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Documentation · Server panel: DNS

Nameservers and resolvers

PanelFi answers DNS for your hosted domains with PowerDNS. This page explains the nameserver names that new zones list, how to set them with their addresses, what to do at the registrar, and the separate resolver settings the server itself uses for lookups.

Where to find itServer panel › Service Configuration › Nameserver Selection ; Server Configuration › Basic Setup ; Networking Setup › Resolver Configuration

Nameserver Selection

Open Service Configuration > Nameserver Selection. PowerDNS is the only nameserver software PanelFi manages. The page shows whether it is running, how many zones it serves and the nameservers given to new zones. If the service is stopped, start it under Service Manager. DNS answers on port 53 (TCP and UDP).

Set the nameserver names

  1. Open Server Configuration > Basic Setup (or the Initial Setup Wizard).
  2. Under Nameservers enter Nameserver 1 to Nameserver 4 and, beside each, the IPv4 address it should resolve to (it defaults to the shared IP). At least two are required; nameserver 3 and 4 are optional.
  3. Save. PanelFi creates the A record for each nameserver when the zone that contains it is hosted on this server (for example ns1.example.com in example.com). For names in zones hosted elsewhere, the confirmation message tells you which glue and A records to create at your registrar or DNS host.

New zones list these names. Customers point their domains at them at their registrar. PanelFi does not rewrite the NS records of existing zones when you change the names; edit them in the DNS Zone Manager if needed.

Use other nameservers for a domain

To use your registrar's or another provider's DNS for a domain, leave its nameservers there and copy the records from its zone in the DNS Zone Manager. For a second nameserver that keeps your domains resolving when this server is down, see DNS clustering.

Resolver Configuration

Resolvers are the DNS servers this server asks when it looks up other domains, for example to deliver mail or issue certificates. They are not the nameservers of your hosted domains.

  1. Open Networking Setup > Resolver Configuration.
  2. Enter the Primary resolver, Secondary resolver and Third resolver, such as your provider's resolvers or public ones like 1.1.1.1, 9.9.9.9 or 8.8.8.8.
  3. Click Save resolvers.
PanelFi Resolver Configuration
Resolver Configuration.

A wrong resolver address stops mail delivery and certificate renewals. On servers where the operating system manages resolvers, the page says so and shows them read-only; change them in the system's network settings.