Authoritative Cluster Active
100% Open Source · MIT

Resilient, Autonomous DNS Infrastructure for the Open Web

example-dns is a high-availability, multi-subnet authoritative DNS network powered by PowerDNS. Engineered with dual-cluster topology, automated AXFR zone replication, native DNSSEC, and strict registry compliance.

An open-source infrastructure initiative by ternis.org (powered by ternis.dev & ternis.net).

2 Diverse ASNs AS210083 & AS207198 routing diversity
4 Active Nameservers Dual-cluster interoperability with ternis.net
< 500ms Real-time AXFR Supermaster zone replication
100% RFC & DENIC Passes automated pre-delegation audits

Production Cluster Topology

Our live nameserver infrastructure operates across physically isolated nodes, separate subnets, and distinct autonomous systems to ensure zero-point failure resilience.

Node 1 — Primary Master
example-dns.net
Operational
Primary Authoritative & REST API Master

Handles authoritative zone mastering, DNSSEC key management, and REST API provisioning with MariaDB backend storage.

IPv4
IPv6
Network / ASN AS210083 (77.90.60.0/24)
Engine & Backend PowerDNS 4.9 / MariaDB 11.8
Dual NS Alias one.ns.ternis.net
Node 2 — Secondary Replica
example-dns.org
Operational
Secondary Authoritative & Supermaster Replica

Autonomous fallback nameserver receiving NOTIFY triggers and synchronizing zones instantly via AXFR replication into SQLite3.

IPv4
IPv6
Network / ASN AS207198 (94.249.188.0/24)
Engine & Backend PowerDNS 4.7 / SQLite3
Dual NS Alias two.ns.ternis.net
Node 1 — Web & Portal Gateway
example-dns.com
Operational
Public Web Portal & TLS Gateway

Lightweight semantic web service, public API gateway, and Caddy on-demand certificate validation for authoritative domains.

IPv4
IPv6
Web Server Caddy v2.10 (Auto TLS)
Backend PHP 8.5 Native Service
On-Demand TLS Dynamic PowerDNS Ask Hook

Domain Delegation & Setup

Delegate your apex domain to our nameserver cluster. Choose between the strict dual-nameserver set or the full redundant quad-nameserver configuration.

Ideal for all standard domains and required for registries with strict IP diversity rules (such as DENIC for .de domains).

DNS NS DELEGATION
example-dns.net
example-dns.org
Registry Compliance Note: For .de domains, DENIC NAST mandates unique IP addresses for each declared nameserver. Use the standard dual-nameserver pair (example-dns.net and example-dns.org) to pass registry pre-delegation tests with 0 errors.

Full four-nameserver declaration combining example-dns and ternis.net infrastructure for gTLDs (.com, .net, .org, .dev, .io).

DNS NS DELEGATION (4-NS)
example-dns.net
example-dns.org
one.ns.ternis.net
two.ns.ternis.net
Verify Live Nameservers
$ dig @example-dns.net example-dns.com SOA +dnssec
;; ANSWER SECTION:
example-dns.com.      3600  IN  SOA  example-dns.net. hostmaster.ternis.org. (
                                2026090901 ; serial
                                10800      ; refresh (3 hours)
                                3600       ; retry (1 hour)
                                604800     ; expire (1 week)
                                3600       ; minimum (1 hour)
                                )
example-dns.com.      3600  IN  RRSIG SOA 13 2 3600 20260923000000 20260909000000 ...
$ dig @example-dns.org example-dns.com NS +short
example-dns.net.
example-dns.org.
$ dig @example-dns.net example-dns.com DNSKEY +multiline
;; ANSWER SECTION:
example-dns.com.      3600 IN DNSKEY 256 3 13 (
                                ovpY.../3d8g==
                                ) ; ZSK; alg = ECDSAP256SHA256 ; key id = 48201
example-dns.com.      3600 IN DNSKEY 257 3 13 (
                                sD7p...VqLg==
                                ) ; KSK; alg = ECDSAP256SHA256 ; key id = 29314

Architectural Foundation

Engineered from the ground up for absolute stability, low latency, cryptographic verification, and operational transparency.

Multi-Subnet AS Diversity

Nameservers operate across independent autonomous systems (AS210083 & AS207198) with physically decoupled network backbones.

Automated Supermaster Replication

Immediate zone sync across nodes using RFC 1996 DNS NOTIFY and RFC 5936 AXFR transfers with SQLite superslave provisioning.

Hardened DNSSEC Signing

Built-in cryptographic response validation safeguards against DNS cache poisoning, spoofing, and man-in-the-middle attacks.

Heterogeneous Database Backends

Combines transactional MariaDB on Node 1 with lightweight, resilient SQLite3 on Node 2 for architectural fault tolerance.

On-Demand TLS Verification

Caddy proxy queries a local authorization hook ensuring certificates are issued only for domains authoritatively hosted in PowerDNS.

Pure Open Source & Dual-Mirrored

Completely open source under the MIT License with dual mirrors maintained across GitHub and Codeberg.

Deploy Your Own Nameserver

Deploy a full authoritative nameserver stack in seconds via Docker Compose or zero-touch VPS installer.

One-liner zero-touch installer for clean Debian and Ubuntu servers. Automatically resolves systemd-resolved port 53 collisions and configures PowerDNS.

BASH ZERO-TOUCH INSTALLER
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/example-dns/example-dns/master/infra/scripts/install-vps.sh | sudo bash -s -- --role all

Containerized multi-container setup with auto-initializing SQLite database backend and REST API.

DOCKER COMPOSE ORCHESTRATION
git clone https://github.com/example-dns/example-dns.git
cd example-dns/infra
docker compose up -d