How to Install BIND on Arch Linux

BIND (Berkeley Internet Name Domain) is a popular open-source software for DNS management. In this tutorial, we will learn how to install BIND on Arch Linux.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have the following:

• An Arch Linux system
• A user account with sudo privileges

Step 1: Update System

First, update the system packages to their latest versions using the following command:

sudo pacman -Syu

Step 2: Install BIND

To install BIND, use the following command:

sudo pacman -S bind

This will install BIND and all its dependencies.

Step 3: Configure BIND

Before we start using BIND, we need to make some configuration changes.

1. Change directory to /etc/bind:

   cd /etc/bind
   

2. Copy the default configuration files to a new directory:

   sudo mkdir -p original
   sudo cp * original/
   

   This will create a backup of the original configuration files.

3. Edit the named.conf file to uncomment the following directives:

   include "/etc/bind/named.conf.options";
   include "/etc/bind/named.conf.local";
   

4. Edit the named.conf.options file. Replace the contents with the following:

   options {
       directory "/var/cache/bind";
       forwarders {
           8.8.8.8;
           8.8.4.4;
       };
       dnssec-validation auto;
       auth-nxdomain no; # conform to RFC1035
       listen-on-v6 { any; };
   };
   

   This configuration specifies the DNS forwarding servers and enables DNSSEC validation.

5. Edit the named.conf.local file to add your local DNS zones:

   zone "example.com" {
       type master;
       file "/etc/bind/db.example.com";
   };
   

   This configuration specifies a master zone for the example.com domain.

6. Create the zone file db.example.com:

   sudo nano /etc/bind/db.example.com
   

   Add the following content to the file:

   $TTL 86400
   @ IN SOA ns1.example.com. admin.example.com. (
       2016082401 ; Serial
       28800 ; Refresh
       7200 ; Retry
       604800 ; Expire
       86400 ; TTL
   )
   
   @ IN NS ns1.example.com.
   @ IN NS ns2.example.com.
   
   ns1 IN A 192.168.0.2
   ns2 IN A 192.168.0.3
   

   This configuration specifies the DNS A records for the Name Servers (ns1.example.com and ns2.example.com).

7. Restart the BIND service to apply the changes:

   sudo systemctl restart named
   

Step 4: Verify BIND Installation

To verify the installation, use the dig command to perform a DNS resolution test:

dig example.com

This should return the IP addresses of the DNS Name Servers specified in the db.example.com file.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and configured BIND on Arch Linux.

If you want to self-host in an easy, hands free way, need an external IP address, or simply want your data in your own hands, give IPv6.rs a try!

Alternatively, for the best virtual desktop, try Shells!