DNS query icon

DNS query

DNS query

Plugin: go.d.plugin Module: dns_query

Overview

This module monitors DNS query round-trip time (RTT).

This collector is supported on all platforms.

This collector supports collecting metrics from multiple instances of this integration, including remote instances.

Default Behavior

Auto-Detection

This integration doesn’t support auto-detection.

Limits

The default configuration for this integration does not impose any limits on data collection.

Performance Impact

The default configuration for this integration is not expected to impose a significant performance impact on the system.

Setup

You can configure the dns_query collector in two ways:

Method Best for How to
UI Fast setup without editing files Go to Nodes → Configure this node → Collectors → Jobs, search for dns_query, then click + to add a job.
File If you prefer configuring via file, or need to automate deployments (e.g., with Ansible) Edit go.d/dns_query.conf and add a job.

:::important

UI configuration requires paid Netdata Cloud plan.

:::

Prerequisites

No action required.

Configuration

Options

The following options can be defined globally: update_every, autodetection_retry.

Group Option Description Default Required
Collection update_every Data collection interval (seconds). 1 no
autodetection_retry Autodetection retry interval (seconds). Set 0 to disable. 0 no
Target domains One or more domains/subdomains to query. A random domain from the list is selected on each iteration. [] yes
servers DNS servers to query. If empty, servers from /etc/resolv.conf are used automatically. [] no
timeout Query timeout (seconds). 2 no
port DNS server port. 53 no
network DNS query transport protocol. Options: udp, tcp, tcp-tls. udp no
DNS Query record_types DNS record types to query. Options: A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, PTR, TXT, SOA, SPF, SRV. A no
Virtual Node vnode Associates this data collection job with a Virtual Node. no

via UI

Configure the dns_query collector from the Netdata web interface:

  1. Go to Nodes.
  2. Select the node where you want the dns_query data-collection job to run and click the :gear: (Configure this node). That node will run the data collection.
  3. The Collectors → Jobs view opens by default.
  4. In the Search box, type dns_query (or scroll the list) to locate the dns_query collector.
  5. Click the + next to the dns_query collector to add a new job.
  6. Fill in the job fields, then click Test to verify the configuration and Submit to save.
    • Test runs the job with the provided settings and shows whether data can be collected.
    • If it fails, an error message appears with details (for example, connection refused, timeout, or command execution errors), so you can adjust and retest.

via File

The configuration file name for this integration is go.d/dns_query.conf.

The file format is YAML. Generally, the structure is:

update_every: 1
autodetection_retry: 0
jobs:
  - name: some_name1
  - name: some_name2

You can edit the configuration file using the edit-config script from the Netdata config directory.

cd /etc/netdata 2>/dev/null || cd /opt/netdata/etc/netdata
sudo ./edit-config go.d/dns_query.conf
Examples
Specific DNS servers

An example configuration using Google’s public DNS servers.

jobs:
  - name: job1
    record_types:
      - A
      - AAAA
    domains:
      - google.com
      - github.com
      - reddit.com
    servers:
      - 8.8.8.8
      - 8.8.4.4
System DNS

An example configuration using DNS servers from /etc/resolv.conf.

jobs:
  - name: job1
    record_types:
      - A
      - AAAA
    domains:
      - google.com
      - github.com
      - reddit.com

Metrics

Metrics grouped by scope.

The scope defines the instance that the metric belongs to. An instance is uniquely identified by a set of labels.

Per server

These metrics refer to the DNS server.

Labels:

Label Description
server DNS server address.
network Network protocol name (tcp, udp, tcp-tls).
record_type DNS record type (e.g. A, AAAA, CNAME).

Metrics:

Metric Dimensions Unit
dns_query.query_status success, network_error, dns_error status
dns_query.query_time query_time seconds

Alerts

The following alerts are available:

Alert name On metric Description
dns_query_query_status dns_query.query_status DNS request type ${label:record_type} to server ${label:server} is unsuccessful

Troubleshooting

Debug Mode

Important: Debug mode is not supported for data collection jobs created via the UI using the Dyncfg feature.

To troubleshoot issues with the dns_query collector, run the go.d.plugin with the debug option enabled. The output should give you clues as to why the collector isn’t working.

  • Navigate to the plugins.d directory, usually at /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/. If that’s not the case on your system, open netdata.conf and look for the plugins setting under [directories].

    cd /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/

  • Switch to the netdata user.

    sudo -u netdata -s

  • Run the go.d.plugin to debug the collector:

    ./go.d.plugin -d -m dns_query

    To debug a specific job:

    ./go.d.plugin -d -m dns_query -j jobName

Getting Logs

If you’re encountering problems with the dns_query collector, follow these steps to retrieve logs and identify potential issues:

  • Run the command specific to your system (systemd, non-systemd, or Docker container).
  • Examine the output for any warnings or error messages that might indicate issues. These messages should provide clues about the root cause of the problem.

System with systemd

Use the following command to view logs generated since the last Netdata service restart:

journalctl _SYSTEMD_INVOCATION_ID="$(systemctl show --value --property=InvocationID netdata)" --namespace=netdata --grep dns_query

System without systemd

Locate the collector log file, typically at /var/log/netdata/collector.log, and use grep to filter for collector’s name:

grep dns_query /var/log/netdata/collector.log

Note: This method shows logs from all restarts. Focus on the latest entries for troubleshooting current issues.

Docker Container

If your Netdata runs in a Docker container named “netdata” (replace if different), use this command:

docker logs netdata 2>&1 | grep dns_query

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