Edit the live PowerDNS Authoritative configuration. This page is available only when the DNS service is installed. Access: root.

What you’re editing

• /etc/pdns/pdns.conf — main config for the authoritative server.
• Controls listeners, backends, transfer policy, API/web console, logging, and performance knobs.

Editor and apply flow

• Click Validate & Apply Changes to save and restart PowerDNS.
• A backup is written to /etc/pdns/pdns.conf.bak before saving.
• After saving, the service is restarted and its state is checked. If it doesn’t become active, detailed service status is shown so you can revert or fix quickly.
• Safety limit: files larger than 1 MB are refused by the editor.

Common directives to review

• Listeners: local-address=0.0.0.0, local-port=53, IPv6 as needed.
• Backend: choose and configure the storage (e.g., launch=bind with zone files, or SQL backends).
• Transfers: allow-axfr-ips, also-notify, notify/TSIG policy for secondaries.
• Web/API: webserver=yes, webserver-address, api=yes, api-key=… if you expose them.
• TTL & caching: default-ttl, packet cache and query cache sizes.
• Security: setuid=pdns, setgid=pdns, minimal privileges and tight ACLs.

Operational tips

• Keep a shell open; if the restart fails, copy the backup back: cp /etc/pdns/pdns.conf.bak /etc/pdns/pdns.conf and restart.
• When changing transfer policy, confirm secondaries can AXFR/NOTIFY as intended.
• Ensure port 53 is free on the intended interfaces and allowed by your firewall.

Troubleshooting

• Service not active after apply: check the detailed status shown and logs: journalctl -u pdns -n 200.
• Port conflict: verify no other DNS daemon is listening on 53.
• Zone problems: validate with pdnsutil check-zone example.com and fix reported issues.