Configure DNS servers through IPCP
After I've fixed the default routing in my home office, I've stumbled across another problem: the two ISPs I'm using for my primary and backup link have DNS servers that reply solely to the DNS requests sent from their own IP address range:
When the traffic is switched from the primary to the backup ISP, I therefore also need to switch the DNS servers. Fortunately, this is quite easy to do on a router; you just need to configure ppp ipcp dns request on the dialer interface and the router starts asking for the DNS server address as part of the IPCP negotiation.
The negotiation process can be debugged with the debug ppp negotiation command; it's a bit more complex than usual in my case since the access server has no secondary DNS (only the primary DNS is configured):
Se1/0 IPCP: O CONFREQ [Closed] id 1 len 22The results can be inspected only with the show host command:
Se1/0 IPCP: Address 0.0.0.0 (0x030600000000)
Se1/0 IPCP: PrimaryDNS 0.0.0.0 (0x810600000000)
Se1/0 IPCP: SecondaryDNS 0.0.0.0 (0x830600000000)
Se1/0 PPP: Process pending ncp packets
Se1/0 IPCP: Redirect packet to Se1/0
Se1/0 IPCP: I CONFREQ [REQsent] id 1 len 10
Se1/0 IPCP: Address 10.0.0.33 (0x03060A000021)
Se1/0 IPCP: O CONFACK [REQsent] id 1 len 10
Se1/0 IPCP: Address 10.0.0.33 (0x03060A000021)
Se1/0 IPCP: I CONFREJ [ACKsent] id 1 len 10
Se1/0 IPCP: SecondaryDNS 0.0.0.0 (0x830600000000)
Se1/0 IPCP: O CONFREQ [ACKsent] id 2 len 16
Se1/0 IPCP: Address 0.0.0.0 (0x030600000000)
Se1/0 IPCP: PrimaryDNS 0.0.0.0 (0x810600000000)
Se1/0 IPCP: I CONFNAK [ACKsent] id 2 len 16
Se1/0 IPCP: Address 10.0.0.34 (0x03060A000022)
Se1/0 IPCP: PrimaryDNS 10.0.0.10 (0x81060A00000A)
Se1/0 IPCP: O CONFREQ [ACKsent] id 3 len 16
Se1/0 IPCP: Address 10.0.0.34 (0x03060A000022)
Se1/0 IPCP: PrimaryDNS 10.0.0.10 (0x81060A00000A)
Se1/0 IPCP: I CONFACK [ACKsent] id 3 len 16
Se1/0 IPCP: Address 10.0.0.34 (0x03060A000022)
Se1/0 IPCP: PrimaryDNS 10.0.0.10 (0x81060A00000A)
Se1/0 IPCP: State is Open
GW#show hostThe access server receiving the call requires no special configuration; the first IP address configured with the ip name-server command is used as the primary DNS and the second one as the secondary. Alternatively, you can configure a different set of DNS servers to pass to the client with the ppp ipcp dns primary-DNS-address secondary-DNS-address interface configuration command.
Default domain is not set
Name/address lookup uses domain service
Name servers are 10.0.0.10
Unfortunately, the integration with LAN clients is not as seamless as with DHCP; to make the whole solution work, you have to configure the router as a forwarding DNS server and make the LAN clients use the router as the default gateway and DNS server with the DHCP pool configuration:
ip dns server
!
ip dhcp pool LAN
import all
network 192.168.0.0 255.255.255.240
default-router 192.168.0.1
dns-server 192.168.0.1
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6 comments:
Why not use OpenDNS (www.opendns.com) instead of crappy ISP DNS servers? At that rate you gain phishing protection, domain name auto-correction, filtering (if you set up an account) and of course much faster and ultra fault tolerance by way of anycast usage. I don't work for or am affiliated in OpenDNS in any way, but they sure do rock!
Thanks for the hint - I've started using it on my newly-installed Linux box (the IOS DNS server would behave strangely when faced with IPv6-related records) and it works perfectly ;)
Hi Ivan,
I've tried your hint and my debug is like your but my router doesn't fix the DNS address in the host table that is:
Router#show host
Default domain is not set
Name/address lookup uses domain service
Name servers are 255.255.255.255
Codes: u - unknown, e - expired, * - OK, ? - revalidate
t - temporary, p - permanent
...
Can you help me?
Are you sure the SP is sending you DNS addresses in IPCP reply?
Yes, I found it in debug trace
Yes, I see it in debug trace
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