DNS Settings, Conflict?
Hi,
A bit confused ... it may be me, but ... i see a possible duplication of DNS settings (perhaps)? The two places I see these are below ... duplication, or different somehow? These are both at the Site level (i.e. not Global),
1) Settings > Internet > Edit (WAN connection) > Advanced Settings: Can set the DNS Server
2) Settings > LAN > Edit (Network) > DNS Server: Can also set the DNS Server, and the two settings are not the same?
And there is no setting for WLAN (DNS)? Also, I looked at a wired clientm, and I get the router IP - even though I haven't set that in either of the 2 places above. Just checked ... and it's the same for a Wi-Fi client device. Huh? Neither of the settings above seem to work.
Thanks!
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Hi @arrmo
WAN DNS (Wide Area Network DNS) and LAN DNS (Local Area Network DNS) serve distinct roles in network operations.
WAN DNS is responsible for resolving public domain names (e.g., www.example.com) into their corresponding public IP addresses (e.g., 93.184.216.34), enabling access to internet resources. It is typically provided by an ISP or public DNS services like Google DNS (8.8.8.8) or Cloudflare (1.1.1.1).
In contrast, LAN DNS handles internal domain resolution (e.g., printer. local or nas.lan) to private IP addresses (e.g., 192.168.1.100), facilitating access to local devices and services without relying on external DNS. While WAN DNS is essential for internet connectivity, LAN DNS optimizes local network efficiency by caching queries, filtering unwanted domains, or integrating with DHCP. In practice, LAN DNS first checks for local records; if a domain is external, it forwards the request to WAN DNS, ensuring seamless access to both internal and external resources.
WLAN (wireless local area network) is a type of LAN (local area network); configuring LAN DNS will also be effective on WLAN. So there is no WLAN DNS thing.
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Hi @arrmo
WAN DNS (Wide Area Network DNS) and LAN DNS (Local Area Network DNS) serve distinct roles in network operations.
WAN DNS is responsible for resolving public domain names (e.g., www.example.com) into their corresponding public IP addresses (e.g., 93.184.216.34), enabling access to internet resources. It is typically provided by an ISP or public DNS services like Google DNS (8.8.8.8) or Cloudflare (1.1.1.1).
In contrast, LAN DNS handles internal domain resolution (e.g., printer. local or nas.lan) to private IP addresses (e.g., 192.168.1.100), facilitating access to local devices and services without relying on external DNS. While WAN DNS is essential for internet connectivity, LAN DNS optimizes local network efficiency by caching queries, filtering unwanted domains, or integrating with DHCP. In practice, LAN DNS first checks for local records; if a domain is external, it forwards the request to WAN DNS, ensuring seamless access to both internal and external resources.
WLAN (wireless local area network) is a type of LAN (local area network); configuring LAN DNS will also be effective on WLAN. So there is no WLAN DNS thing.
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@Vincent-TP That makes sense! But ;). Here are my LAN settings,
And yet, on a Wi-Fi client, I get,
So something isn't working quite right?
Thanks!
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@arrmo OK, I found the issue! The settings are not applied on Save, like many other settings. They were not being used, until I did a controller upgrade, and it restarted. Then they showed up. Shouldn't a service restart happen (service(s) as needed), so that after Save the settings are taken into use? Seems like a bug to me.
Thanks!
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Hi @arrmo
We don't need to restart the device for a particular setting to take effect.
In practice, LAN DNS first checks for local records; if a domain is external, it forwards the request to WAN DNS, ensuring seamless access to both internal and external resources.
Clients will use the LAN DNS server prior to using the WAN DNS when both the WAN and LAN DNS are configured.
arrmo wrote
@arrmo OK, I found the issue! The settings are not applied on Save, like many other settings. They were not being used, until I did a controller upgrade, and it restarted. Then they showed up. Shouldn't a service restart happen (service(s) as needed), so that after Save the settings are taken into use? Seems like a bug to me.
Thanks!
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@Vincent-TP Understood, but ... I checked (three) DHCP clients, and none of them had the DNS addresses updated (and correct) until AFTER the controller was restarted. I did release and renew DHCP on the clients, but nope - it didn't update until the controller rebooted. Then the client DNS addresses were correct.
Make sense?
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Hi @arrmo
The changes never take effect—do we really have to restart the controller every time? If yes, this is not normal behavior.
What's the firmware version of the controller and the gateway router you are using? Please check if they are the latest.
BTW, do you have a DNS server installed in the LAN?
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@Vincent-TP Hi,
Yes, I have a DNS server installed (CoreDNS, with Omada plug-in). I was trying to change back to that (after giving up on LAN DNS on the router :(). That's how I came across this.
My firmware versions - current I believe?
SW Controller (Linux): v5.15.24.18
Gateway Router (ER707-M2 v1.0): v1.3.0 Build 20250428 Rel.74712
Thanks!
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Hi @arrmo
Yes, they are the latest version.
Will you need to reboot the controller every time to make the change take effect? Or sometimes a reboot is not required?
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