Namespaces and forwarders - BlueCat Edge - Service Point v3.x.x

A namespace is a group of one or more DNS forwarders, and can optionally include match and exception domain lists. Each site in BlueCat Edge will have at least one and up to three associated namespaces.

When BlueCat Edge is initially set up, there is one default namespace with 8.8.8.8 set as the forwarder, with no domain lists added. You can create as many namespaces as you like, with a default maximum of three namespaces that can be set. If you require more than three namespaces to be set in your environment, contact BlueCat Customer Care for assistance.

Creating a namespace and changing the DNS forwarders

1. In the top navigation bar, click and select Namespaces.
2. To add a new namespace, click New or select an existing namespace and click Edit.
3. Add or edit the name and description.
4. Select Cisco Umbrella integration to configure the namespace to use the Cisco Umbrella integration. If you select this option, you can also select Encrypt queries using DNS over HTTPS which ensures queries that are routed to Cisco Umbrella are encrypted.
   Attention:

   • Selecting Cisco Umbrella integration displays a message indicating that the two applicable Cisco Umbrella IP addresses have been added to the Forwarders field.
   • Selecting Encrypt queries using DNS over HTTPS disables the Forwarder field and adds the URL that is used for encrypting the queries that are routed to Cisco Umbrella.
5. Select Set maximum TTL to override the TTL of the response. In the Maximum TTL field, enter the TTL of the response in seconds. The value must be between 0 and 2147483647 inclusively.
6. Select EDNS Client Subnet to configure the EDNS Client Subnet option. The EDNS Client Subnet option allows the namespace to forward the subnet information in DNS queries to downstream servers for geographical evaluation. In the IPv4 Source Prefix field, enter a number between 0-24 of the IPv4 prefix of the subnet. In the IPv6 Source Prefix field, enter a number between 0-56 of the IPv6 prefix of the subnet.

   If you select Override, the namespace applies the specified IPv4 or IPv6 prefix as the ECS value, overriding any existing ECS value of incoming DNS queries. On the response, the inbound ECS value will be restored.

   If Override is not selected, the existing ECS value is forwarded in queries and responses if the value is present on the incoming query. For queries that do not contain an ECS value, one will be added using the specified IPv4 Source Prefix or IPv6 Source Prefix. On the response, the inbound ECS value will be restored.

   If you do not configure the EDNS Client Subnet fields, the ECS value is removed from incoming DNS queries before they are forwarded, but is restored on the response.

7. The Serve Expired Queries from cache option allows you to resolve expired DNS queries from cache when the DNS server is unavailable. Select one of the following options:
   • Do not serve expired queries from cache
   • Serve expired queries from cache for a period of 1 hour from time of expiry (Default)
   • Serve expired queries from cache for a period of 24 hours from time of expiry
8. For Response Codes, enter one or more DNS query response codes. The DNS query response code can be one of the following:
   • NOERROR
   • FORMERR
   • SERVFAIL
   • NXDOMAIN
   • NOTIMP
   • REFUSED
   • YXDOMAIN
   • YXRRSET
   • NXRRSET
   • NOTAUTH
   • NOTZONE
   • DSOTYPENI
   • BADVERS
   • BADSIG
   • BADKEY
   • BADTIME
   • BADMODE
   • BADNAME
   • BADALG
   • BADTRUNC
   • BADCOOKIE

   If any of the configured DNS query responses are returned to this namespace, the next namespace within a site will attempt to resolve the DNS queries. By default, NXDOMAIN is configured.

   Note: This only applies to sites configured with more than one namespace.
9. For Forwarders, type one or more remote DNS server IPv4 addresses. Optionally, you can define a custom port number or forwarders that listen on ports other than the standard DNS port. For example, 1.2.3.4:123.
   Note: If you do not define a port, the BlueCat Edge Service Point forwards all queries on destination port 53.
   As you enter addresses, they appear below the Forwarders field. You can enter multiple addresses separated by commas. To remove an address, click the blue X beside it.

   Note:

   • If you configure multiple forwarders within a namespace, queries are load balanced based on the following criteria:
     • The server with the least number of queries 'in the air' is selected.
     • In the event of a tie, the server with the lowest measured latency is selected. The lowest measured latency is calculated over an average on the last 128 queries answered by that server.
   • BlueCat Edge performs a health check on all configured forwarders in a namespace. If a server is unreachable, it is skipped and the next forwarder is used.
10. Add domain lists (optional):
    • Under Match List, enter the domain list(s) you want this forwarder to be used for. If there is no match list, then this namespace will be used for all queries, except any exceptions.
    • Under Exception List, add any domain list(s) that contain exceptions, if applicable.
    In total, you can add up to 20 domain lists, each with a maximum of 100,000 domains. Also, there is a 100 MB limit to the combined size of all domain lists associated with all of the namespaces.

    • If match lists are added, the namespace applies to queries matching the domains in the list.
    • If a query is in both the match list and the exception list, the exception applies.
    • If no match lists are added, the namespace applies to all queries other than those in exception lists.
11. Add IP lists (optional):
    • Under Match List, enter the IP list(s) you want this forwarder to be used for. If there is no match list, then this namespace will be used for all queries, except any exceptions.
    • Under Exception List, add any IP list(s) that contain exceptions, if applicable.
12. Click Save.
13. To set namespaces as active default forwarders, click . You can have up to three active default namespaces.
14. To delete a namespace, select it and click Delete. If the namespace is active and associated with one or more sites, you can't delete the namespace unless you deactivate it.

Setting and ordering the default namespaces

Namespaces and sites

Namespaces and policies