This recipe describes how to configure pfSense to use DNS servers other than those provided by your WAN connection.
Getting ready
When it comes to resolving DNS names, most environments will rely on the DNS servers provided by their ISP through their WAN connection. By default, no DNS servers are defined in pfSense and the Allow DNS server list to be overridden by DHCP/PPP on WAN is checked. However, to manually specify alternate DNS servers follow the instructions in the next subsection.
How to do it...
Browse to System | General Setup.
The DNS servers section contains the following settings:
Specify the IP address and gateway for each of the existing DNS servers.
Uncheck Allow DNS server list to be overridden by DHCP/PPP on WAN.
Save changes.
Apply changes, if necessary.
How it works...
The DNS servers specified here are the system defaults and will always take priority unless specifically overridden by the following options.
Note
The DNS servers listed here (4.2.2.1 – 4.2.2.4) are public DNS servers that are often very helpful when trying to troubleshoot and diagnose DNS issues.
Using the DNS Forwarder
If the DNS Forwarder is enabled, we can override the DNS servers for individual domains or even override results for individual devices. For more information, see the following Configuring the DNS Forwarder recipe. The DNS Forwarder takes precedence over all DNS requests.
Using your WAN DNS servers
When Allow DNS server list to be overridden by DHCP/PPP on WAN is enabled, pfSense will attempt to resolve DNS names using the DNS servers provided by the WAN before failing over to the servers defined in this list. After the DNS Forwarder, this option takes precedence over DNS requests.
