Using Helm with SimpleDNS

Helm us es the HTTP interface in to SimpleDNS. By default SimpleDNS will not  allow  Helm to call
its HTTP interface, so some additional c onfiguration of SimpleDNS will be required.
 
To configure  SimpleDNS to be co ntrolled by Helm  you  will need to  make som e  small am endments
to the SimpleDNS configuration file.
 
Navigate to the SimpleDNS install fo lder, and  open the  sdn s plus.ini  file in any text editor. Thi s 
file can be found in the root install a tion  folder for Si mpleDNS. On e sect ion  of the initialisation file
is called “[HTTP-C ommand ]”. Wi thin this  sectio n there a number of option s:
 
HTTPBind :  This is  the local IP address that the HT TP interface is listening to. By default
this is   set to ‘*’. This i s   a  wildcard and  will  work fine, but for better security en sure that
the IP addres s that H e lm use s  t o  c a ll  the DNS  serv ice is  entered here instead. If you
have an inte rnal and external network you sh ould ent e r the internal network IP address.
This will stop possible conn ection s from outsid e of your network . 
 
HTTPPort: By default SimpleDNS will be listening  on port 8053.  There is n o  reason to
change thi s  although chan ging this to  a less known port can help against mor e  servic e
scan att e mpts .
 
HTTPACL: Enter into this   the IP address  of the Helm contr o l  server. If SimpleDNS is  on
the Helm Control server then you ne ed to set thi s IP address  as the same IP as the 
HTTPB ind ad dress.   This  e nsure s th at only the c o ntro l se rver c a n send re quests t o  the
DNS  server . You should als o   add   127 .0.0 .1  to  this line  as SimpleDNS may need to
communicate locally from this IP. So if your  IP is  1.2.3.4 ,  the full line wo uld read:
HTTPACL=127.0.0.1 1.2 .3.4  (note th e spac e betw een IPs) .
 
HTTPPW : If you are usin g Simple DNS 4, it defaults with a password being set. This will
cause issu es, so if you are using this version you  should  delete this line from the
sdnsplus .ini file.
 
You will now  have to restart the SimpleDNS service in order for th ese ch anges to be made. Yo u
can te st th at the configuration is co rrect by access  http://1.2.3.4:8 053/status where 1.2 . 3.4
should be replaced with the communication IP you h a ve specified in Helm for th e DNS server .
 
If you have trouble getting Helm to  work with SimpleDNS, ensur e  the following:
 
- Mak e  sur e  the IP address specified to c o mmunicate with the SimpleDNS service is correct , an d
resolv es.
 
- The SimpleDNS service i s  running and  has n o t crashed.
 
- The ACL list in the SimpleDNS configuration file  co ntains th e IP address  that the control server
is communic ating from (as outlined ab ove).
 
- MS XML 4 h a s been instal led on the  server. You ca n  tell this i s  the case b e cau se you can  acce ss
the SimpleDNS service thr ough the web  browser on the server , bu t Helm still has problem s .