Re: forward zone VS rpz with recursor?

Brian Candler via Pdns-users <[email protected]> Thu, 12 Feb 2026 08:08:27 +0000
Newsgroups gmane.network.dns.powerdns.user
Message-ID <[email protected]>
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On 12/02/2026 06:19, listy via Pdns-users wrote:
> Seems that in my 'traditional' forward zones config file I was missing 
> the '+'
>
> +forwarded.zone=9.9.9.9,8.8.4.4
>
> then yes, public recursors work - otherwise NS for those domains are 
> needed (as a side-note to beginner like myself) 

The issue is that you need to set the "Recursion Desired" (RD) bit on 
requests which are going to recursive servers. It must not be set on 
requests which are sent to authoritative servers.

It's not really a case of NS records being required. An authoritative 
server will typically have NS records pointing at it (so that it can be 
found), but it's not necessary to function. You could, for example, set 
up a standalone authoritative server for a hidden zone, and forward 
requests to it from the recursor.

If the zone above is DNSSEC signed, but the hidden zone is not, that's 
when a Negative Trust Anchor (NTA) 
<https://doc.powerdns.com/recursor/lua-config/dnssec.html> is also required.

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    <div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 12/02/2026 06:19, listy via
      Pdns-users wrote:<br>
    </div>
    <blockquote type="cite"
      cite="mid:[email protected]">Seems
      that in my 'traditional' forward zones config file I was missing
      the '+'
      <br>
      <br>
      +forwarded.zone=9.9.9.9,8.8.4.4
      <br>
      <br>
      then yes, public recursors work - otherwise NS for those domains
      are needed (as a side-note to beginner like myself)
    </blockquote>
    <br>
    <p>The issue is that you need to set the "Recursion Desired" (RD)
      bit on requests which are going to recursive servers. It must not
      be set on requests which are sent to authoritative servers.</p>
    <p>It's not really a case of NS records being required. An
      authoritative server will typically have NS records pointing at it
      (so that it can be found), but it's not necessary to function. You
      could, for example, set up a standalone authoritative server for a
      hidden zone, and forward requests to it from the recursor.</p>
    <p>If the zone above is DNSSEC signed, but the hidden zone is not,
      that's when a <a moz-do-not-send="true"
        href="https://doc.powerdns.com/recursor/lua-config/dnssec.html">Negative
        Trust Anchor (NTA)</a> is also required.</p>
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