Every Kubernetes cluster has a built-in DNS add-on (Kube-DNS or CoreDNS) to provide domain name resolution for workloads in the cluster. When handling a high concurrency of DNS queries, Kube-DNS/CoreDNS may encounter a performance bottleneck, that is, it may fail occasionally to fulfill DNS queries. There are cases when Kubernetes workloads initiate unnecessary DNS queries. This makes DNS overloaded if there are many concurrent DNS queries. Tuning DNS configuration for workloads will reduce the risks of DNS query failures to some extent.

For more information about DNS, see coredns (System Resource Add-On, Mandatory).

DNS Configuration Items

Run the cat /etc/resolv.conf command on a Linux node or container to view the DNS resolver configuration file. The following is an example DNS resolver configuration of a container in a Kubernetes cluster:

nameserver 10.247.x.x
search default.svc.cluster.local svc.cluster.local cluster.local
options ndots:5

Configuration Options

nameserver: an IP address list of a name server that the resolver will query. If this parameter is set to 10.247.x.x, the resolver will query the kube-dns/CoreDNS. If this parameter is set to another IP address, the resolver will query a cloud or on-premises DNS server.
search: a search list for host-name lookup. When a domain name cannot be resolved, DNS queries will be attempted combining the domain name with each domain in the search list in turn until a match is found or all domains in the search list are tried. For CCE clusters, the search list is currently limited to three domains per container. When a nonexistent domain name is being resolved, eight DNS queries will be initiated because each domain name (including those in the search list) will be queried twice, one for IPv4 and the other for IPv6.
options: options that allow certain internal resolver variables to be modified. Common options include timeout and ndots.
The value ndots:5 means that if a domain name has fewer than 5 dots (.), DNS queries will be attempted by combining the domain name with each domain in the search list in turn. If no match is found after all the domains in the search list are tried, the domain name is then used for DNS query. If the domain name has 5 or more than 5 dots, it will be tried first for DNS query. In case that the domain name cannot be resolved, DNS queries will be attempted by combining the domain name with each domain in the search list in turn.

For example, the domain name www.***.com has only two dots (smaller than the value of ndots), and therefore the sequence of DNS queries is as follows: www.***.default.svc.cluster.local, www.***.com.svc.cluster.local, www.***.com.cluster.local, and www.***.com. This means that at least seven DNS queries will be initiated before the domain name is resolved into an IP address. It is clear that when many unnecessary DNS queries will be initiated to access an external domain name. There is room for improvement in workload's DNS configuration.

For more information about configuration options in the resolver configuration file used by Linux operating systems, visit http://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man5/resolv.conf.5.html.

Configuring DNS Using the Workload YAML

When creating a workload using a YAML file, you can configure the DNS settings in the YAML. The following is an example for an Nginx application:

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: nginx
  namespace: default
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: nginx
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: nginx
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: container-1
          image: nginx:latest
          imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
      imagePullSecrets:
        - name: default-secret
      dnsPolicy: None
      dnsConfig:
        options:
          - name: ndots
            value: '5'
          - name: timeout
            value: '3'
        nameservers:
          - 10.2.3.4
        searches:
          - my.dns.search.suffix

dnsPolicy

The dnsPolicy field is used to configure a DNS policy for an application. The default value is ClusterFirst. The DNS parameters in dnsConfig will be merged to the DNS file generated according to dnsPolicy. The merge rules are later explained in Table 2. Currently, dnsPolicy supports the following four values:

**Table 1** dnsPolicy
Parameter	Description
ClusterFirst (default value)	CCE cluster's CoreDNS, which is cascaded with the cloud DNS by default, is used for workloads. Containers can resolve both the cluster-internal domain names registered by a Service and the external domain names exposed to public networks. The search list (search option) and ndots: 5 are present in the DNS configuration file. Therefore, when accessing an external domain name and a long cluster-internal domain name (for example, kubernetes.default.svc.cluster.local), the search list will usually be traversed first, resulting in at least six invalid DNS queries. The issue of invalid DNS queries disappears only when a short cluster-internal domain name (for example, kubernetes) is being accessed.
ClusterFirstWithHostNet	By default, the DNS configuration file that the --resolv-conf flag points to is configured for workloads running with hostNetwork=true, that is, a cloud DNS is used for CCE clusters. If workloads need to use Kube-DNS/CoreDNS of the cluster, set dnsPolicy to ClusterFirstWithHostNet and container's DNS configuration file is the same as ClusterFirst, in which invalid DNS queries still exist. ... spec: containers: - image: nginx:latest imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent name: container-1 restartPolicy: Always hostNetwork: true dnsPolicy: ClusterFirstWithHostNet
Default	Container's DNS configuration file is the DNS configuration file that the kubelet's --resolv-conf flag points to. In this case, a cloud DNS is used for CCE clusters. Both search and options fields are left unspecified. This configuration can only resolve the external domain names registered with the Internet, and not cluster-internal domain names. This configuration is free from the issue of invalid DNS queries.
None	If dnsPolicy is set to None, the dnsConfig field must be specified because all DNS settings are supposed to be provided using the dnsConfig field.

If the dnsPolicy field is not specified, the default value is ClusterFirst instead of Default.

dnsConfig

The dnsConfig field is used to configure DNS parameters for workloads. The configured parameters are merged to the DNS configuration file generated according to dnsPolicy. If dnsPolicy is set to None, the workload's DNS configuration file is specified by the dnsConfig field. If dnsPolicy is not set to None, the DNS parameters configured in dnsConfig are added to the DNS configuration file generated according to dnsPolicy.

**Table 2** dnsConfig
Parameter	Description
options	An optional list of objects where each object may have a name property (required) and a value property (optional). The contents in this property will be merged to the options generated from the specified DNS policy in dnsPolicy. Duplicate entries are removed.
nameservers	A list of IP addresses that will be used as DNS servers. If workload's dnsPolicy is set to None, the list must contain at least one IP address, otherwise this property is optional. The servers listed will be combined to the nameservers generated from the specified DNS policy in dnsPolicy with duplicate addresses removed.
searches	A list of DNS search domains for hostname lookup in the Pod. This property is optional. When specified, the provided list will be merged into the search domain names generated from the chosen DNS policy in dnsPolicy. Duplicate domain names are removed. Kubernetes allows for at most 6 search domains.

Configuring DNS for a Workload Using the Console

Kubernetes provides DNS-related configuration options for applications. The use of application's DNS configuration can effectively reduce unnecessary DNS queries in certain scenarios and improve service concurrency. The following procedure uses an Nginx application as an example to describe how to add DNS configurations for a workload on the console.

Log in to the CCE console, access the cluster console, select Workloads in the navigation pane, and click Create Workload in the upper right corner.
Configure basic information about the workload. For details, see Creating a Deployment.
In the Advanced Settings area, click the DNS tab and set the following parameters as required:
- DNS Policy: The DNS policies provided on the console correspond to the dnsPolicy field in the YAML file. For details, see Table 1.
  - Supplement defaults: corresponds to dnsPolicy=ClusterFirst. Containers can resolve both the cluster-internal domain names registered by a Service and the external domain names exposed to public networks.
  - Replace defaults: corresponds to dnsPolicy=None. You must configure IP Address and Search Domain. Containers only use the user-defined IP address and search domain configurations for domain name resolution.
  - Inherit defaults: corresponds to dnsPolicy=Default. Containers use the domain name resolution configuration from the node that pods run on and cannot resolve the cluster-internal domain names.
- Optional Objects: The options parameters in the dnsConfig field. Each object may have a name property (required) and a value property (optional). After setting the properties, click confirm to add.
  - timeout: Timeout interval, in seconds.
  - ndots: Number of dots (.) that must be present in a domain name. If a domain name has dots fewer than this value, the operating system will look up the name in the search domain. If not, the name is a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) and will be tried first as an absolute name.
- IP Address: nameservers in the dnsConfig field. You can configure the domain name server for the custom domain name. The value is one or a group of DNS IP addresses.
- Search Domain: searches in the dnsConfig field. A list of DNS search domains for hostname lookup in the pod. This property is optional. When specified, the provided list will be merged into the search domain names generated from the chosen DNS policy in dnsPolicy. Duplicate domain names are removed.
Click Create Workload.

Configuration Examples

The following example describes how to configure DNS for workloads.

Use Case 1: Using Kube-DNS/CoreDNS Built in Kubernetes Clusters
Scenario

Kubernetes in-cluster Kube-DNS/CoreDNS is applicable to resolving only cluster-internal domain names or cluster-internal domain names + external domain names. This is the default DNS for workloads.

Example:
```
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  namespace: default
  name: dns-example
spec:
  containers:
  - name: test
    image: nginx:alpine
  dnsPolicy: ClusterFirst
```
Container's DNS configuration file:
```
nameserver 10.247.3.10
search default.svc.cluster.local svc.cluster.local cluster.local
options ndots:5
```

Use Case 2: Using a Cloud DNS

Scenario

A DNS cannot resolve cluster-internal domain names and therefore is applicable to the scenario where workloads access only external domain names registered with the Internet.

Example:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  namespace: default
  name: dns-example
spec:
  containers:
  - name: test
    image: nginx:alpine
  dnsPolicy: Default//The DNS configuration file that the kubelet's --resolv-conf flag points to is used. In this case, a DNS is used for CCE clusters.

Container's DNS configuration file:

nameserver 100.125.x.x

Use Case 3: Using Kube-DNS/CoreDNS for Workloads Running with hostNetwork

Scenario

By default, a DNS is used for workloads running with hostNetwork. If workloads need to use Kube-DNS/CoreDNS, set dnsPolicy to ClusterFirstWithHostNet.

Example:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: nginx
spec:
  hostNetwork: true
  dnsPolicy: ClusterFirstWithHostNet
  containers:
  - name: nginx
    image: nginx:alpine
    ports:
    - containerPort: 80

Container's DNS configuration file:

nameserver 10.247.3.10
search default.svc.cluster.local svc.cluster.local cluster.local
options ndots:5

Use Case 4: Customizing Application's DNS Configuration

Scenario

You can flexibly customize the DNS configuration file for applications. Using dnsPolicy and dnsConfig together can address almost all scenarios, including the scenarios in which an on-premises DNS will be used, multiple DNSs will be cascaded, and DNS configuration options will be modified.

Example 1: Using Your On-Premises DNS

Set dnsPolicy to None so application's DNS configuration file is generated based on dnsConfig.

apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  namespace: default
  name: dns-example
spec:
  containers:
  - name: test
    image: nginx:alpine
  dnsPolicy: "None"
  dnsConfig:
    nameservers:
    - 10.2.3.4 //IP address of your on-premises DNS
    searches:
    - ns1.svc.cluster.local
    - my.dns.search.suffix
    options:
    - name: ndots
      value: "2"
    - name: timeout
      value: "3"

Container's DNS configuration file:

nameserver 10.2.3.4
search ns1.svc.cluster.local my.dns.search.suffix
options timeout:3 ndots:2

Example 2: Modifying the ndots Option in the DNS Configuration File to Reduce Invalid DNS Queries

Set dnsPolicy to a value other than None so the DNS parameters configured in dnsConfig are added to the DNS configuration file generated based on dnsPolicy.

apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  namespace: default
  name: dns-example
spec:
  containers:
  - name: test
    image: nginx:alpine
  dnsPolicy: "ClusterFirst"
  dnsConfig:
    options:
    - name: ndots
      value: "2" //Changes the ndots:5 option in the DNS configuration file generated based on the ClusterFirst policy to ndots:2.

Container's DNS configuration file:

nameserver 10.247.3.10
search default.svc.cluster.local svc.cluster.local cluster.local
options ndots:2