Recursive DNS

This guide will help you get started with the Recursive DNS service.

What is Recursive DNS? What does it do for me?

Recursive DNS is a subscriber-only recursive resolution service. Recursive DNS offers faster lookup speeds and reduces load time for your network by offering a higher level of service than generic ISP DNS.

How do I set it up?

Please complete the following steps to create and use your Recursive DNS service.

1. Create Recursive DNS

The first step is to create an account and create Recursive DNS for your network. You can create Recursive DNS for a single dynamic IP address or a block of static IP addresses (1-256). After purchasing the service, please wait at least fifteen minutes for Recursive DNS to activate.

2. Install an update client

You may skip this step if you have a static IP address. Otherwise, you will need to install an update client to keep your Recursive DNS host up-to-date with your dynamic IP address. Recursive DNS only answers queries from IP addresses on file, so the update client will make sure your network will always be able to use the service.

3. Configure your network

Any system that connects to the Internet relies on one or more recursive servers to resolve DNS queries. To use Recursive DNS, you must update your computer and/or router to use the following servers:

Recursive DNS servers

Server IP Address
resolver1.recursivedns.net. 216.146.35.113
resolver2.recursivedns.net. 216.146.36.113

If you enter our Recursive DNS servers into your router, all devices on your network should automatically use Recursive DNS by default. You can also find step-by-step instructions for many common operating systems below:

[+] [—] Microsoft Windows 2000/XP

  1. Open the Control Panel.
    • XP: from the Start menu click on Control Panel.
    • 2000: from the Start menu click on Settings > Control Panel.
  2. In the Control Panel double click on the Network ... Connections icon.
  3. In the subsequent Window, locate the icon for your Internet connection. Depending on your connection type, here are some common cases:
    • for XP Dial-up access it will be under Dial-up
    • for XP DSL/Cable or other high-speed access it will be under LAN or High-Speed Internet
    • for 2000 Dial-up access it may be called Dial-up Connection or be named according to your ISP.
    • for 2000 DSL/Cable or other high-speed access it will be named something similar to Local Area Connection
  4. Right-click on the selected Internet connection icon.
  5. Choose Properties from the pop-up menu
  6. Select the entry for Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) in the subsequent dialog, then click on the Properties button below.
  7. Select the option Use the following DNS server addresses, set the preferred address to 216.146.35.113 and the alternate address to 216.146.36.113. Any other entries should be removed.
  8. Continue to click the OK button in each dialog and close the Control Panel to apply the changes.

[+] [—] DSL/Cable on Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME

  1. Open the Control Panel. From the Start menu click on Settings > Control Panel.
  2. In the Control Panel double click on the Network icon.
  3. In the Configuration tab of the subsequent dialog, select the TCP/IP entry for your connection type:
    • For an external DSL/Cable modem or other Ethernet connected high-speed access, select the entry similar to:

      TCP/IP -> ... Ethernet ... Adaptor

    • For an internal DSL modem, select the entry similar to: TCP/IP -> DSL Adaptor
  4. Click on the Properties button below.
  5. Click on the DNS Configuration tab of the subsequent dialog.
  6. Select Enable DNS and under DNS Server Search Order...
    1. first enter 216.146.35.113 in the text entry box next to the Add button, then click on the button to add the entry to the list.
    2. Then do the same to add 216.146.36.113 to the list.
    3. Remove any other entries in the list by clicking on them and then clicking on the Remove button.
  7. Click the OK button, in this and the parent dialog. After which, you will be prompted to restart your computer. Choose Yes to restart your computer and apply the changes.

[+] [—] Dial-up access on Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME/NT

  1. Double-click on My Computer.
  2. Double-click on Dial-Up Networking.
  3. Right-click on the icon for your ISP.
  4. Click on the Server Types or Networking tab.
  5. Click on the TCP/IP Settings... button.
  6. Select the option Use the following DNS server addresses, set the Primary DNS address to 216.146.35.113 and the Secondary DNS address to 216.146.36.113. Any other entries should be removed.
  7. Continue to click the OK button in each dialog and close the Dial-up Networking and My Computer windows to apply the changes.

[+] [—] DSL/Cable on Microsoft Windows NT

  1. Open the Control Panel. From the Start menu click on Settings > Control Panel.
  2. In the Control Panel double click on the Network icon.
  3. In the Configuration tab of the subsequent dialog, select the TCP/IP Protocol entry.
  4. Click on the Properties button below.
  5. First look at the IP Address tab to see if the Obtain an IP address automatically radio button is selected. If so, your network settings are automatically provisioned by your Internet access provider.
  6. Now, click on the DNS tab and look in the DNS Service Search Order list box.
  7. Add the entries for 216.146.35.113 and 216.146.36.113 to the DNS Service Search Order list, and remove any other entries, using the Add and Remove buttons respectively.
  8. Click the OK button, in this and the parent dialog. After which, you will be prompted to restart your computer. Choose Yes to restart your computer and apply the changes.

[+] [—] Mac OSX

  1. Click the Apple Menu icon in the top left-hand corner and select System Preferences.
  2. Click on the Network icon under Internet & Network.
  3. Select your network type from the Show: drop-down list. The following are some common choices:
    • for Dial-up access select Internal Modem.
    • for DSL or other high-speed access select Built-in Ethernet
  4. Select the TCP/IP tab, and in the corresponding panel click in the DNS Servers text box.
  5. Remove any IP addresses currently listed here and enter the following address: 
    216.146.35.113 216.146.36.113
  6. Press the Apply Now button to apply these changes.
  7. Open the Terminal application (located in Applications:Utilities) and type the command 
    more /etc/resolv.conf

    You should see 

    nameserver 216.146.35.113
nameserver 216.146.36.113

    Depending on how your ISP's DHCP server works, you may also see one or more other nameserver entries in this file. Name servers are queried in the order they appear in this list, so your ISP's name servers being listed after ours should not negatively affect your use of our Recursive DNS service.

[+] [—] UNIX (Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, etc.)

The file /etc/resolv.conf must be updated to specify the following two nameserver entries. These should be the first two lines in the file. 

nameserver 216.146.35.113
nameserver 216.146.36.113

Any entries that refer to other nameserver addresses can be removed. If you choose to leave other nameserver declarations in this file, make sure they come AFTER our own.

If you are getting your IP address via DHCP from either your ISP or from a local router, you will instead need to edit your /etc/dhclient.conf file adding one of the following lines 

supersede domain-name-servers 216.146.35.113, 216.146.36.113;
prepend domain-name-servers 216.146.35.113, 216.146.36.113;

Only add one of these two lines. The first will cause your system to only ever query our name servers. The second will cause you to query us and then your ISP's servers (if we don't respond).

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes Recursive DNS better than my ISP's DNS?

Many ISPs treat their recursive DNS service as a necessary evil; since recursive services are fairly lightweight, they often relegate legacy hardware to the task. As a result, customers' resolution speeds are often much slower than they could be, and old hardware can lead to outages which completely disrupt traffic (such as Comcast's recursive DNS outages in 2005 that prompted us to release Recursive DNS).

Recursive DNS offers faster resolution speeds by using modern, dedicated hardware for the task, and providing the service on a subscriber-only basis.

How does Recursive DNS allow customers to access the servers?

Recursive DNS authenticates (allows queries from a network) based on the IP address assigned to the Recursive DNS host. If the incoming query comes from an IP on file for Recursive DNS, the query is answered; otherwise it is refused. DynDNS.com sites will always resolve for any query, such as members.dyndns.com and checkip.dyndns.com.

Do you change the results of DNS queries that do not resolve?

While some recursive DNS services display customized landing pages for domains that do not resolve, Recursive DNS always returns unaltered DNS results (e.g. NXDOMAIN).