KEA DHCP missing "Register DHCP leases in DNS Resolver..."

johnpoz · Dec 9, 2024, 2:53 PM

@pvk1 yeah I think there is/was an issue with kea if you had fqdn for ntp before, that it would just not run.

Gertjan · Dec 9, 2024, 2:57 PM

@johnpoz said in KEA DHCP missing "Register DHCP leases in DNS Resolver...":

that it would just not run.

Exact.
If I do this :

and then I save :

I see a big red error message :

telling me that a host name is a no go.

Still, the tooltip told me :

johnpoz · Dec 9, 2024, 4:09 PM

@Gertjan yeah this is the confusing part for some users

Maybe that should of never been an option, since dhcp can never use it - but pfsense was doing some magic in the background to convert the fqdn you put in to an IP.. Which guess is ok if the ntp server only has 1 IP, etc.. But with a pool address which is very dynamic and pool membership is very fluid - since its really just users that add their server to the pool, these change all the time..

So in hindsight (which is always 20/20) allowing for fqdn prob not the best choice.

clawsonn · Dec 10, 2024, 3:08 AM

@Slowmotion-0 said in KEA DHCP missing "Register DHCP leases in DNS Resolver...":

As of this moment (Feb-2024), besides the static IP mapping approach, is there any other trick we can do to inject the KEA DHCP leases into DNS Resolver?

What is the KEA trick with static IP mapping approach?
I have a machine with 2.7.2 running KEA and dns resolver does not resolve any hostnames that are acquired from dhcp or hostnames that are DHCP static reservation ip mapped.

I read most the posts and appears that 24.11 PLUS has returned with this feature but my machine is CE not PLUS https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/releases/24-11.html "This release includes support for DNS Registration of DHCP client hostnames from the Kea DHCP daemon to the Unbound DNS Resolver"

johnpoz · Dec 10, 2024, 4:05 AM

@clawsonn just move back to isc, until such time that kea has all the features you want there is no reason to move to it.

Yes isc is end of life, doesn't mean it stopped working or that there are any sort of serious security risks with running it.

If your running CE version, wait til 2.8 comes out - hopefully kea will have the features you want then.

Gertjan · Dec 10, 2024, 7:28 AM

@clawsonn said in KEA DHCP missing "Register DHCP leases in DNS Resolver...":

I have a machine with 2.7.2 running KEA and dns resolver does not resolve any hostnames that are acquired from dhcp

Then this option would do the trick :
Under Services > DNS Resolver > General Settings, there is an option called "DHCP registration" (something like that, I don't have that anymore since I use Kea on 24.11)
If these host names are not valid ... call Houston. Some device don't even communicate a host name.
And worse : every time a lease is received, the pfSense DNS (resolver) gets restarted.

@clawsonn said in KEA DHCP missing "Register DHCP leases in DNS Resolver...":

or hostnames that are DHCP static reservation ip mapped

That's the option right after.
That option always worked for me, I've been using 2.7.2 for a while.
And you can check they are included in the local DNS cache : see this file : /etc/hosts
If this doesn't work for you : call Houston again : you have a DNS problem.

@clawsonn said in KEA DHCP missing "Register DHCP leases in DNS Resolver...":

I read most the posts and appears that 24.11 PLUS has returned with this feature but my machine is CE not PLUS

Correct. That's the new way of doing things.
With 24.11 I see these lines in the DHCP logs :

2024-12-10 08:05:49.292692+01:00 	kea2unbound 	72549 	Write include: /var/unbound/leases/leases4.conf (f8fa5d9f54dbf4eb328a3018566546c4e14278931f34a53625dc5d0cd16da077)
2024-12-10 08:05:49.230901+01:00 	kea2unbound 	72549 	Add record: "iphone-xii-gertjan.bhf.tld. 2400 IN A 192.168.1.35"

=> as soon as my phone connects to the LAN network, it gets a DHCPv4 lease.
The lease contains a valid host name, and the host name and IPv4 is communicated to the resolver (unbound).
I'm testing this now for a week or so. Its looking very good.
Btw : same story for the IPv6 and the reverse.

Don't worry, 2.8.x show up. Netgate wanted this new system to be tested first by the ones who are paying for it (Plus users) before its releases the same functionality into the 'free' version

kuchenmann · Feb 9, 2025, 9:26 AM

Same shit in year 2025.
Why are users forced to use such crap?

webdawg · Apr 22, 2025, 3:07 AM

Sorry to necrobump, but I am a long term user of pfSense. I really feel strongly that this thread has been cr*apped on. I have implemented it in different environments from gov to retail business to lab to AWS.

I took a break for a bit, and do not work for a company that uses it, and upgraded my lab. I read this entire thread:

I cannot understand how anyone can ever think that routers do not resolve dns names of dhcp hosts - I am struggling to remember one that ever did not - we are talking d-link 2000 era 56k dial up
**You did not study your users very well here

*When I switched over to to KEA it started recording my unique identifier and broke all of my preconfigured static dhcp entries

*I don't know. I don't read release notes sometimes. When the kids are crying, and the wife is beating down my door, and I need to upgrade a lab router, I just hope it boots.
**The same goes for budget strapped IT people

I get it, but you have this GIANT warning above the DHCP server like it is just switch and go. Possibly put release notes here?:

I interviewed with your company, and I cannot tell you how many times I have seen stuff like this, and wish I was there. There are industry leading features that could grant you a new market segment. You are breaking things in one market segment, and then being rude to your users when they jump on your forums.

This is one of the best products I have used in my life, and when I did work for other companies, we purchased your hardware, and we paid for support. You have one of the best teams I have worked with.

It is hard to balance this stuff, I get it. I can't imagine the feature requests you have on your plate. I can tell you something even stranger: After I switched to KEA, resolving DHCP requests worked until I edited Host and Domain overrides on my server. So this stuff seems super possible and even easy, but some developer or requirements gathering said "not needed" and when users post here you tell them deal with it?

I hope your sprints get this feedback information. I still love pfsense and it has been a long journey.

ps
It could have also been the fact that I added a host alias that resolves via DNS - but I will never know.

uneventfullogs · Apr 22, 2025, 5:55 AM

@webdawg yeah, the effort needed to sign up for the forum really underscores 1) how much I like pfsense's hardware and WANT this to work and 2) how messed up and annoying this is and 3) that I have some small, small sliver of hope that netgate wises up to this and is more careful in the future.

tinfoilmatt · Apr 22, 2025, 2:25 PM

@webdawg said in KEA DHCP missing "Register DHCP leases in DNS Resolver...":

Sorry to necrobump, but I am a long term user of pfSense. I really feel strongly that this thread has been cr*apped on.
[ . . . ]
You are breaking things in one market segment, and then being rude to your users when they jump on your forums.

Your post seems to be directed at Netgate. But I count only two official Netgate replies (from the same poster) up until this point—and both are empathetic and respectful.

As one of the 'crappers' on the thread, I feel obligated to point out that the rest of us here are merely users like you, who may simply disagree with some of the points you and others are making.

herbcso

So based on the 2.8.0 release notes it sounds to me like KEA should now support resolving DNS names, right? Seems to me like that's what it's saying, but I'm not an expert on this.

Gertjan

@herbcso said in KEA DHCP missing "Register DHCP leases in DNS Resolver...":

it sounds to me like KEA should now support resolving DNS names, right?

Exact.
I'm using pfSense Plus which had that issue solved months ago. Works just fine.

Example :

a phone connects on my 192.168.1.0/24 (LAN) network, and got a lease from the pfSense kea DHCP server on that network.
The "kea2unbound" script is the "bridge" (glue-ware ^^) that gets the IP and host name, and communicates it to unbound.
From now on, the IP con be resolved to the host name (reverse resolution) and host name to IP (resolution).

mdima

Hello, it might work with the DNS Resolver, but not with the DNS Forwarder.

I am using KIA and the DNS Forwarder service and the dynamically set addresses are not resolved in the network.

I need to switch back to ISC because of that. :(

johnpoz

@mdima or just use unbound in forwarder mode. What does the forwarder service bring you that you can not do with unbound?

mdima

@johnpoz yes, I could do that, just I have to replicate a bit of settings currently set in the DNS forwarder.

This is an alternative to dodge the issue, just if KIA would work also with the DNS Forwarder would be nicer. (also, why is there a separate DNS Forwarder if there is such an option? :S)

johnpoz

@mdima not sure why the forwarder is still around to be honest, unbound was added and made the default years and years ago - you would think the forwarder would have dropped off by now. But the one thing I do know the forwarder still has a feature that I do not believe you can do with unbound is parallel. or sequential queries. Some users might want to ask all the nameservers at once and just use the first answer.. I do not believe unbound does that.

They might have kept it around because of the long standing problem with dhcp registrations in unbound causing restart of the service which can be problematic.. Now that they are fixing that aspect - maybe forwarder drops off at some point of being included?? I don't believe the forwarder had that problem?

I personally don't understand why with the ability to resolve users don't do that - but there are some cases where resolving has issues.. If you are on a really high latency connection, resolving can be problematic - but unbound can forward..

guiambros

@herbcso said in KEA DHCP missing "Register DHCP leases in DNS Resolver...":

So based on the 2.8.0 release notes it sounds to me like KEA should now support resolving DNS names, right?

Oh finally! Thanks @herbcso for the tip. Just upgraded to 2.8.0, and now DHCP registration is working properly (including static mappings).

No need for a bunch of ugly Host Overrides on DNS Server anymore!

rocdiva

I'm using KEA DHCP and the "DHCP Registration" field is not present. I'm on 2.8.0. Per this post it should be in latter releases, which 2.8.0 is. Is there something else that I need to turn on?

rocdiva

@guiambros Hi, I just upgraded to 2.8.0 and Register DHCP leases in DNS Resolver, and the static mapping option are not present. Did you have to do anything specific to get these to show up?

guiambros

@rocdiva Are you sure you're looking in the right service? The DHCP registration option is set in Services / DHCP Server, but your screenshot shows the DNS Server config. Here: