Alright. I am running Ubuntu LTS 12.04 and am trying to configure a local caching/master DNS server so I am using Bind9. First, here are some things via default DHCP: /etc/network/interfaces cat /etc/network/interfaces # This file describes the network interfaces available on your system # and how to activate them. For more information, see interfaces(5). # The loopback network interface auto lo iface lo inet loopback # The primary network interface auto eth0 iface eth0 inet dhcp # The primary network interface - STATIC #auto eth0 #iface eth0 inet static # address 192.168.2.113 # netmask 255.255.255.0 # network 192.168.2.0 # broadcast 192.168.2.255 # gateway 192.168.2.1 # dns-search uclemmer.net # dns-nameservers 192.168.2.113 8.8.8.8 /etc/resolv.conf cat /etc/resolv.conf # Dynamic resolv.conf(5) file for glibc resolver(3) generated by resolvconf(8) # DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE BY HAND -- YOUR CHANGES WILL BE OVERWRITTEN nameserver 192.168.2.1 search uclemmer.net ifconfig ifconfig eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:14:2a:82:d4:9e inet addr:192.168.2.103 Bcast:192.168.2.255 Mask:255.255.255.0 inet6 addr: fe80::214:2aff:fe82:d49e/64 Scope:Link UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 RX packets:1067 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:2504 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 RX bytes:153833 (153.8 KB) TX bytes:214129 (214.1 KB) Interrupt:23 Base address:0x8800 lo Link encap:Local Loopback inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0 inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1 RX packets:915 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:915 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 RX bytes:71643 (71.6 KB) TX bytes:71643 (71.6 KB) ping ping -c 4 192.168.2.1 PING 192.168.2.1 (192.168.2.1) 56(84) bytes of data. 64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_req=1 ttl=64 time=0.368 ms 64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_req=2 ttl=64 time=0.224 ms 64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_req=3 ttl=64 time=0.216 ms 64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_req=4 ttl=64 time=0.237 ms --- 192.168.2.1 ping statistics --- 4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 2997ms rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.216/0.261/0.368/0.063 ms ping -c 4 google.com PING google.com (74.125.134.102) 56(84) bytes of data. 64 bytes from www.google-analytics.com (74.125.134.102): icmp_req=1 ttl=48 time=15.1 ms 64 bytes from www.google-analytics.com (74.125.134.102): icmp_req=2 ttl=48 time=11.4 ms 64 bytes from www.google-analytics.com (74.125.134.102): icmp_req=3 ttl=48 time=11.6 ms 64 bytes from www.google-analytics.com (74.125.134.102): icmp_req=4 ttl=48 time=11.5 ms --- google.com ping statistics --- 4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 3003ms rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 11.488/12.465/15.118/1.537 ms ip route ip route default via 192.168.2.1 dev eth0 metric 100 192.168.2.0/24 dev eth0 proto kernel scope link src 192.168.2.103 As you can see, with DHCP everything seems to work fine. Now, here are things with static IP: /etc/network/interfaces cat /etc/network/interfaces # This file describes the network interfaces available on your system # and how to activate them. For more information, see interfaces(5). # The loopback network interface auto lo iface lo inet loopback # The primary network interface #auto eth0 #iface eth0 inet dhcp # The primary network interface - STATIC auto eth0 iface eth0 inet static address 192.168.2.113 netmask 255.255.255.0 network 192.168.2.0 broadcast 192.168.2.255 gateway 192.168.2.1 dns-search uclemmer.net dns-nameservers 192.168.2.1 8.8.8.8 I have tried dns-nameservers in various combos of *.2.1, *.2.113, and other reliable, public nameservers. /etc/resolv.conf cat /etc/resolv.conf # Dynamic resolv.conf(5) file for glibc resolver(3) generated by resolvconf(8) # DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE BY HAND -- YOUR CHANGES WILL BE OVERWRITTEN nameserver 192.168.2.1 nameserver 8.8.8.8 search uclemmer.net Obviously, when I change the nameservers in the /etc/network/interfaces file, the nameservers change here too. ifconfig ifconfig eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:14:2a:82:d4:9e inet addr:192.168.2.113 Bcast:192.168.2.255 Mask:255.255.255.0 inet6 addr: fe80::214:2aff:fe82:d49e/64 Scope:Link UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 RX packets:1707 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:2906 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 RX bytes:226230 (226.2 KB) TX bytes:263497 (263.4 KB) Interrupt:23 Base address:0x8800 lo Link encap:Local Loopback inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0 inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1 RX packets:985 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:985 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 RX bytes:78625 (78.6 KB) TX bytes:78625 (78.6 KB) ping ping -c 4 192.168.2.1 PING 192.168.2.1 (192.168.2.1) 56(84) bytes of data. --- 192.168.2.1 ping statistics --- 4 packets transmitted, 0 received, 100% packet loss, time 3023ms ping -c 4 google.com ping: unknown host google.com Lastly, here are my bind zone files: /etc/bind/named.conf.options cat /etc/bind/named.conf.options options { directory "/etc/bind"; // // // query-source address * port 53; notify-source * port 53; transfer-source * port 53; // If there is a firewall between you and nameservers you want // to talk to, you may need to fix the firewall to allow multiple // ports to talk. See http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/800113 // If your ISP provided one or more IP addresses for stable // nameservers, you probably want to use them as forwarders. // Uncomment the following block, and insert the addresses replacing // the all-0's placeholder. // forwarders { // 0.0.0.0; // }; forwarders { // My local 192.168.2.113; // Comcast 75.75.75.75; 75.75.76.76; // Google 8.8.8.8; 8.8.4.4; // DNSAdvantage 156.154.70.1; 156.154.71.1; // OpenDNS 208.67.222.222; 208.67.220.220; // Norton 198.153.192.1; 198.153.194.1; // Verizon 4.2.2.1; 4.2.2.2; 4.2.2.3; 4.2.2.4; 4.2.2.5; 4.2.2.6; // Scrubit 67.138.54.100; 207.255.209.66; }; // // // //allow-query { localhost; 192.168.2.0/24; }; //allow-transfer { localhost; 192.168.2.113; }; //also-notify { 192.168.2.113; }; //allow-recursion { localhost; 192.168.2.0/24; }; //======================================================================== // If BIND logs error messages about the root key being expired, // you will need to update your keys. See https://www.isc.org/bind-keys //======================================================================== dnssec-validation auto; auth-nxdomain no; # conform to RFC1035 listen-on-v6 { any; }; }; /etc/bind/named.conf.local cat /etc/bind/named.conf.local // // Do any local configuration here // // Consider adding the 1918 zones here, if they are not used in your // organization //include "/etc/bind/zones.rfc1918"; zone "example.com" { type master; file "/etc/bind/zones/db.example.com"; }; zone "2.168.192.in-addr.arpa" { type master; file "/etc/bind/zones/db.2.168.192.in-addr.arpa"; /etc/bind/zones/db.example.com cat /etc/bind/zones/db.example.com ; ; BIND data file for example.com interface ; $TTL 604800 @ IN SOA yossarian.example.com. root.example.com. ( 1343171970 ; Serial 604800 ; Refresh 86400 ; Retry 2419200 ; Expire 604800 ) ; Negative Cache TTL ; @ IN NS yossarian.example.com. @ IN A 192.168.2.113 @ IN AAAA ::1 @ IN MX 10 yossarian.example.com. ; yossarian IN A 192.168.2.113 router IN A 192.168.2.1 printer IN A 192.168.2.200 ; ns01 IN CNAME yossarian.example.com. www IN CNAME yossarian.example.com. ftp IN CNAME yossarian.example.com. ldap IN CNAME yossarian.example.com. mail IN CNAME yossarian.example.com. /etc/bind/zones/db.2.168.192.in-addr.arpa cat /etc/bind/zones/db.2.168.192.in-addr.arpa ; ; BIND reverse data file for 2.168.192.in-addr interface ; $TTL 604800 @ IN SOA yossarian.example.com. root.example.com. ( 1343171970 ; Serial 604800 ; Refresh 86400 ; Retry 2419200 ; Expire 604800 ) ; Negative Cache TTL ; @ IN NS yossarian.example.com. @ IN A 255.255.255.0 ; 113 IN PTR yossarian.example.com. 1 IN PTR router.example.com. 200 IN PTR printer.example.com. ip route ip route default via 192.168.2.1 dev eth0 metric 100 192.168.2.0/24 dev eth0 proto kernel scope link src 192.168.2.113 I can SSH in to the machine locally at *.2.113 or at whatever address is dynamically assigned when in DHCP "mode". *2.113 is in my router's range and I have ports open and forwarding to the server. Pinging is enabled on the router too. I briefly had a static configuration working but it died after the first reboot. Please let me know what other info you might need. I am beyond frustrated/baffled.