Domain Name System (DNS) Feature Overview and Configuration Guide
The Domain Name System allows you to access remote systems by entering human-readable device hostnames rather than IP addresses. DNS works by creating a mapping between a domain name, such as “www.alliedtelesis.com”, and its IP address. These mappings are held on DNS servers. DNS translates meaningful domain names into IP addresses for networking equipment to locate and address these devices. The benefits of DNS are that domain names:
- can map to a new IP address if the host’s IP address changes
- are easier to remember than an IP address
- allow organizations to use a domain name hierarchy that is independent of any IP address assignment
AlliedWare Plus has the ability to resolve IP addresses associated with domain names for internally generated commands (DNS Client) as well as providing the DNS information to connected hosts (via DNS Relay and DHCP Server). The DNS Client is enabled automatically when at least one DNS server is configured on the device. This client allows you to use domain names instead of IP addresses when using commands on your device, like ping, SSH, and copy.
The DNS Relay provides the presence of a local virtual DNS server that can service DNS lookup requests sent to it from local hosts. The DHCP Server can be configured to provide DNS information to DHCP clients during the lease process.
The Dynamic Domain Name System (DDNS) is a mechanism that allows a DDNS client to automatically update a DNS entry hosted by a DDNS Provider. When DDNS is configured on an AR-Series Firewall, DNS updates are automatically directed to the configured hostname regardless of Dynamic IP address changes. This feature is available on all AR-Series Firewalls from release 5.4.7 onwards.