Re: Unexpected NetworkManager and dnsmasq interaction

[Pavel Simerda <psimerda redhat com>]

----- Original Message -----
> From: "Eric Sokolowsky" <esok byu net>
>
> I am using NetworkManager and dnsmasq together on a cluster that may or may
> not have outside Internet connectivity. I use the "dns=dnsmasq" option in
> NetworkManager to enable NetworkManager to run dnsmasq as a plugin to
> provide DHCP and DNS services for my cluster. However, dnsmasq does not
> start unless I have an external connection using DHCP.

Ah, you're perfectly right. The dnsmasq plugin in NetworkManager is there to provide *local* DNS resolver 
where the actual scope is the local host. Also, dnsmasq can be run separately to provide configured DHCP/DNS 
services. It is not a problem to run two separate instances for those two tasks.

If you want to combine the two roles, using dnsmasq for other hosts or for hardcoded names/zones, while 
reconfiguring it according to the information NetworkManager recieves, you're on your own as this is not a 
usecase supported by the dnsmasq plugin. I don't know how much is dnsmasq configurable at runtime, I actually 
never even tried that, but if it is capable of live reconfiguration, you would have to use a global instance 
of dnsmasq and NM dispatcher scripts to perform the exact actions you want. But even if you try to do that, 
you might need NetworkManager from 'git' or even patch it as NetworkManager may not present all information 
for that properly yet.

> It's a bit hard to
> see what exactly the trigger is, but I think it's when dhclient gets link
> and nameserver information back, and then dnsmasq is started. Perhaps it is
> a configuration issue, but how do I get dnsmasq to start so I can resolve
> local names even if there is no external connection?

My advice is to use dnsmasq as a normal system daemon and ignore NetworkManager's dnsmasq plugin on your 
server setup. If you want more than that, it may require a bit more work than just configuration changes.

Cheers,

Pavel

> When I have an external
> connection, everything resolves beautifully, both internal and external
> hosts.
>
> Eric Sokolowsky
>
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