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    pfSense 2.7 DNS Resolver doesn't start

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved DHCP and DNS
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    • GertjanG
      Gertjan @LastOfTheRonnies
      last edited by Gertjan

      @LastOfTheRonnies said in pfSense 2.7 DNS Resolver doesn't start:

      I do see a HUP coming from dhcpd at 11:03:42

      You're close ๐Ÿ˜Š
      This is the one :

      @LastOfTheRonnies said in pfSense 2.7 DNS Resolver doesn't start:

      pfSense dhcpleases[64065]: Sending HUP signal to dns daemon(47791)

      'some one' has checked the option "Register DHCP ...." under the Resolver settings.
      So, whenever a DHCP lease comes in or is renew, your unbound resolver gets shot (sorry : restarted).
      Btw : "dhcpleases" asks for a restart, not a stop.
      If your unbound won't restart any more then ... dono why ( maybe it was getting getting tired of being restarted all the time ? ๐Ÿ˜Š )

      Anyway : now you know what to do.

      Btw : I just discovered that these options do not exist any more under 23.09, so they probably wont exist any more under the upcoming 2.7.1.

      No "help me" PM's please. Use the forum, the community will thank you.
      Edit : and where are the logs ??

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      • L
        LastOfTheRonnies @Gertjan
        last edited by

        @Gertjan
        Hi, yes I selected to register DNS names as I needed it for mDNS functionality with IOT devices. I moved to a Technitium DNS server instead, setting PFSense to forward, and it has been stable ever since (and I get pretty little graphs and better DNS management as a bonus).

        So the option to register DNS on lease creation or renewal has now been removed? So how does local DNS work then if it's gone?

        johnpozJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • johnpozJ
          johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @LastOfTheRonnies
          last edited by johnpoz

          @LastOfTheRonnies said in pfSense 2.7 DNS Resolver doesn't start:

          needed it for mDNS functionality

          Think you might need to relook up how mdns works ;)

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multicast_DNS

          the multicast DNS (mDNS) protocol resolves hostnames to IP addresses within small networks that do not include a local name server.

          When an mDNS client needs to resolve a hostname, it sends an IP multicast query message that asks the host having that name to identify itself. That target machine then multicasts a message that includes its IP address. All machines in that subnet can then use that information to update their mDNS caches.

          An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
          If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
          Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
          SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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          • L
            LastOfTheRonnies @johnpoz
            last edited by LastOfTheRonnies

            @johnpoz Hmm - fair enough point. .local name resolution was what I was looking for rather than mDNS discovery specifically.
            But the point stands: I should be able to register hostnames on DHCP register leases/renewals without the service dumping and not restarting, right?

            johnpozJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • johnpozJ
              johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @LastOfTheRonnies
              last edited by johnpoz

              @LastOfTheRonnies said in pfSense 2.7 DNS Resolver doesn't start:

              I should be able to hostnames on DHCP register leases/renewals without the service dumping and not restarting, right?

              That has been an issue with pfsense and unbound for very long time. While you can register dhcp, it forces a restart of unbound. Depending on how many clients you have, how often you have clients renew there lease it may not be a problem for you.

              How fast your unbound restarts, also comes into play.

              One solution is to just set a reservation for your devices, so they will always get the same IP. And just register these static/reservations which are only loaded when unbound starts.. So there are no restarts that happen every time a client renews a lease.

              There is some hope that with the move to KEA vs isc dhcp that this issue will go away. But Kea is not yet fully functional, it is in preview mode and many features are not yet implemented in pfsense.

              .local name resolution

              if your trying to use that with your normal dns, your doing it wrong to start with. .local is really only for use with mdns.. Use some other domain, home.apra is the recommended/approved domain to use for local dns..

              I use local.lan, but slowing moving away from that to home.arpa

              An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
              If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
              Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
              SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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              • L
                LastOfTheRonnies @johnpoz
                last edited by

                @johnpoz Ok, thanks for the pointers & education. I do have static reservations for ~98% of my devices. The issue only started once I updated from 2.6.x to 2.7.0.

                johnpozJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • johnpozJ
                  johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @LastOfTheRonnies
                  last edited by

                  @LastOfTheRonnies what issue exactly? There is not any issues that I am aware of with dns registration of reservations in 2.7..

                  An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                  If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                  Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                  SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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                  • L
                    LastOfTheRonnies @LastOfTheRonnies
                    last edited by

                    @johnpoz said in pfSense 2.7 DNS Resolver doesn't start:

                    what issue exactly?

                    @LastOfTheRonnies said in pfSense 2.7 DNS Resolver doesn't start:

                    Unbound goes for a restart but does not complete the reload.

                    johnpozJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • johnpozJ
                      johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @LastOfTheRonnies
                      last edited by

                      @LastOfTheRonnies Well that is not related to loading static reservations.

                      You have to look to see why its not finishing the restart - but really it shouldn't restart unless your trying to register dhcp.

                      An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                      If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                      Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                      SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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                      • T
                        TampertK @andhie13312328
                        last edited by

                        I've followed all recommendations from @Gertjan and @johnpoz, but unfortunately I'm also still facing the issue of Unbound not completing a restart once every two weeks or so. Same behavior since updating to 2.7.1

                        I have no idea how to pinpoint the issue, besides this being an issue I'm facing since 2.7

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