Linux DNS settings is a total mess - eviltoast

I recently tried to enable system-wide DNS over https on Fedora. To do so I had to to some research and found out how comfusing it is for the average user (and even experienced users) to change the settings. In fact there are multiple backends messing with system DNS at the same time.

Most major Linux distributions use systemd-resolved for DNS but there is no utility for changing its configuration.

The average user would still try to change DNS settings by editing /etc/relov.conf (which is overwritten and will not survive reboots) or changing settings in Network Manager.

Based on documentation of systemd-resolved, the standard way of adding custom DNS servers is putting so-called ‘drop-in’ files in /etc/systemd/resolved.conf.d directory, especially when you want to use DNS-over-TLS or DNS-over-https.

Modern browsers use their buit-in DNS settings which adds to the confusion.

I think this is one area that Linux needs more work and more standardization.

How do you think it should be fixed?

  • lemmyvore@feddit.nlEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    Programs should be using the system resolver, not parsing that file.

    What’s a “system resolver”? We’re talking about DNS servers. You’re either running one locally or not. Either way, you need a way for everybody to know what DNS servers to use, regardless of whether you run one on the machine. That’s where resolv.conf comes in.

    And that can break things in subtle, unpredictable ways, which is always a headache.

    Let’s see some examples.

    A single global resolv.conf file also will not let you configure different behavior based on interface or on network namespace.

    Good, because that has nothing to do with DNS, it’s a matter of routing. They’re orthogonal issues.