<!--
title: "Monitor Unbound DNS servers with Netdata"
date: 2020-03-31
custom_edit_url: https://github.com/netdata/netdata/edit/master/docs/guides/collect-unbound-metrics.md
-->

# Monitor Unbound DNS servers with Netdata

[Unbound](https://nlnetlabs.nl/projects/unbound/about/) is a "validating, recursive, caching DNS resolver" from NLNet
Labs. In v1.19 of Netdata, we release a completely refactored collector for collecting real-time metrics from Unbound
servers and displaying them in Netdata dashboards.

Unbound runs on FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, macOS, Linux, and Windows, and supports DNS-over-TLS, which ensures that DNS
queries and answers are all encrypted with TLS. In theory, that should reduce the risk of eavesdropping or
man-in-the-middle attacks when communicating to DNS servers.

This guide will show you how to collect dozens of essential metrics from your Unbound servers with minimal
configuration.

## Set up your Unbound installation

As with all data sources, Netdata can auto-detect Unbound servers if you installed them using the standard installation
procedure.

Regardless of whether you're connecting to a local or remote Unbound server, you need to be able to access the server's
`remote-control` interface via an IP address, FQDN, or Unix socket.

To set up the `remote-control` interface, you can use `unbound-control`. First, run `unbound-control-setup` to generate
the TLS key files that will encrypt connections to the remote interface. Then add the following to the end of your
`unbound.conf` configuration file. See the [Unbound
documentation](https://nlnetlabs.nl/documentation/unbound/howto-setup/#setup-remote-control) for more details on using
`unbound-control`, such as how to handle situations when Unbound is run under a unique user.

```conf
# enable remote-control
remote-control:
    control-enable: yes
```

Next, make your `unbound.conf`, `unbound_control.key`, and `unbound_control.pem` files readable by Netdata using [access
control lists](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Access_Control_Lists) (ACL).

```bash
sudo setfacl -m user:netdata:r unbound.conf
sudo setfacl -m user:netdata:r unbound_control.key
sudo setfacl -m user:netdata:r unbound_control.pem
```

Finally, take note whether you're using Unbound in _cumulative_ or _non-cumulative_ mode. This will become relevant when
configuring the collector.

## Configure the Unbound collector

You may not need to do any more configuration to have Netdata collect your Unbound metrics.

If you followed the steps above to enable `remote-control` and make your Unbound files readable by Netdata, that should
be enough. Restart Netdata with `sudo systemctl restart netdata`, or the [appropriate
method](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/docs/configure/start-stop-restart.md) for your system. You should see Unbound metrics in your Netdata
dashboard!

![Some charts showing Unbound metrics in real-time](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/1153921/69659974-93160f00-103c-11ea-88e6-27e9efcf8c0d.png)

If that failed, you will need to manually configure `unbound.conf`. See the next section for details.

### Manual setup for a local Unbound server

To configure Netdata's Unbound collector module, navigate to your Netdata configuration directory (typically at
`/etc/netdata/`) and use `edit-config` to initialize and edit your Unbound configuration file.

```bash
cd /etc/netdata/ # Replace with your Netdata configuration directory, if not /etc/netdata/
sudo ./edit-config go.d/unbound.conf
```

The file contains all the global and job-related parameters. The `name` setting is required, and two Unbound servers
can't have the same name.

> It is important you know whether your Unbound server is running in cumulative or non-cumulative mode, as a conflict
> between modes will create incorrect charts.

Here are two examples for local Unbound servers, which may work based on your unique setup:

```yaml
jobs:
  - name: local
    address: 127.0.0.1:8953
    cumulative: no
    use_tls: yes
    tls_skip_verify: yes
    tls_cert: /path/to/unbound_control.pem
    tls_key: /path/to/unbound_control.key
  
  - name: local
    address: 127.0.0.1:8953
    cumulative: yes
    use_tls: no
```

Netdata will attempt to read `unbound.conf` to get the appropriate `address`, `cumulative`, `use_tls`, `tls_cert`, and
`tls_key` parameters. 

Restart Netdata with `sudo systemctl restart netdata`, or the [appropriate
method](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/docs/configure/start-stop-restart.md) for your system.

### Manual setup for a remote Unbound server

Collecting metrics from remote Unbound servers requires manual configuration. There are too many possibilities to cover
all remote connections here, but the [default `unbound.conf`
file](https://github.com/netdata/go.d.plugin/blob/master/config/go.d/unbound.conf) contains a few useful examples:

```yaml
jobs:
  - name: remote
    address: 203.0.113.10:8953
    use_tls: no

  - name: remote_cumulative
    address: 203.0.113.11:8953
    use_tls: no
    cumulative: yes

  - name: remote
    address: 203.0.113.10:8953
    cumulative: yes
    use_tls: yes
    tls_cert: /etc/unbound/unbound_control.pem
    tls_key: /etc/unbound/unbound_control.key
```

To see all the available options, see the default [unbound.conf
file](https://github.com/netdata/go.d.plugin/blob/master/config/go.d/unbound.conf).

## What's next?

Now that you're collecting metrics from your Unbound servers, let us know how it's working for you! There's always room
for improvement or refinement based on real-world use cases. Feel free to [file an
issue](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/issues/new?assignees=&labels=bug%2Cneeds+triage&template=BUG_REPORT.yml) with your
thoughts.


