News:
- Dec. 23, 2004: Release 0.5 -- interface overhaul and code cleanup. The new version does not need external webpages or separate htdocs directory. All functionality is on a single page. I'm also looking for a volunteer to help dress up the interface a bit. The current version has very vanilla HTML templates.
- Mar. 26, 2004: Release 0.4 -- added support for per-zone authorization. If your DNSDusty script is protected with HTTP authentication, then you can now grant access to users on a per-zone basis.
- Feb. 21, 2004: Initial Release!
Explanation:
I had been looking for a while for a web-based DNS management tool. There are many out there,
but none seem to meet my needs. In particular most of them either:
- required some sort of external database to track changes: this seems extraneous. Why do you
need another database to track changes to your DNS database? Also, how do you handle the situation
where records are added or removed outside your interface?
- generates zonefiles and reloads BIND: this is old-skool-cool, but doesn't jive well if you
say have a DHCP server that is doing dynamic updates to BIND. Anything that adds or removes records
should ideally do it through the DDNS interface. After all, that's what it's for!
- had security issues I wasn't comfortable with: The webmin module for BIND9 seemed to
address my above concerns, but didn't seem to allow for signed updates. Also, it had a lot of
functionality I didn't much care about.
Since I couldn't find any programs that didn't do one of the above, I ended up writing my own. I've
named it after my dog, Dusty. She's about as low-maintenance a dog as you
could ask for, which is exactly what I was looking for in a DNS management interface.
Description:
DNSDusty is my answer to the above problems that I saw in existing web-based DNS management tools.
All updates to DNS are done through the dynamic DNS interface, using signed updates. There is no
external database. It simply does a zone transfer when it needs to get a listing of records.
It has worked well for me so far on my home DHCP/DNS server, which uses the ISC BIND and DHCP
server. It has very basic functionality at this point. You can add records one at a time, and
can delete them via checkboxes.
DNSDusty is written in Perl, and is implemented as a CGI program. It requires a few Perl modules:
- Net::DNS
- CGI::Formbuilder
- HTML::Template
It is released under the GNU Public License version 2. Patches are welcome.
Download:
The current release is available here:
dnsdusty.tar.gz
A set of historical releases is available here:
source directory
Screenshot:
A Screenshot of the New Unified Interface
The current interface looks very plain. It would be wonderful for someone with more web design skills than I
to take a crack at dressing up the templates. If you do so and want to donate your changes for the offical
tarballs, then please email me at the address below.
Contact:
Questions, suggestions, concerns, and patches should be sent to:
jtlayton@poochiereds.net
Also please drop me a line if you're using it! I'd be interested to know how many people are.
Last Updated: December 23rd, 2004, by Jeffrey Layton
