X-Git-Url: http://www.average.org/gitweb/?p=pdns-pipe-nmc.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=README.md;h=462e33436fee9234ff6ed20ea6b44bb85c096a57;hp=ada48f4e7db03243712cc6e37eb360a97ac5cf42;hb=38ae85a344eb50f748eb2a2f1df305e82d41b212;hpb=d9646381d13a37c31c08b2a51694a0f0f891e4cb diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index ada48f4..462e334 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -1,20 +1,161 @@ % Namecoin pipe backend for PowerDNS -# Namecoin pipe backend for PowerDNS -There exists a [project](https://github.com/namecoin/nmcontrol) to -create an all-in-one tool that can, among other things, act as a DNS -server for the `.bit` zone. There is also a -[tool](https://github.com/namecoin/NamecoinToBind) for offline -conversion of namecoin data into BIND zone file. +There exists a project named +[nmcontrol](https://github.com/namecoin/nmcontrol) to create an +all-in-one tool that can, among other things, act as a DNS server +for the `.bit` zone. There is also a tool, +[NamecoinToBind](https://github.com/namecoin/NamecoinToBind), +for offline conversion of namecoin data into BIND zone file. -Unlike that, this project is a single-purpose tool acting as a (real -time) bridge between [Namecoin](https://namecoin.org/) and DNS. -[PowerDNS](https://www.powerdns.com/) provides a stable DNS frontend, -with an easy to implement backend interface, which is used in this -project. +Unlike those, this project is a single-purpose tool acting as a (real +time) bridge between [Namecoin](http://namecoin.info/) and DNS. +It is implemented as a `pipe backend` to +[PowerDNS](https://www.powerdns.com/), which provides stable DNS +frontend, and has simple backend interface. + +## Building + +The program is built as a single executable to be run by PowerDns's +pipe backend. It is written in [Haskell](http://www.haskell.org/). +There is no `cabal` configuration at the moment, so to build it, +simply run + +``` +ghc --make pdns-pipe-nmc +``` + +and install any missing packages it complains about. + +## Installing + +In the powerdns configuration, you want to specify `master=yes`. +Enable `pipe` backend by setting `launch=pipe`. +Wherever your pdns package keeps the backend configurations, set +this for the pipe backend: + +``` +pipe-command=/path/to/pdns-pipe-nmc +pipe-timeout=10000 +pipe-regex=.bit;.*$ +pipebackend-abi-version=1 ## all versions supported, but extra data ignored +``` + +Copy `pdns-pipe-nmc` to the place that you've set up as `pipe-command`. +Copy your namecoin cofig file to `/etc/namecoin.conf` and make sure it +is readable by the userid specified in the powerdns config. Entries +recognized in the `/etc/namecoin.conf` file (with default values) are: + +``` +rpcuser= +rpcpassword= +rpchost=localhost +rpcport=8336 +``` + +They are the parameters needed to contact the `namecoind` server over +its JsonRPC interface. With default installation on `localhost`, you +will only need to specify `rpcpassword`. + +Configure your resolvers to use the PowerDns instance for queries in +the `.bit` zone. This is left as an exercise to the reader. + +## Security Considerations + +Namecoin per se has excellent non-repudiation characteristics. But +once you've converted the data into (non-DNSSEC-protected) DNS +format, all bets are off. If you intend to query your powerdns +instance over public Internet, remember that nothing prevents evil +hackers or ruthless governments from tampering with your queries +and powerdns responses. There are two possible approaches to +mitigation of this problem: + +* Run namecoind and powerdns as close to the consumer as +possible: on the same host, or at least on the same network, and +keep it guarded. +* I did not try it, but it should be possible to use PowerDNS +[Front-signing](http://doc.powerdns.com/html/dnssec-modes.html#dnssec-frontserver), +so the communication will happen over DNSSEC protocol without the +need to keep the signatures in the zone data itself. You probably +would need to create signing key for the PowerDNS instance, and add +the corresponding public key as "trusted" into the configuration of +your resolvers. ## Status -Alpha. It does not handle `SRV` records at all, does not support -`delegate` (not to mention `import`), provides bogus version in the -`SOA` record, and is largely untested. Try at your risk. +Beta. It is mostly feature-complete, but insufficiently tested. +It implements the +[data format specification](http://www.average.org/pdns-pipe-nmc/spec.html) +(SPEC.md in the source distribution) that slightly deviates from the +[official specification](https://wiki.namecoin.info/index.php?title=Domain_Name_Specification). +I am using it to access some of the `.bit` websites and it works +for me. + +Try at your risk. + +## Unsolved problems + +The biggest problem by far is generating meaningful `SOA` records. + +### SOA Version a.k.a. Generation Count + +DNS infrastructure (including PowerDNS implementation) relies on the +"generation" field of the `SOA` RR when it makes decision to invalidate +the cache. So, if there is zone data in the DNS cache, and a DNS server +needs to respond to a request about an object from that zone, it first +checks if the TTL has expired. If it has not, the server takes the data +from the cache. If it has expired, the server asks the "authoritative +source" (which is in our case the dnamecoin daemon) for the SOA record +and compares the generation count in the received response with the +number kept in the cache. If the "authoritative" SOA does not have a +greater generation count than the cached SOA, DNS server **does not** +refresh its cache, presuming that the data there is still valid. + +So, it is important that the generation count in the SOA record is +incremented every time when the domain object, or any of the object that +it "include"-s or to which it "delegate"-s is changed. + +At present, there is no machanism for that. In most cases, simply +summing the number of entries in `name_history`-s of all domain object +involved in resolution would work, but this approach would produce +wrong result when an "import" entry is removed from a domain, because +in such case the sum would decrease. It would also not notice the +changes in an object "include"-ed in a subdomain, unless complete +recursive resolution of the subdomain tree is enforced for when +SOA record is requested. That would invalidate the reason to have +caching in the first place. + +One possible workaround, currently implemented in `pdns-pipe-nmc`, is to +use a derivative of absolute time, in our case the number of 10-munute +intervals elapsed since Namecoin was concieved, as the SOA generation +count. + +### Nameserver field + +There is no "reasonable" value that could be placed there. Except +possibly the name of the host on which the PoweDNS instance is running, +in the `.bit` zone. Currently, `pdns-pipe-nmc` just puts a dot "." +there, and no problems where noticed so far. + +## Getting the Software + +Check the [project homepage](http://www.average.org/pdns-pipe-nmc/). + +### Source + +Git [clone](git://git.average.org/git/pdns-pipe-nmc.git) or +[browse](http://www.average.org/gitweb/?p=pdns-pipe-nmc.git;a=summary), +or use [github mirror](https://github.com/crosser/pdns-pipe-nmc). + +### Binary Executable + +There is a binary built for x86_64 Linux with glibc6: + +| Executable file | PGP | +|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------| +| [**pdns-pipe-nmc.linux-glibc6.x86_64.2014-04-22.git-108b6c2**](http://www.average.org/pdns-pipe-nmc/pdns-pipe-nmc.linux-glibc6.x86_64.2014-04-22.git-108b6c2) | [sig](http://www.average.org/pdns-pipe-nmc/pdns-pipe-nmc.linux-glibc6.x86_64.2014-04-22.git-108b6c2.sig) | +| [pdns-pipe-nmc.linux-glibc6.x86_64.2014-04-20.git-e9bd43f](http://www.average.org/pdns-pipe-nmc/pdns-pipe-nmc.linux-glibc6.x86_64.2014-04-20.git-e9bd43f) | [sig](http://www.average.org/pdns-pipe-nmc/pdns-pipe-nmc.linux-glibc6.x86_64.2014-04-20.git-e9bd43f.sig) | + +## Author + +Eugene Crosser \ +