OpenStack Designate is a DNS-as-a-Service (DNSaaS) component within the OpenStack cloud computing platform. It provides DNS management functionality, allowing users to manage DNS zones and records through the OpenStack API or the Horizon dashboard.
Here are some key aspects of OpenStack Designate:
- DNS Zone Management: Designate enables users to create, update, and delete DNS zones. A DNS zone represents a portion of the DNS namespace and typically corresponds to a domain or subdomain. Users can define zone configurations such as the name, email address of the zone administrator, and nameserver information.
- DNS Record Management: Within each zone, users can manage DNS records. A DNS record maps a domain name to an IP address or other relevant information. Designate supports various types of DNS records, including A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, PTR, SRV, and TXT records. Users can create, update, and delete records within a zone.
- Integration with OpenStack Services: Designate integrates with other OpenStack services, such as Nova (compute), Neutron (networking), and Keystone (identity), to provide DNS resolution for instances, networks, and tenants. For example, when a new instance is launched, Designate can automatically assign a DNS record to it.
- Multi-Tenancy and RBAC: Designate supports multi-tenancy, allowing different users or projects to manage their own DNS zones and records within their designated scope. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) ensures that only authorized users can perform specific actions on zones and records.
- DNS Notifications and Sink: Designate utilizes DNS notifications to receive changes from DNS servers and propagate them to the Designate backend. It also includes a “sink” component responsible for handling DNS notifications and applying changes to the appropriate zones and records.
- Integration with External DNS: In addition to managing DNS internally, Designate offers integration with external DNS providers or servers. This allows organizations to leverage their existing DNS infrastructure while benefiting from Designate’s management capabilities.
- High Availability and Scalability: Designate supports horizontal scaling by allowing multiple instances of its components to be deployed. This helps distribute the workload and ensures high availability and performance. It can also integrate with DNS servers running in a high-availability configuration.
- DNSSEC Support: Designate supports Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC), which provides cryptographic authentication and integrity verification for DNS data. It enables users to sign DNS zones and validate DNS responses, enhancing the security of DNS infrastructure.
Components of Openstack Designate:-
Overall, OpenStack Designate simplifies DNS management within the OpenStack cloud environment, providing users with a centralized interface to manage DNS zones and records for their applications and infrastructure.