The Phonebook for the Internet. DNS Server on a Raspberry Pi

One of the coolest things about using the Raspberry Pi is the community that has grown up around it.  For example, when I sat down today to write a blog post without know what I wanted to write about I thought of my Network+ class and how we would go about building a network using the Raspberry Pi as the equipment to provide all the necessary services we would need on a functional network...  Let' start with DNS.  In class I would talk about what DNS is, how it works and why it is needed.  This discussion would follow an earlier discussion around IP Addressing on our network.  Once we are somewhat familiar with the concept of DNS I would ask groups of students to figure out how to install and configure DNS on a Raspberry Pi for their local network and beyond.

This might sound like a daunting task to some, and it can be.  Remember that we are doing this in a classroom, in groups, with multiple groups and an instructor available for assistance.

Our first step would be to figure out how to do this... Enter the Raspberry Pi community.  At any point in time where you want to do something with a Raspberry Pi you simply need to search for the word words Raspberry Pi followed by whatever you want to do.  For example, RASPBERRY PI DNS SERVER, and you would get something like this.  

The first four suggestions are all viable tutorials that students can try in order to install and configure their own DNS server for their networks.  In the process of reviewing the tutorials and talking with their classmates students will be learning about DNS, making decisions on a path to follow, and implementing their plan.  All in an environment that supports them learning and understanding the concepts of DNS and networking.

Have the students review each of the tutorials asking each other and the instructor for clarification of anything not understood.  Have them discuss the options and pick a tutorial they would like to try.  If you can get different groups to do different tutorials then you can discuss pros/cons of each afterwards.  Ultimately the students will learn all the key concepts of DNS while building their very own functional DNS servers. 

Here are the links to the 4 tutorials shown in the graphic above.

/www.ionos.com/digitalguide/server/configuration/how-to-make-your-raspberry-pi-into-a-dns-server/

​pimylifeup.com/raspberry-pi-dns-server/

​www.deviceplus.com/raspberry-pi/how-to-use-a-raspberry-pi-as-a-dns-server/

raspberrytips.com/raspberry-pi-dns-server/

​Day 3