1unbound-control(8) unbound 1.13.2 unbound-control(8)
2
6 unbound-control, unbound-control-setup - Unbound remote server control
7 utility.
8
10 unbound-control [-hq] [-c cfgfile] [-s server] command
11
13 Unbound-control performs remote administration on the unbound(8) DNS
14 server. It reads the configuration file, contacts the unbound server
15 over SSL sends the command and displays the result.
16 The available options are:
18 -h Show the version and commandline option help.
20 -c cfgfile
22 The config file to read with settings. If not given the default
23 config file /etc/unbound/unbound.conf is used.
24 -s server[@port]
26 IPv4 or IPv6 address of the server to contact. If not given,
27 the address is read from the config file.
28 -q quiet, if the option is given it does not print anything if it
30 works ok.
31
33 There are several commands that the server understands.
34 start Start the server. Simply execs unbound(8). The unbound exe‐
36 cutable is searched for in the PATH set in the environment. It
37 is started with the config file specified using -c or the de‐
38 fault config file.
39 stop Stop the server. The server daemon exits.
41 reload Reload the server. This flushes the cache and reads the config
43 file fresh.
44 verbosity number
46 Change verbosity value for logging. Same values as verbosity
47 keyword in unbound.conf(5). This new setting lasts until the
48 server is issued a reload (taken from config file again), or the
49 next verbosity control command.
50 log_reopen
52 Reopen the logfile, close and open it. Useful for logrotation
53 to make the daemon release the file it is logging to. If you
54 are using syslog it will attempt to close and open the syslog
55 (which may not work if chrooted).
56 stats Print statistics. Resets the internal counters to zero, this can
58 be controlled using the statistics-cumulative config statement.
59 Statistics are printed with one [name]: [value] per line.
60 stats_noreset
62 Peek at statistics. Prints them like the stats command does, but
63 does not reset the internal counters to zero.
64 status Display server status. Exit code 3 if not running (the connec‐
66 tion to the port is refused), 1 on error, 0 if running.
67 local_zone name type
69 Add new local zone with name and type. Like local-zone config
70 statement. If the zone already exists, the type is changed to
71 the given argument.
72 local_zone_remove name
74 Remove the local zone with the given name. Removes all local
75 data inside it. If the zone does not exist, the command suc‐
76 ceeds.
77 local_data RR data...
79 Add new local data, the given resource record. Like local-data
80 config statement, except for when no covering zone exists. In
81 that case this remote control command creates a transparent zone
82 with the same name as this record.
83 local_data_remove name
85 Remove all RR data from local name. If the name already has no
86 items, nothing happens. Often results in NXDOMAIN for the name
87 (in a static zone), but if the name has become an empty nonter‐
88 minal (there is still data in domain names below the removed
89 name), NOERROR nodata answers are the result for that name.
90 local_zones
92 Add local zones read from stdin of unbound-control. Input is
93 read per line, with name space type on a line. For bulk addi‐
94 tions.
95 local_zones_remove
97 Remove local zones read from stdin of unbound-control. Input is
98 one name per line. For bulk removals.
99 local_datas
101 Add local data RRs read from stdin of unbound-control. Input is
102 one RR per line. For bulk additions.
103 local_datas_remove
105 Remove local data RRs read from stdin of unbound-control. Input
106 is one name per line. For bulk removals.
107 dump_cache
109 The contents of the cache is printed in a text format to stdout.
110 You can redirect it to a file to store the cache in a file.
111 load_cache
113 The contents of the cache is loaded from stdin. Uses the same
114 format as dump_cache uses. Loading the cache with old, or wrong
115 data can result in old or wrong data returned to clients. Load‐
116 ing data into the cache in this way is supported in order to aid
117 with debugging.
118 lookup name
120 Print to stdout the name servers that would be used to look up
121 the name specified.
122 flush name
124 Remove the name from the cache. Removes the types A, AAAA, NS,
125 SOA, CNAME, DNAME, MX, PTR, SRV and NAPTR. Because that is fast
126 to do. Other record types can be removed using flush_type or
127 flush_zone.
128 flush_type name type
130 Remove the name, type information from the cache.
131 flush_zone name
133 Remove all information at or below the name from the cache. The
134 rrsets and key entries are removed so that new lookups will be
135 performed. This needs to walk and inspect the entire cache, and
136 is a slow operation. The entries are set to expired in the im‐
137 plementation of this command (so, with serve-expired enabled,
138 it'll serve that information but schedule a prefetch for new in‐
139 formation).
140 flush_bogus
142 Remove all bogus data from the cache.
143 flush_negative
145 Remove all negative data from the cache. This is nxdomain an‐
146 swers, nodata answers and servfail answers. Also removes bad
147 key entries (which could be due to failed lookups) from the
148 dnssec key cache, and iterator last-resort lookup failures from
149 the rrset cache.
150 flush_stats
152 Reset statistics to zero.
153 flush_requestlist
155 Drop the queries that are worked on. Stops working on the
156 queries that the server is working on now. The cache is unaf‐
157 fected. No reply is sent for those queries, probably making
158 those users request again later. Useful to make the server
159 restart working on queries with new settings, such as a higher
160 verbosity level.
161 dump_requestlist
163 Show what is worked on. Prints all queries that the server is
164 currently working on. Prints the time that users have been
165 waiting. For internal requests, no time is printed. And then
166 prints out the module status. This prints the queries from the
167 first thread, and not queries that are being serviced from other
168 threads.
169 flush_infra all|IP
171 If all then entire infra cache is emptied. If a specific IP ad‐
172 dress, the entry for that address is removed from the cache. It
173 contains EDNS, ping and lameness data.
174 dump_infra
176 Show the contents of the infra cache.
177 set_option opt: val
179 Set the option to the given value without a reload. The cache
180 is therefore not flushed. The option must end with a ':' and
181 whitespace must be between the option and the value. Some val‐
182 ues may not have an effect if set this way, the new values are
183 not written to the config file, not all options are supported.
184 This is different from the set_option call in libunbound, where
185 all values work because unbound has not been initialized.
186 The values that work are: statistics-interval, statistics-cumu‐
188 lative, do-not-query-localhost, harden-short-bufsize,
189 harden-large-queries, harden-glue, harden-dnssec-stripped,
190 harden-below-nxdomain, harden-referral-path, prefetch,
191 prefetch-key, log-queries, hide-identity, hide-version, iden‐
192 tity, version, val-log-level, val-log-squelch, ignore-cd-flag,
193 add-holddown, del-holddown, keep-missing, tcp-upstream, ssl-up‐
194 stream, max-udp-size, ratelimit, ip-ratelimit, cache-max-ttl,
195 cache-min-ttl, cache-max-negative-ttl.
196 get_option opt
198 Get the value of the option. Give the option name without a
199 trailing ':'. The value is printed. If the value is "", noth‐
200 ing is printed and the connection closes. On error 'error ...'
201 is printed (it gives a syntax error on unknown option). For
202 some options a list of values, one on each line, is printed.
203 The options are shown from the config file as modified with
204 set_option. For some options an override may have been taken
205 that does not show up with this command, not results from e.g.
206 the verbosity and forward control commands. Not all options
207 work, see list_stubs, list_forwards, list_local_zones and
208 list_local_data for those.
209 list_stubs
211 List the stub zones in use. These are printed one by one to the
212 output. This includes the root hints in use.
213 list_forwards
215 List the forward zones in use. These are printed zone by zone
216 to the output.
217 list_insecure
219 List the zones with domain-insecure.
220 list_local_zones
222 List the local zones in use. These are printed one per line
223 with zone type.
224 list_local_data
226 List the local data RRs in use. The resource records are
227 printed.
228 insecure_add zone
230 Add a domain-insecure for the given zone, like the statement in
231 unbound.conf. Adds to the running unbound without affecting the
232 cache contents (which may still be bogus, use flush_zone to re‐
233 move it), does not affect the config file.
234 insecure_remove zone
236 Removes domain-insecure for the given zone.
237 forward_add [+i] zone addr ...
239 Add a new forward zone to running unbound. With +i option also
240 adds a domain-insecure for the zone (so it can resolve inse‐
241 curely if you have a DNSSEC root trust anchor configured for
242 other names). The addr can be IP4, IP6 or nameserver names,
243 like forward-zone config in unbound.conf.
244 forward_remove [+i] zone
246 Remove a forward zone from running unbound. The +i also removes
247 a domain-insecure for the zone.
248 stub_add [+ip] zone addr ...
250 Add a new stub zone to running unbound. With +i option also
251 adds a domain-insecure for the zone. With +p the stub zone is
252 set to prime, without it it is set to notprime. The addr can be
253 IP4, IP6 or nameserver names, like the stub-zone config in un‐
254 bound.conf.
255 stub_remove [+i] zone
257 Remove a stub zone from running unbound. The +i also removes a
258 domain-insecure for the zone.
259 forward [off | addr ... ]
261 Setup forwarding mode. Configures if the server should ask
262 other upstream nameservers, should go to the internet root name‐
263 servers itself, or show the current config. You could pass the
264 nameservers after a DHCP update.
265 Without arguments the current list of addresses used to forward
267 all queries to is printed. On startup this is from the for‐
268 ward-zone "." configuration. Afterwards it shows the status.
269 It prints off when no forwarding is used.
270 If off is passed, forwarding is disabled and the root name‐
272 servers are used. This can be used to avoid to avoid buggy or
273 non-DNSSEC supporting nameservers returned from DHCP. But may
274 not work in hotels or hotspots.
275 If one or more IPv4 or IPv6 addresses are given, those are then
277 used to forward queries to. The addresses must be separated
278 with spaces. With '@port' the port number can be set explicitly
279 (default port is 53 (DNS)).
280 By default the forwarder information from the config file for
282 the root "." is used. The config file is not changed, so after
283 a reload these changes are gone. Other forward zones from the
284 config file are not affected by this command.
285 ratelimit_list [+a]
287 List the domains that are ratelimited. Printed one per line
288 with current estimated qps and qps limit from config. With +a
289 it prints all domains, not just the ratelimited domains, with
290 their estimated qps. The ratelimited domains return an error
291 for uncached (new) queries, but cached queries work as normal.
292 ip_ratelimit_list [+a]
294 List the ip addresses that are ratelimited. Printed one per
295 line with current estimated qps and qps limit from config. With
296 +a it prints all ips, not just the ratelimited ips, with their
297 estimated qps. The ratelimited ips are dropped before checking
298 the cache.
299 list_auth_zones
301 List the auth zones that are configured. Printed one per line
302 with a status, indicating if the zone is expired and current se‐
303 rial number.
304 auth_zone_reload zone
306 Reload the auth zone from zonefile. The zonefile is read in
307 overwriting the current contents of the zone in memory. This
308 changes the auth zone contents itself, not the cache contents.
309 Such cache contents exists if you set unbound to validate with
310 for-upstream yes and that can be cleared with flush_zone zone.
311 auth_zone_transfer zone
313 Transfer the auth zone from master. The auth zone probe se‐
314 quence is started, where the masters are probed to see if they
315 have an updated zone (with the SOA serial check). And then the
316 zone is transferred for a newer zone version.
317 rpz_enable zone
319 Enable the RPZ zone if it had previously been disabled.
320 rpz_disable zone
322 Disable the RPZ zone.
323 view_list_local_zones view
325 list_local_zones for given view.
326 view_local_zone view name type
328 local_zone for given view.
329 view_local_zone_remove view name
331 local_zone_remove for given view.
332 view_list_local_data view
334 list_local_data for given view.
335 view_local_data view RR data...
337 local_data for given view.
338 view_local_data_remove view name
340 local_data_remove for given view.
341 view_local_datas_remove view
343 Remove a list of local_data for given view from stdin. Like lo‐
344 cal_datas_remove.
345 view_local_datas view
347 Add a list of local_data for given view from stdin. Like lo‐
348 cal_datas.
349
351 The unbound-control program exits with status code 1 on error, 0 on
352 success.
353
355 The setup requires a self-signed certificate and private keys for both
356 the server and client. The script unbound-control-setup generates
357 these in the default run directory, or with -d in another directory.
358 If you change the access control permissions on the key files you can
359 decide who can use unbound-control, by default owner and group but not
360 all users. Run the script under the same username as you have config‐
361 ured in unbound.conf or as root, so that the daemon is permitted to
362 read the files, for example with:
363 sudo -u unbound unbound-control-setup
364 If you have not configured a username in unbound.conf, the keys need
365 read permission for the user credentials under which the daemon is
366 started. The script preserves private keys present in the directory.
367 After running the script as root, turn on control-enable in un‐
368 bound.conf.
369
371 The stats command shows a number of statistic counters.
372 threadX.num.queries
374 number of queries received by thread
375 threadX.num.queries_ip_ratelimited
377 number of queries rate limited by thread
378 threadX.num.cachehits
380 number of queries that were successfully answered using a cache
381 lookup
382 threadX.num.cachemiss
384 number of queries that needed recursive processing
385 threadX.num.dnscrypt.crypted
387 number of queries that were encrypted and successfully decapsu‐
388 lated by dnscrypt.
389 threadX.num.dnscrypt.cert
391 number of queries that were requesting dnscrypt certificates.
392 threadX.num.dnscrypt.cleartext
394 number of queries received on dnscrypt port that were cleartext
395 and not a request for certificates.
396 threadX.num.dnscrypt.malformed
398 number of request that were neither cleartext, not valid
399 dnscrypt messages.
400 threadX.num.prefetch
402 number of cache prefetches performed. This number is included
403 in cachehits, as the original query had the unprefetched answer
404 from cache, and resulted in recursive processing, taking a slot
405 in the requestlist. Not part of the recursivereplies (or the
406 histogram thereof) or cachemiss, as a cache response was sent.
407 threadX.num.expired
409 number of replies that served an expired cache entry.
410 threadX.num.recursivereplies
412 The number of replies sent to queries that needed recursive pro‐
413 cessing. Could be smaller than threadX.num.cachemiss if due to
414 timeouts no replies were sent for some queries.
415 threadX.requestlist.avg
417 The average number of requests in the internal recursive pro‐
418 cessing request list on insert of a new incoming recursive pro‐
419 cessing query.
420 threadX.requestlist.max
422 Maximum size attained by the internal recursive processing re‐
423 quest list.
424 threadX.requestlist.overwritten
426 Number of requests in the request list that were overwritten by
427 newer entries. This happens if there is a flood of queries that
428 recursive processing and the server has a hard time.
429 threadX.requestlist.exceeded
431 Queries that were dropped because the request list was full.
432 This happens if a flood of queries need recursive processing,
433 and the server can not keep up.
434 threadX.requestlist.current.all
436 Current size of the request list, includes internally generated
437 queries (such as priming queries and glue lookups).
438 threadX.requestlist.current.user
440 Current size of the request list, only the requests from client
441 queries.
442 threadX.recursion.time.avg
444 Average time it took to answer queries that needed recursive
445 processing. Note that queries that were answered from the cache
446 are not in this average.
447 threadX.recursion.time.median
449 The median of the time it took to answer queries that needed re‐
450 cursive processing. The median means that 50% of the user
451 queries were answered in less than this time. Because of big
452 outliers (usually queries to non responsive servers), the aver‐
453 age can be bigger than the median. This median has been calcu‐
454 lated by interpolation from a histogram.
455 threadX.tcpusage
457 The currently held tcp buffers for incoming connections. A spot
458 value on the time of the request. This helps you spot if the
459 incoming-num-tcp buffers are full.
460 total.num.queries
462 summed over threads.
463 total.num.cachehits
465 summed over threads.
466 total.num.cachemiss
468 summed over threads.
469 total.num.dnscrypt.crypted
471 summed over threads.
472 total.num.dnscrypt.cert
474 summed over threads.
475 total.num.dnscrypt.cleartext
477 summed over threads.
478 total.num.dnscrypt.malformed
480 summed over threads.
481 total.num.prefetch
483 summed over threads.
484 total.num.expired
486 summed over threads.
487 total.num.recursivereplies
489 summed over threads.
490 total.requestlist.avg
492 averaged over threads.
493 total.requestlist.max
495 the maximum of the thread requestlist.max values.
496 total.requestlist.overwritten
498 summed over threads.
499 total.requestlist.exceeded
501 summed over threads.
502 total.requestlist.current.all
504 summed over threads.
505 total.recursion.time.median
507 averaged over threads.
508 total.tcpusage
510 summed over threads.
511 time.now
513 current time in seconds since 1970.
514 time.up
516 uptime since server boot in seconds.
517 time.elapsed
519 time since last statistics printout, in seconds.
520
522 mem.cache.rrset
523 Memory in bytes in use by the RRset cache.
524 mem.cache.message
526 Memory in bytes in use by the message cache.
527 mem.cache.dnscrypt_shared_secret
529 Memory in bytes in use by the dnscrypt shared secrets cache.
530 mem.cache.dnscrypt_nonce
532 Memory in bytes in use by the dnscrypt nonce cache.
533 mem.mod.iterator
535 Memory in bytes in use by the iterator module.
536 mem.mod.validator
538 Memory in bytes in use by the validator module. Includes the key
539 cache and negative cache.
540 mem.streamwait
542 Memory in bytes in used by the TCP and TLS stream wait buffers.
543 These are answers waiting to be written back to the clients.
544 mem.http.query_buffer
546 Memory in bytes used by the HTTP/2 query buffers. Containing
547 (partial) DNS queries waiting for request stream completion.
548 mem.http.response_buffer
550 Memory in bytes used by the HTTP/2 response buffers. Containing
551 DNS responses waiting to be written back to the clients.
552 histogram.<sec>.<usec>.to.<sec>.<usec>
554 Shows a histogram, summed over all threads. Every element counts
555 the recursive queries whose reply time fit between the lower and
556 upper bound. Times larger or equal to the lowerbound, and
557 smaller than the upper bound. There are 40 buckets, with bucket
558 sizes doubling.
559 num.query.type.A
561 The total number of queries over all threads with query type A.
562 Printed for the other query types as well, but only for the
563 types for which queries were received, thus =0 entries are omit‐
564 ted for brevity.
565 num.query.type.other
567 Number of queries with query types 256-65535.
568 num.query.class.IN
570 The total number of queries over all threads with query class IN
571 (internet). Also printed for other classes (such as CH (CHAOS)
572 sometimes used for debugging), or NONE, ANY, used by dynamic up‐
573 date. num.query.class.other is printed for classes 256-65535.
574 num.query.opcode.QUERY
576 The total number of queries over all threads with query opcode
577 QUERY. Also printed for other opcodes, UPDATE, ...
578 num.query.tcp
580 Number of queries that were made using TCP towards the unbound
581 server.
582 num.query.tcpout
584 Number of queries that the unbound server made using TCP outgo‐
585 ing towards other servers.
586 num.query.tls
588 Number of queries that were made using TLS towards the unbound
589 server. These are also counted in num.query.tcp, because TLS
590 uses TCP.
591 num.query.tls.resume
593 Number of TLS session resumptions, these are queries over TLS
594 towards the unbound server where the client negotiated a TLS
595 session resumption key.
596 num.query.https
598 Number of queries that were made using HTTPS towards the unbound
599 server. These are also counted in num.query.tcp and
600 num.query.tls, because HTTPS uses TLS and TCP.
601 num.query.ipv6
603 Number of queries that were made using IPv6 towards the unbound
604 server.
605 num.query.flags.RD
607 The number of queries that had the RD flag set in the header.
608 Also printed for flags QR, AA, TC, RA, Z, AD, CD. Note that
609 queries with flags QR, AA or TC may have been rejected because
610 of that.
611 num.query.edns.present
613 number of queries that had an EDNS OPT record present.
614 num.query.edns.DO
616 number of queries that had an EDNS OPT record with the DO
617 (DNSSEC OK) bit set. These queries are also included in the
618 num.query.edns.present number.
619 num.query.ratelimited
621 The number of queries that are turned away from being send to
622 nameserver due to ratelimiting.
623 num.query.dnscrypt.shared_secret.cachemiss
625 The number of dnscrypt queries that did not find a shared secret
626 in the cache. The can be use to compute the shared secret hi‐
627 trate.
628 num.query.dnscrypt.replay
630 The number of dnscrypt queries that found a nonce hit in the
631 nonce cache and hence are considered a query replay.
632 num.answer.rcode.NXDOMAIN
634 The number of answers to queries, from cache or from recursion,
635 that had the return code NXDOMAIN. Also printed for the other
636 return codes.
637 num.answer.rcode.nodata
639 The number of answers to queries that had the pseudo return code
640 nodata. This means the actual return code was NOERROR, but ad‐
641 ditionally, no data was carried in the answer (making what is
642 called a NOERROR/NODATA answer). These queries are also in‐
643 cluded in the num.answer.rcode.NOERROR number. Common for AAAA
644 lookups when an A record exists, and no AAAA.
645 num.answer.secure
647 Number of answers that were secure. The answer validated cor‐
648 rectly. The AD bit might have been set in some of these an‐
649 swers, where the client signalled (with DO or AD bit in the
650 query) that they were ready to accept the AD bit in the answer.
651 num.answer.bogus
653 Number of answers that were bogus. These answers resulted in
654 SERVFAIL to the client because the answer failed validation.
655 num.rrset.bogus
657 The number of rrsets marked bogus by the validator. Increased
658 for every RRset inspection that fails.
659 unwanted.queries
661 Number of queries that were refused or dropped because they
662 failed the access control settings.
663 unwanted.replies
665 Replies that were unwanted or unsolicited. Could have been ran‐
666 dom traffic, delayed duplicates, very late answers, or could be
667 spoofing attempts. Some low level of late answers and delayed
668 duplicates are to be expected with the UDP protocol. Very high
669 values could indicate a threat (spoofing).
670 msg.cache.count
672 The number of items (DNS replies) in the message cache.
673 rrset.cache.count
675 The number of RRsets in the rrset cache. This includes rrsets
676 used by the messages in the message cache, but also delegation
677 information.
678 infra.cache.count
680 The number of items in the infra cache. These are IP addresses
681 with their timing and protocol support information.
682 key.cache.count
684 The number of items in the key cache. These are DNSSEC keys,
685 one item per delegation point, and their validation status.
686 dnscrypt_shared_secret.cache.count
688 The number of items in the shared secret cache. These are pre‐
689 computed shared secrets for a given client public key/server se‐
690 cret key pair. Shared secrets are CPU intensive and this cache
691 allows unbound to avoid recomputing the shared secret when mul‐
692 tiple dnscrypt queries are sent from the same client.
693 dnscrypt_nonce.cache.count
695 The number of items in the client nonce cache. This cache is
696 used to prevent dnscrypt queries replay. The client nonce must
697 be unique for each client public key/server secret key pair.
698 This cache should be able to host QPS * `replay window` interval
699 keys to prevent replay of a query during `replay window` sec‐
700 onds.
701 num.query.authzone.up
703 The number of queries answered from auth-zone data, upstream
704 queries. These queries would otherwise have been sent (with
705 fallback enabled) to the internet, but are now answered from the
706 auth zone.
707 num.query.authzone.down
709 The number of queries for downstream answered from auth-zone
710 data. These queries are from downstream clients, and have had
711 an answer from the data in the auth zone.
712 num.query.aggressive.NOERROR
714 The number of queries answered using cached NSEC records with
715 NODATA RCODE. These queries would otherwise have been sent to
716 the internet, but are now answered using cached data.
717 num.query.aggressive.NXDOMAIN
719 The number of queries answered using cached NSEC records with
720 NXDOMAIN RCODE. These queries would otherwise have been sent to
721 the internet, but are now answered using cached data.
722 num.query.subnet
724 Number of queries that got an answer that contained EDNS client
725 subnet data.
726 num.query.subnet_cache
728 Number of queries answered from the edns client subnet cache.
729 These are counted as cachemiss by the main counters, but hit the
730 client subnet specific cache, after getting processed by the
731 edns client subnet module.
732 num.rpz.action.<rpz_action>
734 Number of queries answered using configured RPZ policy, per RPZ
735 action type. Possible actions are: nxdomain, nodata, passthru,
736 drop, local_data, disabled, and cname_override.
737
739 /etc/unbound/unbound.conf
740 unbound configuration file.
741 /etc/unbound
743 directory with private keys (unbound_server.key and unbound_con‐
744 trol.key) and self-signed certificates (unbound_server.pem and
745 unbound_control.pem).
746
748 unbound.conf(5), unbound(8).
749NLnet Labs Aug 12, 2021 unbound-control(8)