<![CDATA[DNS Dynamic Host Updates in Resolver/Forwarder?]]>pfSense is my DHCP and local DNS server. On my LAN: a variety of Windoze, Linux, etc boxen.
(I transferred from using fancy DD-WRT router for everything... it worked but was overloaded.)
I run my LAN as a private subnet of one of my publicly known domains. Let's say sub.example.com

An issue I can't resolve: all Windows boxes attempt to perform DNS Dynamic Updates on renewal of DHCP (you can force using "ipconfig /registerdns")... and it always fails with pfSense Forwarder/Resolver.

My diagnostic skills are very limited in DNS, but here's what I see so far (Wireshark is your friend ;) )

  • Windows seeks SOA for sub.example.com from pfSense
    -> This always returns nothing from pfsense... i.e. success but blank, NOT authoritative
  • Then it seeks SOA for example.com -- which succeeds (ie it gets the external public primary DNS server of the domain)
  • Then it seeks to do DNS Dynamic Update to the DNS server for example.com -- which of course fails as these are private addresses on my local LAN

Assuming the above is true/real, I can simplify this: in pfSense, "dig SOA sub.example.com" -- always returns blank, not authoritative.

QUESTIONS

  1. How do I fix this?
  2. Can either the Forwarder (dnsmasq) or Resolver (unbound) be configured as authoritative, updateable, DNS server for a local subnet?

I would have thought this would be a very common, basic thing... yet lots of googling finds zero information at all.

HELP!!! :-D

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/topic/150917/dns-dynamic-host-updates-in-resolver-forwarderRSS for NodeWed, 22 Jul 2026 13:55:06 GMTSat, 29 Feb 2020 03:44:48 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to DNS Dynamic Host Updates in Resolver/Forwarder? on Sat, 29 Feb 2020 17:31:10 GMT]]>After a bunch of googling:

  • unbound is not ever authoritative
  • dnsmasq CAN be authoritative. I'm working on it...
]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/894553https://forum.netgate.com/post/894553Sat, 29 Feb 2020 17:31:10 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to DNS Dynamic Host Updates in Resolver/Forwarder? on Sat, 29 Feb 2020 08:47:53 GMT]]>afaik no, both are only recursive, you need the bind package

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/894492https://forum.netgate.com/post/894492Sat, 29 Feb 2020 08:47:53 GMT