Dynamic DNS on linux

cbtshare · 02-23-2012, 02:16 AM

on windows server, any client gets a ip address(once joined the domain), the machine name gets put in the DNS server along with the ip address...

How can I achieve this on linux?(Would I have to make the linux server a Domain Controller?)

Thanks

acid_kewpie · 02-23-2012, 02:27 AM

no need for domain controllers, you just need dhcp and bind with dynamic updates between the two.

Actually if this is only a very small implementation, you can use a service like dnsmasq which will provide both DNS and HCP and share the data between the two sides automatically. Not suitable for larger implementations, but home use, it's great, and very simple.

cbtshare · 02-23-2012, 06:23 AM

Ahh, cool, so whats the other alternative for dnsmasq..I have dhcp and bind, is there a tool similar to (dnsmasq) to do it?

acid_kewpie · 02-23-2012, 06:25 AM

no, dhcpd and bind ARE the tools. http://www.debianadmin.com/howto-set...in-debian.html

cbtshare · 02-23-2012, 06:41 AM

I also tried the dnmasq and it isnt quite what I was looking for.I wanted to see all the names and ip address in the dns server file.I checked and it only had the ipaddress I manually put in there.Or am I doing something wrong...

acid_kewpie · 02-23-2012, 07:50 AM

dnsmasq just forms the dns records in memory, no need for it to write to file.

cbtshare · 02-23-2012, 08:20 AM

yea, I want to be able to look in the zone file and see the ipaddresses added.

acid_kewpie · 02-23-2012, 01:12 PM

that's not exactly an important feature now is it?? try doing a zone transfer, that's probably a better option.

cbtshare · 02-23-2012, 06:50 PM

Well it is kinda important, As a system Admin, you wanna see user's pc given ip-addresses .In windows you would look in the DNS, where do you go in linux?(And would dynamic dns enable that? because dnsmasq doesn't)

acid_kewpie · 02-24-2012, 02:28 AM

well what are you actually after? DNS or DHCP or just auditing? Bind, the worlds most prolific DNS server by a LONG LONG way doesn't do this, zone files are only relevant on load, and are managed much more effectively by internal data structures which would be of no use to a human. If you provide Bind with a dynamic update, it uses a journal file to track the changes, and it's not until you would restart the service that it will potentially commit the data back to a conventional zone file.

As above, do a zone transfer.

cbtshare · 02-24-2012, 06:52 AM

In windows as the name suggests, it transfers the zone from another dns server.Not sure if this is what you mean (as it wouldn't help my cause). I am not sure if your familiar with windows DNS, but in it, you can see the machine names and their respective ip addresses given by the dhcp server.I need to see in linux the above said .

PS..My DNS and DHCP server is the same.

acid_kewpie · 02-24-2012, 06:56 AM

Do a zone transfer:

dig mydomain.com AXFR

This will, access control permitting, provide a dynamically generated zone file from the DNS server. I've written simple bash scripts in the past which will do an axfr and mangle the output into a wiki page which is then automatically uploaded to a wiki server, so there is a safe offline place to see this data, no need to go to MMC etc.

http://docstore.mik.ua/orelly/networ...ns/ch12_09.htm