Preparing DNS Server for Registration

First, prepare a server that you wish to register as a DNS server in Plesk Expand:

1. Make sure that the required operating system is installed on the server. At the moment, these can be either of the following:

• RedHat Linux 9;
• Fedore Core 1, 2, 3;
• CentOS 3.3, 3.4.

Note: The Centralized DNS software can be installed on one machine with Plesk Expand, but cannot be installed on one machine with Plesk or with the Centralized Mail server.

2. Make sure that the following software is installed and started on the server:

• bind v.9.2.1 (DNS server) or higher (http://www.isc.org/);
• xerces-c v.2.5.0-6 or higher.

  Issue the following commands respectively:

  [root@demo root]# rpm -q bind

  [root@demo root]# rpm -q xerces

If these packages are missing on the server, install them. For installation instructions, refer to Plesk Expand Installation Guide.

Note: For correct operation of the Centralized DNS server, manual installation of bind is required.

3. Check if the DNS controller is installed and started on the server:

[root@demo root]# rpm -q dnscontroller

Note: DNS Controller (DNSC) is a service used for managing a Name Server (bind) and configuring zones of a selected DNS server. Without it, the Centralized DNS service will be unavailable.

If it is missing, select either way:

• install it manually. For installation instructions, see Plesk Expand Installation Guide here.
• use the automatic installation option at the registration of this DNS server in Plesk Expand.

  For the automatic installation, assure that:

1. the ssh server is installed and started on the DNS server.
2. the permission for the root user to connect through ssh is set. For this, set the 'PermitRootLogin yes' option in the '/etc/ssh/sshd_config' configuration file of the ssh server.
3. the Name server bind of the version required by the DNS Controller is installed on the DNS server.

4. Make certain the firewall rules are observed:

• 8441 port on the registered DNS server must be open for INPUT/OUTPUT from the machine Plesk Expand is installed on.
• 8441 port on the Plesk Expand server must be open for INPUT/OUTPUT for all Centralized DNS servers.

Important: All Plesk servers communicate with the Centralized DNS server via the main Plesk Expand server. The Plesk Expand server is identified by the DNS server by its hostname. The hostname is stored on the DNS server in the hosts.allow file, which is located in the directory usr/local/dnscontroller/conf.

Please make sure that the hostname specified in the hosts.allow file is resolved into the correct IP address of the Plesk Expand server.

In case you wish to change the hostname of the main Plesk Expand server, you should manually change the hostname in the hosts.allow file. If you change the IP address of the main Plesk Expand server, please make sure it is properly resolved to the hostname.

If you wish to introduce another Plesk Expand server to the system, you need to append the new hostname at the end of the list of allowed hostnames in the following way:

[root@dns1 conf]# cat hosts.allow

hostname 1

hostname 2