The Netyeti's Journal

Technitium DNS & DHCP - The Traffic Hub

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Technitium DNS & DHCP: The Traffic Hub

The Instructor's Perspective

In the Army, “communications” were the lifeblood of every operation. If you can’t reach your peers, you’re just a lone soldier in the dark. In your lab, DNS and DHCP are those communications. Technitium is my personal favorite because it’s a “Swiss Army Knife” for local network management. It’s powerful, easy to manage, and gives you complete control over your “digital terrain.”

Why Technitium?

  • All-in-One: Handles both DNS and DHCP in a single, clean web interface.
  • Privacy-Focused: Built-in support for DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) and DNS-over-TLS (DoT).
  • Ad-Blocking: Includes a “Block List” feature (similar to Pi-hole or AdGuard Home).
  • Split-Horizon DNS: Easily point journal.yeticraft.net to a local IP when you’re at home and a public IP when you’re away.
  • API-First: Everything you can do in the GUI, you can do with a REST API—perfect for Ansible automation.

DNS/DHCP Reliability (The PACE Plan)

Information Discipline

P (Primary): Technitium DNS & DHCP (Main LXC on Proxmox). A (Alternate): Secondary Technitium node (Synchronized via API or manual export). C (Contingency): Public DNS providers (e.g., 1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8) with static IP reservations on critical nodes. E (Emergency): Hardcoded /etc/hosts and manual static IP configuration for management interfaces.

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP): Setting the Hub

  1. Deploy: Use the Proxmox VE Helper Script to spin up an LXC.
  2. Configure Zones: Create your local domain zone (e.g., .home.arpa or a subdomain of your public domain).
  3. Set Up DHCP: Define your IP pools and create reservations for your servers and infrastructure.
  4. Enable Forwarders: Use privacy-focused forwarders like Quad9 or Cloudflare with DoH enabled.
  5. Verify: Use dig or nslookup on your clients to ensure names are resolving correctly.

Check for Understanding

  • Why is “Split-Horizon DNS” important for a home lab? (Hint: Think about your public-facing Domain).
  • If your Primary Technitium node fails, how do your clients know where the Alternate node is? (Hint: Check your DHCP Scope settings).

Related: index, DHCP, The Stack

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