BIND9 is the most widely deployed DNS server software. This guide configures BIND9 as an authoritative DNS server and a local recursive resolver on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.

Tested and valid on:

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

Prerequisites

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS server
A user with sudo privileges
A registered domain name (for authoritative DNS)

Step 1 – Install BIND9

Install BIND9 and utilities:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install bind9 bind9utils bind9-doc -y

Step 2 – Configure BIND as a Caching Resolver

Edit the named options:

sudo nano /etc/bind/named.conf.options

Add:

options {
    directory "/var/cache/bind";
    forwarders {
        1.1.1.1;
        8.8.8.8;
    };
    dnssec-validation auto;
    listen-on { any; };
    allow-query { localhost; 192.168.1.0/24; };
};

Step 3 – Add a Zone for Your Domain

Edit the local zones file:

sudo nano /etc/bind/named.conf.local

Add a forward zone:

zone "example.com" {
    type master;
    file "/etc/bind/zones/db.example.com";
};

Step 4 – Create the Zone File

Create the zone directory and zone file:

sudo mkdir /etc/bind/zones
sudo nano /etc/bind/zones/db.example.com

Add:

$TTL    604800
@       IN      SOA     ns1.example.com. admin.example.com. (
                  2         ; Serial
             604800         ; Refresh
              86400         ; Retry
            2419200         ; Expire
             604800 )       ; Negative Cache TTL
;
@       IN      NS      ns1.example.com.
ns1     IN      A       192.168.1.10
@       IN      A       192.168.1.10
www     IN      A       192.168.1.10

Step 5 – Check and Restart BIND9

Verify the configuration:

sudo named-checkconf
sudo named-checkzone example.com /etc/bind/zones/db.example.com
sudo systemctl restart bind9

Step 6 – Test DNS Resolution

Test with dig:

dig @localhost example.com
dig @localhost www.example.com

Step 7 – Allow DNS Through the Firewall

Open the DNS port:

sudo ufw allow Bind9

Conclusion

BIND9 is now running as a DNS server on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. It resolves queries for your local zone and forwards external queries to upstream resolvers.

How to Set Up a DNS Server with Bind9 on Ubuntu 24.04