker Containerized - Consistent environment across platforms
• 🔒 ACL-Based Security - Control which networks can query the DNS
• 🔄 DNS Forwarding - Fallback to external resolvers (e.g., Cloudflare 1.1.1.1)
• ⚙️ Easy Configuration - Simple YAML-based setup
• 🔧 Customizable Zones - Add multiple DNS zones and records
• 📦 Persistent Storage - Data retained in named volumes

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🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Docker (Install Docker)
• Docker Compose (Install Docker Compose)
• Git
• Network with static IP configuration

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/ctrlcoded/Bind-DNS.git
   cd Bind-DNS

2. Update network configuration (see Configuration section)

3. Start the DNS server:

   docker-compose up -d

4. Verify the service:

   docker-compose logs bind9

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⚙️ Configuration

Step 1: Configure Network Access (named.conf)

Edit config/named.conf to specify which networks can query your DNS server:

acl internal {
    192.168.0.0/24;      # Your local network subnet
    172.21.30.0/24;      # DNS server subnet
    172.18.0.0/24;       # Additional authorized networks
    172.21.0.0/24;       # Add more as needed
};

options {
    forwarders {
        1.1.1.1;         # Cloudflare DNS (or use 8.8.8.8, 9.9.9.9, etc.)
    };
    allow-query { internal; };        # Only allow configured networks
    allow-query-cache { internal; };  # Cache for authorized networks
};

Update the ACL with your actual network ranges and DNS server IP.

Step 2: Define DNS Zones

Configure your DNS zones in config/named.conf:

zone "example.home" IN {
    type master;
    file "/etc/bind/example-home.zone";
};

Step 3: Add DNS Records

Edit config/example-home.zone to add your DNS records:

$TTL 10d
$ORIGIN example.home.

@           IN      SOA     ns.example.home.        info.example.home. (
                            2024052900      ; Serial
                            12h             ; Refresh
                            15m             ; Retry
                            3w              ; Expire
                            2h              ; Minimum TTL
                            )

            IN      NS      ns.example.home.
ns          IN      A       172.21.30.44    # Your DNS server IP

; DNS Records
mail        IN      A       192.168.0.10
web         IN      A       192.168.0.20
db          IN      A       192.168.0.30

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📦 Docker Compose Setup

The docker-compose.yml configuration:

version: '3'

services:
  bind9:
    container_name: bind9-dns
    image: ubuntu/bind9:latest
    environment:
      - TZ=Asia/Kolkata
      - BIND9_USER=root
    ports:
      - "53:53/tcp"      # DNS over TCP
      - "53:53/udp"      # DNS over UDP
    volumes:
      - ./config:/etc/bind
      - .cache:/var/cache/bind
      - .records:/var/lib/bind
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - bind-network

networks:
  bind-network:
    driver: bridge

Port Requirements:

• Port 53/TCP - DNS queries over TCP
• Port 53/UDP - DNS queries over UDP

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🔧 Usage

Start the DNS Server

# Start in detached mode (background)
docker-compose up -d

# Start with logs visible
docker-compose up

# Start specific service
docker-compose up bind9

View Logs

# View current logs
docker-compose logs bind9

# Follow logs in real-time
docker-compose logs -f bind9

# View last 50 lines
docker-compose logs --tail=50 bind9

Stop the DNS Server

# Stop container (data persists)
docker-compose stop

# Stop and remove containers
docker-compose down

Test DNS Resolution

From any device on your network:

# macOS/Linux
nslookup mail.example.home 192.168.X.X
dig mail.example.home @192.168.X.X

# Windows
nslookup mail.example.home 192.168.X.X

Replace 192.168.X.X with your DNS server's IP address.

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🖥️ Client Configuration

Option 1: Per-Device Configuration

Windows:

1. Open Network Settings → Change adapter options
2. Right-click network connection → Properties
3. Select "IPv4" → Properties
4. Set DNS server to your BIND DNS server IP

macOS:

1. System Preferences → Network → Advanced
2. DNS tab → Add your DNS server IP

Linux:

# Edit /etc/resolv.conf (Ubuntu/Debian)
echo "nameserver 192.168.X.X" | sudo tee /etc/resolv.conf

Option 2: Network-Wide Configuration

Configure your router's DHCP settings to use the BIND DNS server as the primary DNS resolver for all devices.

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📝 Directory Structure

bind-dns/
├── docker-compose.yml      # Docker Compose configuration
├── config/
│   ├── named.conf          # BIND configuration & ACLs
│   └── example-home.zone   # DNS zone file
├── .cache/                 # BIND cache (auto-created)
├── .records/               # BIND records (auto-created)
└── README.md              # This file

Note: Folders .cache and .records are created automatically on first run. If not created, manually create them with:

mkdir .cache .records

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🐛 Troubleshooting

Container won't start

Check logs:

docker-compose logs bind9

Verify named.conf syntax:

docker-compose exec bind9 named-checkconf /etc/bind/named.conf

DNS queries not resolving

1. Check ACL configuration - Ensure your network is in the acl internal block
2. Verify server IP - Confirm clients are querying the correct DNS server IP
3. Check firewall - Ensure port 53 (TCP/UDP) is open on the server
4. Restart service:

   docker-compose restart bind9

Zone file syntax errors

Validate zone file:

docker-compose exec bind9 named-checkzone example.home /etc/bind/example-home.zone

Permissions issues

Reset permissions:

docker-compose exec bind9 chown -R bind:bind /var/cache/bind /var/lib/bind

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📚 DNS Record Types

Type	Purpose	Example
A	IPv4 address	web IN A 192.168.0.10
AAAA	IPv6 address	web IN AAAA 2001:db8::1
CNAME	Alias	alias IN CNAME web.example.home.
MX	Mail server	example.home IN MX 10 mail.example.home.
NS	Nameserver	@ IN NS ns.example.home.
TXT	Text records	example.home IN TXT "v=spf1 -all"

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📖 Additional Resources

• BIND9 Official Documentation
• DNS Record Types
• Docker Documentation
• RFC 1035 - DNS Protocol

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! To contribute:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

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📧 Support

For issues, questions, or suggestions:

• Open an Issue
• Submit a Pull Request

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