Deployment Options

nx9-dns-server supports multiple deployment methods to fit your infrastructure needs. This page covers both traditional and containerized deployment options.

Traditional Deployment

Traditional deployment involves running nx9-dns-server directly on a host system, typically managed by systemd.

Prerequisites

• Linux system with systemd
• Appropriate permissions for binding to port 53 (DNS)
• SQLite database access

Step-by-Step Deployment

1. Prepare the Directory Structure

   sudo mkdir -p /var/nx9-dns-server
   sudo mkdir -p /var/log/nx9-dns-server
   sudo useradd -r -s /sbin/nologin dnsuser
   sudo chown -R dnsuser:dnsuser /var/nx9-dns-server /var/log/nx9-dns-server
   

2. Copy the Binary and Configuration Files

   sudo cp target/release/dns_server /var/nx9-dns-server/
   sudo cp conf/dns_records.sql /var/nx9-dns-server/
   sudo cp scripts/preprocess-key.sh /var/nx9-dns-server/
   sudo cp scripts/soa-update.sh /var/nx9-dns-server/
   sudo chmod +x /var/nx9-dns-server/*.sh
   

3. Prepare the DNS Database

   sudo sqlite3 /var/nx9-dns-server/dns.db < /var/nx9-dns-server/dns_records.sql
   sudo chown dnsuser:dnsuser /var/nx9-dns-server/dns.db
   

4. Create a Systemd Service File

   Create /etc/systemd/system/dns-server.service:

   [Unit]
   Description=nx9 DNS Server
   After=network.target
   
   [Service]
   Type=simple
   User=dnsuser
   Group=dnsuser
   WorkingDirectory=/var/nx9-dns-server
   ExecStart=/var/nx9-dns-server/dns_server
   Restart=on-failure
   RestartSec=5
   LimitNOFILE=65536
   
   # Environment variables
   Environment="DNS_BIND=0.0.0.0:53"
   Environment="DNS_DB_PATH=/var/nx9-dns-server/dns.db"
   Environment="DNSSEC_KEY_FILE=/var/nx9-dns-server/Kanydomain.tld.key"
   Environment="DNS_FORWARDERS=8.8.8.8:53,1.1.1.1:53"
   Environment="DNS_NS_RECORDS=ns1.anydomain.tld.,ns2.anydomain.tld."
   Environment="RUST_LOG=info"
   
   # Security
   NoNewPrivileges=yes
   PrivateTmp=yes
   ProtectSystem=full
   ProtectHome=yes
   ReadWritePaths=/var/nx9-dns-server /var/log/nx9-dns-server
   CapabilityBoundingSet=CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE
   AmbientCapabilities=CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE
   
   [Install]
   WantedBy=multi-user.target
   

5. Enable and Start the Service

   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   sudo systemctl enable dns-server.service
   sudo systemctl start dns-server.service
   

6. Check Service Status

   sudo systemctl status dns-server.service
   journalctl -u dns-server.service
   

Automated Deployment Script

For convenience, use the provided deploy.sh script:

#!/bin/bash

set -e

SRC_BIN="/home/youruser/apps/your-ddns/dns_server"
DEST_DIR="/var/nx9-dns-server"
DEST_BIN="$DEST_DIR/dns_server"
PREPROCESS_SCRIPT="$DEST_DIR/preprocess-key.sh"
SOA_UPDATE_SCRIPT="$DEST_DIR/soa-update.sh"

echo "🔐 Fixing permissions and running preprocess..."
sudo chmod +x "$PREPROCESS_SCRIPT"
sudo -u dnsuser "$PREPROCESS_SCRIPT"

echo "🛠 Updating SOA record..."
sudo chown dnsuser:dnsuser "$SOA_UPDATE_SCRIPT"
sudo chmod +x "$SOA_UPDATE_SCRIPT"
sudo -u dnsuser "$SOA_UPDATE_SCRIPT"

echo "📄 Verifying processed.key content..."
sudo cat "$DEST_DIR/processed.key"

echo "🛑 Stopping DNS server..."
sudo systemctl stop dns-server.service

echo "📦 Deploying new dns_server binary..."
sudo cp "$SRC_BIN" "$DEST_BIN"
sudo chown dnsuser:dnsuser "$DEST_DIR"

echo "🔁 Reloading systemd and restarting service..."
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart dns-server.service

echo "📈 Checking service status..."
sudo systemctl status dns-server.service

Docker Deployment

Docker deployment offers a containerized approach with minimal host system requirements.

Prerequisites

• Docker Engine
• Docker Compose (optional, for more complex deployments)

Basic Docker Deployment

1. Build the Docker Image

   # Clone the repository
   git clone https://github.com/thakares/nx9-dns-server.git
   cd nx9-dns-server
   
   # Build the Docker image
   docker build -t nx9-dns-server:latest .
   

2. Run the Container

   # Create directories for persistent data
   mkdir -p ./data ./keys ./logs
   
   # Run with basic configuration
   docker run -d --name nx9-dns \
     -p 53:53/udp -p 53:53/tcp \
     -p 8080:8080 -p 8081:8081 \
     -v $(pwd)/data/dns.db:/var/nx9-dns-server/dns.db \
     -v $(pwd)/keys:/etc/nx9-dns-server/keys \
     -v $(pwd)/logs:/