14 May 2013
- Simple DNS Plus v. 5.2 build 122 released
Simple DNS Plus v. 5.2 build 122 is now available at http://www.simpledns.com/download.aspx.
This release includes the following updates and fixes:
- Update: New option to input TXT-record data as either "One continous string" or "Individual strings". This makes it easier to enter long (+255 characters) strings - for example for DomainKeys.
- Update: DHCP server plug-in - Reservations list - added "Options" and "Supply host name" columns, made columns sortable (click header), and made window resizable.
- Update: Options dialog / General section: changed text "Domain name of this DNS server" to "Host name of this DNS server (FQDN)"
- Fixed: When serving records from a local DNSSEC signed zone where the answer begins with a CNAME-record, signature records (RRSIG) were not included for all but the initial CNAME-record.
- Fixed: DNS Records window - Reverse zone - "Edit IP-to-Name Mappings" button also shown with IPv6 reverse zones. The button was not working and was not supposed to be there in this version. Button removed for now. May add this function for IPv6 in future version.
27 Feb 2013
- Plesk Panel adds support for Simple DNS Plus
Parallels has just released Plesk Panel
v. 11.0.9 MU# 39 which adds support for Simple DNS Plus.
For more information about setting up Plesk with Simple DNS Plus see
http://kb.parallels.com/115611.
Parallels Plesk Panel is one of the most widely used hosting control panel solution. For details see
http://www.parallels.com/products/plesk/.
21 Jul 2012
- Simple DNS Plus v. 5.2 build 121 released
Simple DNS Plus v. 5.2 build 121 is now available at http://www.simpledns.com/download.aspx.
The update fixes a bug where specifically malformed DNS requests might crash Simple DNS Plus when using certain non-default settings.
17 Oct 2011
- Simple DNS Plus v. 5.2 build 120 released
Simple DNS Plus v. 5.2 build 120 is now available at http://www.simpledns.com/download.aspx.
The update fixes a bug where a zone's DNSSEC signatures would not be re-loaded after some types of API updates / on secondary servers after receiving zone transfer.
06 Aug 2011
- Simple DNS Plus v. 5.2 build 119 released
Simple DNS Plus v. 5.2 build 119 is now available at http://www.simpledns.com/download.aspx
This update consists of the following 3 enhancements:
1) New "Also Notify" feature.
Send NOTIFY requests to IP addresses not listed in NS-records when primary zone is updated.
This can be specified in the Zone Properties dialog under a new "Notify" tab:
And the default for new zones can be specified in the Default Zone Values dialog under a new "Notify" tab:
2) The DHCP Server plug-in now supports "infinite" lease period.
3) For Shadow forwarding, you can now specify the value of response AA-flag.
Either set, copy (from forward server response), or clear:
This is NOT a critical update, and you only need to update if you want / need the updates included.
18 Feb 2011
- New "TFTP Server" plug-in
This new plug-in provides TFTP (Trivial File Transfer Protocol) server functionality.
TFTP is typically used in combination with DHCP to enable PXE / diskless booting of PCs, provisioning IP phones, etc.
An example of how to use this is provided in KB1304 - How to serve a network based Debian Linux installation with Simple DNS Plus.
Download: tftp-plugin.zip (14 KB)
Un-zip the file to the "plug-ins" sub-directory under the directory where Simple DNS Plus is installed. After this it will be available in the Simple DNS Plus Options dialog / Plug-Ins section.
This plug-in is free of charge and can be used with Simple DNS Plus v. 5.2 build 111 and later - any license size.
For more information about this plug-in see KB1302
18 Feb 2011
- Simple DNS Plus v. 5.2 build 118 released / Enhanced DHCP Server plug-in
Simple DNS Plus v. 5.2 build 118 is now available at http://www.simpledns.com/download.aspx.
This update includes an enhanced version of the DHCP Server plug-in - with the following new features:
- Added DHCP options "TFTP Server" (a.k.a. "Next-Server") and "Boot file name".
These options are typically used in combination with a TFTP server to enable PXE / disk less booting of PCs, provisioning IP phones, etc.
(we also just release a new TFTP server plug-in)
An example of how to use this is provided in KB1304 - How to serve a network based Debian Linux installation with Simple DNS Plus. - Ability to override most options (lease time, default gateway, static routes, DNS servers, TFTP server, boot file) per reservation / reservation group.
- Ability to provide at host name to clients with MAC based reservation.
- Ability to limit DHCP clients to reservations (ignore DHCP requests from clients with no reservation).
See the updated DHCP Server plug-in user interface and documentation at http://www.simpledns.com/kb.aspx?kbid=1216
The update also include a bug fix - for details on this and previous releases,please see release notes.
This is NOT a critical update, and you only need to update if you need to fixes / updates included.
19 Dec 2010
- Updated DHCP Server plug-in released
We have added an option to supply static routes (in addition to the default gateway) to DHCP clients. In technical terms, the plug-in now supports DHCP parameter 121 / 249.
It it now also possible to not assign Simple DNS Plus as the preferred DNS server (by disabling the first option highlighted below), and to re-order DNS server IP addresses according to preference (using the Up/Down buttons highlighted below):
This updated plug-in works with Simple DNS Plus v. 5.2 (any build) and can be downloaded from http://www.simpledns.com/outbox/plugins/v52/dhcp-5-2-118.zip
To install, shutdown Simple DNS Plus, unzip above file to the Plugins folder under the directory where Simple DNS Plus is installed (replacing the older version of the plug-in .dll), and start Simple DNS Plus again.
This updated plug-in will also be included with future builds of Simple DNS Plus v. 5.2 (build 118+).
10 Aug 2010
- New reports of DNS amplification / DDoS attacks
Over the past few days, a number of Simple DNS Plus users have reported that they are receiving a lot of incoming DNS requests for <root> and/or various unknown domain names - typically originating from a limited number of IP addresses. We have also noticed reports of this with other DNS servers on various forums etc.
If you see something similar, this may be an indication that someone is abusing your DNS server as part of a so-called DNS amplification attack against a third party - the owner of the IP address that the DNS requests appear to originate from.
By sending a DNS request from a spoofed IP address, the attacker attempts to trick your DNS server into sending a DNS response packet to the victim and thereby become part of a DDoS attack. Typically the request is designed to trigger a response packet which is larger than the original request packet - thus the amplification.
We do NOT recommend blocking the sender's IP address on your firewall, with IPSec, or anything else at the IP address level - that is exactly what the attacker wants you to do! By blocking the apparent sender IP addresses, you are really blocking the victim rather than the attacker - because the sender IP address is spoofed as the victim's.
The aim of the attack is twofold: (1) overload the victim's Internet connection with large DNS responses, and (2) make everybody firewall the victim, so he can't use his connection even after the attack.
The best way to counter this type of attack is to make your DNS server unattractive as a "way-point". You do this by configuring Simple DNS Plus to either ignore or refuse lame requests.
First, in the Options dialog / DNS / Resolver / Recursion section, either turn off recursion completely if you don't need it, or limit it to your own IP address range(s):
Then, in the Lame Requests section, select either "Respond with a Refused error message" or "Do not respond":
Generally we recommend using the "Refused" option as this makes it easier to troubleshoot other DNS issues. However if this attack is continuously hitting your server, you will do the victim a favor using the "Do not respond" option. When no longer under attack, you can switch to the "Refused" option which still ensures that your server is not attractive as a way-point for this type of attack - since it won't amplify traffic.
If the requests are mostly for <root>, another way to deal with this traffic, and keep it out of the log at the same time, is the "Ignore all DNS requests for <root>" feature found in the Miscellaneous section:
31 Jul 2010
- Simple Failover v. 2.0
We are working on the next major version of
Simple Failover, and we would like to hear your feedback on the planned new features. There is also still time for adding more new features if you have a good idea.
See the list of new features at
http://www.simplefailover.com/kb.aspx?kbid=1298
Simple Failover is a software product which continuously monitors your servers (any networked device/service) to see which are up and which are down, and then dynamically updates your DNS records accordingly so that your domain name always points to a functional server. Additionally it can notify you of any encountered problems.
This upcoming v. 2.0 will of course be covered by our one year free upgrade protection. If you purchase a license for the current Simple Failover version today, you will receive a free upgrade to v. 2.0 when this is released.
Please e-mail us your thoughts and ideas, or post below, or in the all new
community forums
We look forward to hearing from you.