DNS Settings

DNS settings in Poweradmin can be configured through the config/settings.php file under the dns section or through individual variables in the legacy configuration format.

Configuration Options

Legacy variable	Modern equivalent	Default value	Description	Added in version
$dns_hostmaster	dns.hostmaster	no default	The default email address to use for the SOA record (e.g., 'hostmaster.example.net').
$dns_ns1	dns.ns1	no default	The default primary nameserver.
$dns_ns2	dns.ns2	no default	The default secondary nameserver.
$dns_ns3	dns.ns3	no default	The third nameserver.
$dns_ns4	dns.ns4	no default	The fourth nameserver.
$dns_ttl	dns.ttl	86400	The default TTL for records (in seconds).
-	dns.ttl_reverse	null	Default TTL for PTR records in reverse zones. When null, falls back to dns.ttl. When configured, the value pre-fills the TTL field on the reverse-zone add-record form, applies to batch PTR creation, and is used for PTRs auto-created alongside a forward record (the matched forward record's TTL is overridden). The same default is applied server-side by the v1/v2 record APIs, RRSets, bulk records, and the DNS wizard when the request omits a ttl field.	4.4.0 (UI), 4.5.0 (APIs + wizard)
$dns_soa	(see below)	28800 7200 604800 86400	SOA settings for refresh, retry, expire and minimum	2.2.3
-	dns.soa_refresh	28800	SOA refresh time	2.2.3
-	dns.soa_retry	7200	SOA retry time	2.2.3
-	dns.soa_expire	604800	SOA expire time	2.2.3
-	dns.soa_minimum	86400	SOA minimum TTL	2.2.3
$dns_strict_tld_check	dns.strict_tld_check	false	If enabled (true), allow official TLDs only.
$dns_top_level_tld_check	dns.top_level_tld_check	false	Don't allow creation of top-level TLDs when true.	2.1.7
$dns_third_level_check	dns.third_level_check	false	Don't allow creation of third-level domains when true.	2.1.7
$dns_txt_auto_quote	dns.txt_auto_quote	false	Automatically quote TXT records when true.	3.9.2
$iface_zone_type_default	dns.zone_type_default	MASTER	Default zone type when creating new zones.	2.1.9
-	dns.default_zone_template	null	Default zone template pre-selected on the add-zone form. Accepts a template id (int) or name (string). The DB-backed default (set in the template list UI) wins when both are present.	4.4.0
-	dns.zone_ownership_mode	both	Controls how zone ownership can be assigned on creation and ownership pages. Options: both, users_only, groups_only.	4.4.0
-	dns.prevent_duplicate_ptr	true	Prevent creation of multiple PTR records for same IP in batch operations.	4.0.0
-	dns.domain_record_types	null	Custom record types for domain zones (null uses defaults).	4.0.0
-	dns.reverse_record_types	null	Custom record types for reverse zones (null uses defaults).	4.0.0
-	dns.top_record_types	null	Pin selected record types to the top of record type selectors, in the given order. Null = alphabetical only.	4.4.0
-	dns.custom_tlds	[]	Custom TLDs to allow in zone names (when strict_tld_check is on) and in CNAME targets (e.g., ['dn42', 'home']).	3.x

SOA Record Settings

In the modern configuration format, the SOA settings are configured as individual parameters:

• refresh: The time interval before the zone should be refreshed. Default: 28800 (8 hours)
• retry: The time interval that should elapse before a failed refresh should be retried. Default: 7200 (2 hours)
• expire: The upper limit on the time interval that can elapse before the zone is no longer authoritative. Default: 604800 (1 week)
• minimum: The negative result TTL. Default: 86400 (24 hours)

In the legacy format, these are combined in the $dns_soa variable as a space-separated string.

Record Type Configuration

You can customize which record types are available in the zone editing interface:

• domain_record_types: Array of record types for domain zones. Set to null to use defaults.
• reverse_record_types: Array of record types for reverse zones. Set to null to use defaults.
• top_record_types (4.4.0): Array of record types to pin to the top of record type selectors, in the given order. Remaining types follow alphabetically. Set to null to keep the original alphabetical order.

Example custom configuration:

'dns' => [
    'domain_record_types' => ['A', 'AAAA', 'CNAME', 'MX', 'NS', 'SOA', 'TXT', 'SRV', 'CAA'],
    'reverse_record_types' => ['PTR', 'NS', 'SOA', 'TXT', 'CNAME'],
    'top_record_types' => ['A', 'AAAA', 'CNAME', 'TXT', 'MX'],
],

Custom TLD Whitelist

The custom_tlds option lets you whitelist non-IANA TLDs so they pass validation. It applies in two places:

• CNAME targets are normally restricted to alphabetic TLDs, which rejects experimental networks like DN42 (.dn42).
• Zone names are normally restricted to the official IANA list plus reserved special-use names when strict_tld_check is enabled. With strict_tld_check off (the default), any alphabetic TLD is accepted and this whitelist is not consulted.

'dns' => [
    'strict_tld_check' => true,
    'custom_tlds' => ['dn42', 'home', 'lan', 'corp'],
],

With this configuration, both a zone named office.lan and a CNAME target like ns1.example.dn42 pass validation. Matching is case-insensitive.

Note: Standard alphabetic TLDs (like .com, .org, .net) always work regardless of this setting.

Pre-whitelisted special-use TLDs

Even with strict_tld_check enabled, the following reserved TLDs are always accepted and do not need to be added to custom_tlds:

TLD	Reference	Typical use
test, example, invalid, localhost	RFC 2606	Testing and documentation
local	RFC 6762	Multicast DNS
onion	RFC 7686	Tor hidden services
alt	RFC 9476	Alternative DNS namespaces
internal	ICANN reserved (2024)	Private-use applications

If you use one of these for an internal zone, no extra configuration is required. Other common homelab TLDs such as .lan, .home, and .corp are not on this list and require either strict_tld_check = false or an entry in custom_tlds.

Modern Configuration Example

return [
    'dns' => [
        'hostmaster' => 'hostmaster.example.com',
        'ns1' => 'ns1.example.com',
        'ns2' => 'ns2.example.com',
        'ns3' => 'ns3.example.com',
        'ns4' => 'ns4.example.com',
        'ttl' => 86400,
        'ttl_reverse' => null, // PTR-specific default; null falls back to dns.ttl (added in 4.4.0)
        // SOA settings
        'soa_refresh' => 28800,
        'soa_retry' => 7200,
        'soa_expire' => 604800,
        'soa_minimum' => 86400,
        'zone_type_default' => 'MASTER',
        'default_zone_template' => null, // template id (int) or name (string); null for "none"
        'zone_ownership_mode' => 'both', // 'both', 'users_only', or 'groups_only'
        'strict_tld_check' => false,
        'top_level_tld_check' => false,
        'third_level_check' => false,
        'txt_auto_quote' => false,
        'prevent_duplicate_ptr' => true,
        'domain_record_types' => null, // Uses default types
        'reverse_record_types' => null, // Uses default types
        'custom_tlds' => [], // Custom TLDs for CNAME validation
    ],
];

Legacy Configuration Example

<?php
// DNS settings
$dns_hostmaster = 'hostmaster.example.com';
$dns_ns1 = 'ns1.example.com';
$dns_ns2 = 'ns2.example.com';
$dns_ns3 = 'ns3.example.com';
$dns_ns4 = 'ns4.example.com';
$dns_ttl = 86400;
$dns_soa = '28800 7200 604800 86400';
$dns_strict_tld_check = false;
$dns_top_level_tld_check = false;
$dns_third_level_check = false;
$dns_txt_auto_quote = false;
$iface_zone_type_default = 'MASTER';