DNS

DNS, or Domain Name System, is the mechanism by which a network device resolves a name like www.example.com to an IP address such as 198.51.100.25, or vice versa. Clients must have functional DNS if they are to reach other devices such as servers using their hostnames or fully qualified domain names.

DNS Resolver/Forwarder

These topics cover using pfSense® software to handle DNS requests from local clients as either a caching DNS resolver or forwarder. When acting as a resolver or forwarder, pfSense software will performs DNS resolution directly or hand off queries to an upstream DNS forwarding server.

• DNS Resolution Process
• DNS Resolver
• DNS Forwarder
• DNS Rebinding Protections
• Creating Wildcard Records in DNS Forwarder/Resolver

See also

• DNS Lookup

• Interface and DNS Configuration

• Troubleshooting DNS Resolution Issues

• Troubleshooting the DNS Cache

• Troubleshooting DNS Queries

DNS Guides

How to perform various tasks related to DNS.

• Configuring DNS over TLS

• Blocking External Client DNS Queries

• Redirecting Client DNS Requests

Dynamic DNS

Dynamic DNS updates an external DNS server with an interface IP address when it changes. This enables a firewall with a dynamic WAN such as DHCP or PPPoE to host public services even when its IP address changes periodically.