docker_bind/README.md

# `blacka.com` DNS service

This repo and directory consists of the DNS service for `blacka.com`.  The goals of this service are:

1. Host the primary zones we want.
2. DNSSEC-sign those primary zones, if desired.
3. Provide local recursive service for the host itself.

It *was* the revamped DNS service for `zeke.ecotroph.net`, and thus served zones by the collection of owners of `zeke`.  However, `zeke` has reached End-of-Life.  In the future, the `zeke` operators will operate their own (virtual) environments independently.

## Overview

In the past, we just ran the version of BIND that came with our distribution (at this moment, that is CentOS 7, which translates to bind 9.11.)  This new configuration runs a very recent version of BIND 9 via a docker image produced by ISC themselves.  We started with 9.18.12 and now are up to 9.18.20.

This docker image imposes a few requirements:

* Internally, the image runs `named` as the `bind` user (104:105).  Since we bind-mount directories, we do need those directories owned by whatever internal UID it is using.
* We need some way to ensure that our container is run on system reboots, etc.  Here we chose to use `systemd` to do this, although that is not ideal.
* Presumably the normal way to do logging for a docker container is to use the standard journal service, although this image is set up to bind-mount `/var/log`.  On the other hand, the standard command uses the `-g` flag, which is "debug" mode, and causes all of the logs to go to stderr.
* We do want named to stay in the foreground here.  Fortunately, there have always been command line options that do this (`-g` and `-f`).  Thus, in order to log to `/var/log`, we supply a different command: `/usr/sbin/named -f -u bind`.  This will run in the foreground, and run as the internal `bind` user.

## Source

We can see it here: <https://blacka.com/git/docker_bind.git>.

## Design

We have in this repo:

* named configurations.  I've broken this up into sections (options, keys, logging, primary, secondary, etc.), which all just get included in the primary named.conf.  It isn't tricky.
* "keys".  Well, mostly TSIG keys.  Those are encrypted with [`git-crypt`](https://github.com/AGWA/git-crypt).  With a key that is ... somewhere.  I've saved it in my password manager, but it can be extracted from the current checkout in `/etc/bind` with `cd /etc/bind; git-crypt export-key /tmp/docker_bind_crypto.key`.  `git-crypt` doesn't seem to come via RPM and yum, but I built it and installed it into `/usr/local/bin` on my virtual host (and `zeke` when this was first set up.)
* zone files.  This is now just the `blacka.com` domains, which is currently just `blacka.com` itself.
* A script to launch the container (`run_bind_container.sh`).
* A script to use as the internal "command" (`cfg/run.sh`) -- it isn't config, but we need to bind-mount it.  It could possibly be moved to `cache`.
* A helper script to run `rndc` that just runs that inside the container itself (via a docker exec).  You would need to be in the `docker` group to run it.  Another few helper scripts to run other command line tools: `named-checkconf`, `named-compilezone`.
* A helper script to prepare your host to run this container and properly work, in case we want to do this install again (`setup.sh`).

## Installation

Working with `github.com` or <https://blacka.com/git> (`gitea` currently) is tricky as a different user, as git will want to use your own SSH keys.  Thus some of this advice doesn't really work as stated.  Instead of cloning the repo as the `bind` user, we clone it as ourselves and copy it to the expected location.

1. Clone this repo to `/etc/bind` (clone in `/etc` -- we want the working copy to *be* `/etc/bind`.)
2. Create a user to match the internal user (`uid 104`): `useradd -u 104 -g 105 -M --no-log-init bind`.  The `setup.sh` will do this.
3. Change the ownership of everything under `/etc/bind` to the `bind` user and group: `chown -R 104:105 /etc/bind`.
4. Copy the supplied `systemd` unit file to `/etc/systemd/system`, and `systemctl enable docker.bind.service`, then `systemctl start docker.bind.service`.

Note that in the future, we will attempt to adjust this to use `podman` natively instead of `docker`.

## Zone Changes

All of our zone files are now in this git repo, so we can just make changes and commit them, assuming you have write access to the local repo, that is.  The `bind` user should be able to do it, though.  Once you've changed your zone, you *could* bounce the service via `systemctl`, or we could use `rndc`.  I've made a little script that will do this with `docker exec`, `/etc/bind/run_rndc.sh`.  Thus:

```bash
sudo -u bind -s
cd /etc/bind/zones
vi <zonefile> # remember to update the serial
git commit -a <zonefile>
git push
cd ..
./run_rndc.sh reload <zone>
```

Which would work, if and only if as `bind` the `git push` actually works.

Instead, we need to develop a sustainable way to update the zone.  Currently we update in the repo *somewhere*, git pull the changes to a local working copy, and copy the zone file into place.  This is not ideal.

## DNSSEC

More modern BIND releases have changed the configuration for this.  Note *how* your zone is signed is based on a `dnssec-policy` block (I've put those in `cfg/named.dnssec.conf`).  Then, in your BIND configuration, you add:

```conf
dnssec-policy "default_alg13";
inline-signing yes;
```

in your zone block.  After restarting/reconfiguring BIND, it will create a `<zonefile>.signed` and `<zonefile>.signed.jnl` file, and start serving a DNSSEC signed version of the zone.  It will then take care of resigning activities, key rollovers etc.

### Zone Files

We can find the zone files  in `/etc/bind/zones`, although note that your zone may be in BIND's *raw* format.  If you want to see the contents, you can use `named-compilezone` for that (either using a version inside the container or not):

```bash
named-compilezone -f raw -F text -o - blacka.com /etc/bind/zones/blacka.com.signed
```