Short hostnames not working on 2.3.3

kpa

It's is solely the client's responsibility to slap on search domains to short names, pfSense's "new" behaviour is the correct one.

As a matter of fact, DNS doesn't know short names as such. The only "short names" recorded in DNS are the top level domains .com, .org and so on. All other cases of short names working as DNS names are the client appending a search domain to the short name to complete the name to a FQDN before it is tried with the DNS resolver.

JKnott

As a matter of fact, DNS doesn't know short names as such. The only "short names" recorded in DNS are the top level domains .com, .org and so on.

Actually, it's quite easy to have both FQDN and short names in /etc/hosts. Either will return the correct IP address.

kpa

@JKnott:

As a matter of fact, DNS doesn't know short names as such. The only "short names" recorded in DNS are the top level domains .com, .org and so on.

Actually, it's quite easy to have both FQDN and short names in /etc/hosts. Either will return the correct IP address.

True but /etc/hosts is not part of DNS, it's part of the local resolver(3) and entries in it are local overrides that don't have to play the rules of DNS and can have short names without interfering with anything else.

bheinsius

great discussion but i am the original poster of this thread and i had a problem .. :)

the problem is that after upgrading from 2.3.2 to 2.3.3_1, dns for servers on my local network that received their ip address from pfsense's dhcp server did not work anymore.
i reported this on the installation topic, the administrator there said - very quickly imho - this problem was due to shortnames and threw my question over here to the DHCP and DNS topic.

so i posted the content of my pfsense router's /etc/hosts (see first message in this thread). all entries there have fqdn's, next to short names.
is the mere existance of the shortnames causing the problem? if so how do they get there?
i'm not expert in this field but i do believe i have all settings correct:

in dns forwarder: Register DHCP leases in DNS forwarder
in system: general setup i have the domain filled in
all clients have a search domain

any help is appreciated!

WayneSherman

@bheinsius:

in dns forwarder: Register DHCP leases in DNS forwarder
in system: general setup i have the domain filled in
all clients have a search domain

On the Services | DNS Resolver settings page, do you have this checked?:

Static DHCP Register DHCP static mappings in the DNS Resolver
If this option is set, then DHCP static mappings will be registered in the DNS Resolver, so that their name can be resolved. The domain in System > General Setup should also be set to the proper value.

bheinsius

I don't use DNS Resolver, I use DNS Forwarder.

wila

Hi,

I had the same issue, not even long domain names worked in the DNS forwarder.
Turns out it is due to a setting in the General Setup "DNS Server override"

"If this option is set, pfSense will use DNS servers assigned by a DHCP/PPP server on WAN for its own purposes (including the DNS Forwarder/DNS Resolver). However, they will not be assigned to DHCP clients."

That was checked on my setup and as such none of my local - full domain forward overrides - worked anymore.
This was never a problem before pfSense 2.3.3_1.

Perhaps it makes sense, but at least unchecking that and manually setting the DNS server setting above that instead of getting it from DHCP immediately fixed the issue I was having.
After that I could query for any of the internal DNS entries again.

cheers!

bheinsius

That solved it, thanks!

wila

Well I rebooted pfSense while still on 2.3.3_1 and it stopped working again.
So figured to update to 2.3.4 and see if that helped.

Nope my local DNS forwards -with FULL FQDN!- do not work.
I checked the same setting and the custom forwards immediately started working.

For kicks I rebooted the pfSense box again and it -yet again- stopped working.
Then I unchecked the "DNS Server Override" and it starts working again.

So somehow the forwarder only works if you change that config setting.
Smells like a bug to me.

johnpoz

Dude are you hitting save after you uncheck use override? That box would not recheck itself, unless you not saving the config change.

wila

Sure I use save all right.

You are missing what I am saying.

It only works after I make a change to that particular setting.

After I reboot the setting is still there an indication that the save worked.
But the forwarder does not work for the list of predefined custom FQDNs unless I make a change.
Once the setting has changed it works.

It does not matter if the box is checked or unchecked.
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Wil