PowerDNS

PowerDNS is a DNS server program, written in C++ and licensed under the GPL. It runs on most Unix derivatives. PowerDNS features a large number of different backends ranging from simple BIND style zonefiles to relational databases[3] and load balancing/failover algorithms. A DNS recursor is provided as a separate program.

Not to be confused with pdnsd, a caching DNS proxy.
PowerDNS Server
Original author(s)PowerDNS.COM BV
Developer(s)PowerDNS Community, Bert Hubert
Stable release
4.4.0 / December 18, 2020 (2020-12-18)[1]
Repository
Written inC++
Operating systemUnix-like
TypeDNS server
LicenseGNU General Public License v2
Websitewww.powerdns.com 
PowerDNS Recursor
Original author(s)PowerDNS.COM BV
Developer(s)PowerDNS Community, Bert Hubert
Stable release
4.4.2 / December 14, 2020 (2020-12-14)[2]
Repository
Written inC++
Operating systemUnix-like
TypeDNS server
LicenseGNU General Public License v2
Websitewww.powerdns.com 

History

PowerDNS development began in 1999 and was originally a commercial proprietary product. In November 2002, the source code was made public under the open-source GPL v2 license.[4][5]

Features

PowerDNS Authoritative Server (pdns_server) consists of a single core, and multiple dynamically loadable backends that run multi-threaded. The core handles all packet processing and DNS intelligence, while one or more backends deliver DNS records using arbitrary storage methods.

Zone transfers and update notifications are supported, and the processes can run unprivileged and chrooted. Various caches are maintained to speed up query processing. Run-time control is available through the pdns_control command, which allows reloading of separate zones, cache purges, zone notifications and dumps statistics in Multi Router Traffic Grapher / rrdtool format. Realtime information can also be obtained through the optional built-in web server.

There are many independent projects to create management interfaces for PowerDNS.

DNSSEC

The PowerDNS Authoritative Server supports DNSSEC as of version 3.0. While pre-signed zones can be served, it is also possible to perform online signing & key management. This has the upside of being relatively easy, but the downside that the cryptographic keying material is present on the servers itself (which is also true of any HTTPS server when not used with a HSM for example).

Recursor

PowerDNS Recursor (pdns_recursor[6]) is a resolving DNS server, that runs as a separate process.

This part of PowerDNS uses a combination of native threads and user-space threads, through the use of Boost and the MTasker library,[7] which is a simple cooperative multitasking library. It is also available as a standalone package.

It does not have to run a pdns_server process as a gatekeeper for pdns_recursor, if the goal is simply to provide caching/recursing/resolving nameservice as running pdns_recursor on its own is even more efficient than behind the authoritative component.

As of 2007, the Recursor is used by several of the largest Internet providers of the world, including AOL, Shaw Cable and Neuf Cegetel.

Support for DNSSEC validation was added to the pdns_recursor in version 4.0.

See also

References
  1. "Changelogs for Authoritative Server 4.4.x". Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  2. "Changelogs for Recursor 4.4.x". 2020-12-14. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  3. Jeannerot, Christophe (21 October 2016). "POWERDNS [sic]". Azylis dot net (in French). Archived from the original on 27 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019. Nous allons utiliser POWERDNS avec un stockage des tables DNS dans une base de données MARIADB.
  4. Mens, Jan-Piet (2008). Alternative DNS Servers: Choice and Deployment, and Optional SQL/LDAP Back-Ends (Paperback). UIT Cambridge Ltd. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-9544529-9-5.
  5. "About". PowerDNS. PowerDNS.COM BV. n.d. Retrieved 24 January 2019. PowerDNS was launched in 1999"; "Originally closed source"; "In 2002, all PowerDNS software was released as open source
  6. "PowerDNS Recursor". Doc.powerdns.com. Retrieved 2014-05-11.
  7. MTasker
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