PowerDNS Docker Setup

This repository contains a Docker Compose configuration for running PowerDNS with MySQL/MariaDB backend and PowerDNS Admin web interface.

Features

• PowerDNS authoritative DNS server with MySQL backend
• PowerDNS Admin web interface for easy domain management
• Separate MariaDB databases for PowerDNS and PowerDNS Admin
• Secure by default with dedicated database users
• Automatic container restart on failure

Requirements

• Docker and Docker Compose
• Linux/macOS (Windows users may need to adjust volume paths)
• Port 53 available (or modify the configuration to use a different port)

Quick Start

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://git.jeanavril.com/jean/powerdns-docker
   cd powerdns-docker
   

2. Generate secure passwords and create your environment file:

   ./set-dot-env.sh
   

3. Start the containers:

   docker-compose up -d
   

4. Access PowerDNS Admin at http://your-server-ip:8080

Configuration

All configuration is handled through environment variables in the .env file. A sample file is provided as .env.sample.

Key configurations:

• PDNS_PORT: DNS server port (default: 53)
• PDNS_API_KEY: API key for PowerDNS (used by Admin interface)
• PDNS_WEBSERVER_PORT: Port for PowerDNS API webserver
• PDNS_ADMIN_PORT: Port for PowerDNS Admin web interface

Initial PowerDNS Admin Setup

1. Access the PowerDNS Admin web interface at http://your-server-ip:8080
2. Create a new admin user account
3. Configure the PowerDNS server connection:
   • URL: http://pdns:8081/
   • API Key: The value of PDNS_API_KEY from your .env file

Security Notes

• Default configuration allows API access from all IP addresses
• For production use, restrict PDNS_webserver_allow_from to specific IPs
• All passwords are stored in the .env file - keep this file secure
• Database files are stored as Docker volumes in the project directory

Backup

To backup your DNS data:

1. Backup the MariaDB data directories:

   tar czf pdns-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz pdns-mysql-data pdns-admin-mysql-data
   

Troubleshooting

• If you can't access the PowerDNS Admin interface, check if port 8080 is open
• If DNS resolution fails, verify that port 53 is not in use by another service
• Check container logs with docker-compose logs pdns or docker-compose logs pdns-admin

Maintenance

To update containers to the latest version:

docker-compose pull
docker-compose up -d

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This setup is configured for ease of use. For production environments, consider implementing additional security measures and backup strategies.