[SOLVED] Zimbra on Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Server - DNS ERROR - Servfail

[zenpc]

Hi,

I've just set out on my first Zimbra installation. I'm using Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Server 64bit and following this guide: Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Server (Hardy Heron) Install Guide - Zimbra :: Wiki.

The server is behind a NAT router / firewall on a DMZ with local IP address 192.168.0.100.

I've followed the guide all the way through and can ping and resolve external hosts no problem, but if I attempt to do an nslookup on my domain, I get the following error:

root@mail:/home/administrator# nslookup mydomain.net
Server: 192.168.0.100
Address: 192.168.0.100#53

** server can't find mydomain.net: SERVFAIL

If I run the following commands I get:

cat /etc/hosts
# The following lines are desirable for IPv6 capable hosts
::1 ip6-localhost ip6-loopback
fe00::0 ip6-localnet
ff00::0 ip6-mcastprefix
ff02::1 ip6-allnodes
ff02::2 ip6-allrouters
ff02::3 ip6-allhosts

cat /etc/resolv.conf
root@mail:/home/administrator# cat /etc/resolv.conf
nameserver 192.168.0.100

dig mydomain.net mx
root@mail:/home/administrator# dig mydomain.net mx

; <<>> DiG 9.4.2-P2 <<>> mydomain.net mx
;; global options: printcmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: SERVFAIL, id: 19875
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 0, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;mydomain.net. IN MX

;; Query time: 0 msec
;; SERVER: 192.168.0.100#53(192.168.0.100)
;; WHEN: Thu May 21 12:32:57 2009
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 33

dig mydomain.net any
root@mail:/home/administrator# dig mydomain.net any

; <<>> DiG 9.4.2-P2 <<>> mydomain.net any
;; global options: printcmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: SERVFAIL, id: 6672
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 0, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;mydomain.net. IN ANY

;; Query time: 0 msec
;; SERVER: 192.168.0.100#53(192.168.0.100)
;; WHEN: Thu May 21 12:34:09 2009
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 33

host `hostname`
root@mail:/home/administrator# host `hostname`
Host mail.mydomain.net not found: 2(SERVFAIL)

It's likely I have missed something quite basic, as this is my first attempt. Any help greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[soxfan]

First basic thing that I would check is to make sure DNS (named) is running.

[zenpc]

Hi, thanks for the reply. You'll have to forgive me, I'm new(ish) to both Linux and Zimbra - how would I check that?

[soxfan]

No problem. So, based on the guide that you said you are following, the second section involves setting up and starting DNS. The line in the guide that says '/etc/init.d/bind9 restart' should have started/restarted the DNS server. I'm really more familiar with RedHat/Fedora/CentOS than Ubuntu, so there may be some other way to check the status under Ubuntu, but just a simple 'ps -ef | grep named' will show you whether it is running or not (make sure the ps command returns more than just your grep command). Also, to check the system log you can execute something like 'grep named /var/log/messages'. I'd recommend doing this right after executing the 'restart' command so you can see any messages related to DNS starting up.

[zenpc]

Thanks for the quick response. The results to the commands you suggested are below:

root@mail:/home/administrator# /etc/init.d/bind9 restart
/etc/default/bind9: line 1: unexpected EOF while looking for matching `"'
/etc/default/bind9: line 4: syntax error: unexpected end of file
/etc/default/bind9: line 1: unexpected EOF while looking for matching `"'
/etc/default/bind9: line 4: syntax error: unexpected end of file
* Stopping domain name service... bind rndc: connect failed: 127.0.0.1#953: connection refused
[fail]
/etc/default/bind9: line 1: unexpected EOF while looking for matching `"'
/etc/default/bind9: line 4: syntax error: unexpected end of file
* Starting domain name service... bind [ OK ]

root@mail:/home/administrator# grep named /var/log/messages
May 21 08:20:23 mail kernel: [ 49.319918] audit(1242890423.737:2): type=1503 o peration="capable" name="sys_resource" pid=4310 profile="/usr/sbin/named" namesp ace="default"

root@mail:/home/administrator# ps -ef | grep named
syslog 4208 1 0 11:16 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/syslogd -a /var/lib/named/dev/log -u sy slog
root 4272 1 0 11:16 ? 00:00:00 /usr/sbin/named
root 4619 4506 0 14:27 pts/0 00:00:00 grep named

Any idea what the fail messages are about when restarting the DNS?

[soxfan]

OK, some of this may be my lack of Ubuntu knowledge, but something doesn't look right. A couple of things. First, based on the line that came out of /var/log/messages it appears that you may have SELinux enabled. I would recommend disabling it on this system. Sorry, I don't know exactly how to do it with Ubuntu, but I'm sure a quick Google search will turn up the answer. Second, can you check to see if you have another, separate log file for DNS in /var/log/messages? I'm guessing it would be called 'named', but I'm not sure. I just think there should be more messages related to the startup of DNS than you are seeing. Lastly, I'm guessing there may be a syntax error in your named configuration files. How did you create the files? Can you post them here?

[zenpc]

Thanks again for your help - it really pointed me in the right direction. The problem was caused by apparmor preventing Bind9 from starting. I found the fix for this here: Ubuntu Hardy chrooted bind9 fails to start - HowtoForge Forums | HowtoForge - Linux Howtos and Tutorials

[soxfan]

Should we mark as solved?

[zenpc]

Yes, the original issue with the local DNS has been fixed and Zimbra successfully installed, thank you!

I'm still a little confused about how to set up my domain name outside of my local Zimbra server's DNS, i.e. that's registered externally with Fasthosts. Do I need to change the nameservers for this to point at my new Zimbra server?

[zenpc]

Ignore my last post - silly question . All problems solved. Thanks again for your help.