Routing only *some* traffic through a DNS?

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MileHighKiwi

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#160383 5-Jan-2015 10:02

Hi there

I use Unblock-Us to access SVOD services and have a NetComm router configured so all the devices in our home can access said services.

My mate said doing that will slow down our connection from local sources and that I should route only certain traffic through the DNS. How do I do that?

I was under the impression that that is how Unblock-Us etc works; not all of the traffic goes via the DNS, only *some*.

Can someone please shed some light on this? I do notice our performance fluctuates a bit but I thought it was normal.

We are on an unlimited ultra fast cable 50 plan. Just did a speed test, got 29 down and 2 up. Sometimes I get the full 50 down, other times it's around 10-20....depending on time of day etc...but is the DNS affecting this?

Cheers!
MHK.

insane

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#1208350 5-Jan-2015 10:22

It's to do with how some forms of caching works. ISPs typically have Akamai and Google caches within their networks, and the ISPs DNS plays a part in ensuring you're pointed to the correct cache within the ISP network and not some random one elsewhere.

wasabi2k

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#1208352 5-Jan-2015 10:26

Yes - you can use conditional DNS forwarding - however you need a DNS server on your local network to do this.

I use a Windows Server 2012 box and have conditional DNS forwarders configured for roku, netflix, bbc etc that forward DNS requests for these domains to getflix - while other requests go to your ISP.

This is possible with other linux DNS servers too and possibly some routers - depends entirely on your devices.

robjg63

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#1208353 5-Jan-2015 10:28

All traffic has to go via a DNS service - its the only way you can find anything on the internet.
You request www.awebsite.com and the DNS looks up the IP addresses and this info now lets you access/locate the site.

The idea behind the unblockers is that they provide a DNS service that with sites like Netflix etc etc can fudge the requests so that Netflix etc think you are in an area that is allowed to access their services.
For all the other traffic that doesnt require this special geo-unblocking they just do regular DNS lookups and send you on your way.

The argument that some people have made is that some of these services have 'slow' DNS servers.
Some people have said they are much quicker than the likes of googles free public DNS servers.
Whether they are likely to be slower than your (usually default) ISP supplied DNS servers is debatable.
You would probably need to do your own benchmarking - personally I dont think it would make a lot of difference to normal internet usage.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

MileHighKiwi

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#1208419 5-Jan-2015 11:32

robjg63:
Whether they are likely to be slower than your (usually default) ISP supplied DNS servers is debatable.
You would probably need to do your own benchmarking - personally I dont think it would make a lot of difference to normal internet usage.

Ok cool, it seems like a bit of effort to set up conditional routing etc...and the difference might be marginal in the end...cheers!

ajobbins

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#1208428 5-Jan-2015 11:47

I've been using DNS4ME as my primary DNS server for months now and noticed no performance hit on DNS requests. I believe they may have local DNS servers which will help speed up any requests.

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chrispchikin

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#1209847 7-Jan-2015 12:16

I've set this up using BIND (linux DNS server) on my homebrew NAS.

If you're interested I can post the 'how to'...

I stream Netflix & Amazon Instant to a Roku 3, *only* DNS requests pertaining to these are forwarded to UnoTelly, the rest go straight out to my ISP's DNS servers :)

Dyson

Shop now for Dyson appliances (affiliate link).

MileHighKiwi

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#1209851 7-Jan-2015 12:19

Sure thing, it would be good to see how you did this. Cheers!

ajobbins

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#1209856 7-Jan-2015 12:34

What kind of router are you running? Can it run DD-WRT or some other kind of custom firmware?

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chrispchikin

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#1215242 15-Jan-2015 07:52

Sorry for the late reply, here is my build doc - keep in mind any thing inside the '</COPY>' tags is copied, not the tags themselves ;)

This is for Centos 7, the configs will be pretty much the same for Bind on most other linux distros, just the OS level stuff (e.g. systemctl, yum, etc) will vary :)

# Install bind

yum -y install bind-chroot bind-utils

# Configure bind

vi /etc/named.conf - update:

listen-on port 53 { any; };
allow-query { localhost; 192.168.1.0/24; };

# Add your ISP's DNS servers in the options section:

forwarders { x.x.x.x; x.x.x.x; };

paste:

<COPY>

zone "localnetwork.lan" IN {
type master;
file "forward.localnetwork.lan.zone";
allow-update { none; };
};

zone "1.168.192.in-addr.arpa" IN {
type master;
file "1.168.192.in-addr.arpa.zone";
allow-update { none; };
};

include "/var/named/unotelly.zones";

</COPY>

# Create UnoTelly zone file - use your UnoTelly DNS servers in the forwarders line

vi /var/named/unotelly.zones - paste:

zone "netflix.com" IN {
type forward;
forward only;
forwarders { x.x.x.x; x.x.x.x; };
};

zone "netflix.net" IN {
type forward;
forward only;
forwarders { x.x.x.x; x.x.x.x; };
};

zone "unostructure.com" IN {
type forward;
forward only;
forwarders { x.x.x.x; x.x.x.x; };
};

zone "unotelly.com" IN {
type forward;
forward only;
forwarders { x.x.x.x; x.x.x.x; };
};

zone "roku.com" IN {
type forward;
forward only;
forwarders { x.x.x.x; x.x.x.x; };
};

zone "amazon.com" IN {
type forward;
forward only;
forwarders { x.x.x.x; x.x.x.x; };
};
</COPY>

# Set permissions

chown root:named /var/named/unotelly.zones
chmod 640 /var/named/unotelly.zones

# Create forward lookup zone file

vi /var/named/forward.localnetwork.lan.zone - paste:

<COPY>

$TTL 1D
@ IN SOA server.localnetwork.lan. hostmaster.localnetwork.lan. (
20141111 ; serial
8H ; refresh
4H ; retry
4W ; expire
1D ; minimum
)
@ IN NS server.localnetwork.lan.
@ IN A 192.168.1.10
ata IN A 192.168.1.11
printer IN A 192.168.1.14
ps3 IN A 192.168.1.13
roku IN A 192.168.1.12
router IN A 192.168.1.1
server IN A 192.168.1.10
switch IN A 192.168.1.2

</COPY>

# Set permissions

chown root:named /var/named/forward.localnetwork.lan.zone
chmod 640 /var/named/forward.localnetwork.lan.zone

# Create reverse lookup zone file for 192.168.1.0/24

vi /var/named/32.168.192.in-addr.arpa.zone - paste:

<COPY>

$TTL 1D
@ IN SOA server.localnetwork.lan. hostmaster.localnetwork.lan. (
20141111 ; serial
8H ; refresh
4H ; retry
4W ; expire
1D ; minimum
)
@ IN NS server.localnetwork.lan.
1 IN PTR router.localnetwork.lan.
2 IN PTR switch.localnetwork.lan.
10 IN PTR server.localnetwork.lan.
11 IN PTR ata.localnetwork.lan.
12 IN PTR roku.localnetwork.lan.
13 IN PTR ps3.localnetwork.lan.
14 IN PTR printer.localnetwork.lan.

</COPY>

# Set permissions

chown root:named /var/named/1.168.192.in-addr.arpa.zone
chmod 640 /var/named/1.168.192.in-addr.arpa.zone

# Disable IPv6

vi /etc/sysconfig/named - add:

OPTIONS="-4"

vi /etc/named.rfc1912.zones - delete:

zone "1.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.ip6.arpa" IN {
type master;
file "named.loopback";
allow-update { none; };
};

# Enable service

systemctl enable named-chroot
systemctl start named-chroot

# Use localhost for name resolution

vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-enp1s0 - update:

DNS1=127.0.0.1

sultanoswing

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#1215693 15-Jan-2015 21:51

Yep - you can do exactly this, and it's exactly what I do. Basically, I use my own ISP's DNS settings for all internet traffic *except* for my Roku 3, which requiers direct DNS routing.

I use dns4me which makes this process relatively straight forward if you have some know-how and a capable router (i.e. one that can run dd-wrt, tomato firmware).

Simply: Use dns4me's host file generator, place the resulting host file in your router so it uses those values (why not chuck adblocking capability in there too ;) ). The Roku 3 gets assigned its own DNS settings (dns4me's DNS) as requried, also using some simple code.

Some basic details of both processes here: http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=151&topicid=150653&page_no=3#1108566 and here: http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=151&topicid=150653&page_no=6#1118172