--- title: Power DNS Recursor description: Keep an eye on strange traffic to and from your PowerDNS recursors. breadcrumbs: Docs > Integrations > Power DNS Recursor --- # Power DNS Recursor Supported OS Integration version5.4.0 ## Overview{% #overview %} Track the performance of your PowerDNS Recursor and monitor strange or worrisome traffic. This Agent check collects a variety of metrics from your recursors, including those for: - Query answer times-see how many responses take less than 1ms, 10ms, 100ms, 1s, or greater than 1s. - Query timeouts. - Cache hits and misses. - Answer rates by type: SRVFAIL, NXDOMAIN, NOERROR. - Ignored and dropped packets. And many more. **Minimum Agent version:** 6.0.0 ## Setup{% #setup %} ### Installation{% #installation %} The PowerDNS Recursor check is included in the [Datadog Agent](https://app.datadoghq.com/account/settings/agent/latest) package, so you don't need to install anything else on your recursors. ### Configuration{% #configuration %} #### Prepare PowerDNS{% #prepare-powerdns %} This check collects performance statistics using PowerDNS Recursor's statistics API. Versions of pdns_recursor before 4.1 do not enable the stats API by default. If you're running an older version, enable it by adding the following to your recursor config file, for example `/etc/powerdns/recursor.conf`: ``` webserver=yes api-key=changeme # only available since v4.0 webserver-readonly=yes # default no #webserver-port=8081 # default 8082 #webserver-address=0.0.0.0 # default 127.0.0.1 ``` If you're running pdns_recursor 3.x, prepend `experimental-` to these option names, for example: `experimental-webserver=yes`. If you're running pdns_recursor >= 4.1, just set `api-key`. Restart the recursor to enable the statistics API. {% tab title="Host" %} #### Host{% #host %} To configure this check for an Agent running on a host: 1. Edit the `powerdns_recursor.d/conf.yaml` file, in the `conf.d/` folder at the root of your [Agent's configuration directory](https://docs.datadoghq.com/agent/guide/agent-configuration-files.md#agent-configuration-directory). See the [sample powerdns_recursor.d/conf.yaml](https://github.com/DataDog/integrations-core/blob/master/powerdns_recursor/datadog_checks/powerdns_recursor/data/conf.yaml.example) for all available configuration options: ```yaml init_config: instances: ## @param host - string - required ## Host running the recursor. # - host: 127.0.0.1 ## @param port - integer - required ## Recursor web server port. # port: 8082 ## @param api_key - string - required ## Recursor web server api key. # api_key: "" ## @param version - integer - required - default: 3 ## Version 3 or 4 of PowerDNS Recursor to connect to. ## The PowerDNS Recursor in v4 has a production ready web server that allows for ## statistics gathering. In version 3.x the server was marked as experimental. ## ## As the server was marked as experimental in version 3 many of the metrics have ## changed names and the API structure (paths) have also changed. With these changes ## there has been a need to separate the two concerns. The check now has a key value ## version: which if set to version 4 queries with the correct API path on the ## non-experimental web server. ## ## https://doc.powerdns.com/md/httpapi/api_spec/#url-apiv1serversserver95idstatistics # version: 3 ``` 1. [Restart the Agent](https://docs.datadoghq.com/agent/guide/agent-commands.md#start-stop-and-restart-the-agent). ##### Log collection{% #log-collection %} 1. Collecting logs is disabled by default in the Datadog Agent, you need to enable it in `datadog.yaml`: ```yaml logs_enabled: true ``` 1. Add the `dd-agent` user to the `systemd-journal` group by running: ```text usermod -a -G systemd-journal dd-agent ``` 1. Add this configuration block to your `powerdns_recursor.d/conf.yaml` file to start collecting your PowerDNS Recursor Logs: ```yaml logs: - type: journald source: powerdns ``` See the [sample powerdns_recursor.d/conf.yaml](https://github.com/DataDog/integrations-core/blob/master/powerdns_recursor/datadog_checks/powerdns_recursor/data/conf.yaml.example) for all available configuration options. 1. [Restart the Agent](https://docs.datadoghq.com/agent/guide/agent-commands.md#start-stop-and-restart-the-agent). {% /tab %} {% tab title="Containerized" %} #### Containerized{% #containerized %} For containerized environments, see the [Autodiscovery Integration Templates](https://docs.datadoghq.com/agent/kubernetes/integrations.md) for guidance on applying the parameters below. | Parameter | Value | | -------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `` | `powerdns_recursor` | | `` | blank or `{}` | | `` | `{"host":"%%host%%", "port":8082, "api_key":"", "version": 3}` | ##### Log collection{% #log-collection %} Collecting logs is disabled by default in the Datadog Agent. To enable it, see [Kubernetes Log Collection](https://docs.datadoghq.com/agent/kubernetes/log.md). | Parameter | Value | | -------------- | ------------------------ | | `` | `{"source": "powerdns"}` | {% /tab %} ### Validation{% #validation %} [Run the Agent's `status` subcommand](https://docs.datadoghq.com/agent/guide/agent-commands.md#agent-status-and-information) and look for `powerdns_recursor` under the Checks section. ## Data Collected{% #data-collected %} ### Metrics{% #metrics %} | | | | | **powerdns.recursor.all\_outqueries**(gauge) | The number of outgoing udp queries per second*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.answers0\_1**(gauge) | Number of queries per second answered within 1 millisecond*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.answers100\_1000**(gauge) | Number of queries per second answered within 1 second*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.answers10\_100**(gauge) | Number of queries per second answered within 100 milliseconds*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.answers1\_10**(gauge) | Number of queries per second answered within 10 milliseconds*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.answers\_slow**(gauge) | Number of queries per second NOT answered within 1 second*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.auth4\_answers0\_1**(gauge) | Number of queries per second answered by auth4s within 1 millisecond; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.auth4\_answers100\_1000**(gauge) | Number of queries per second answered by auth4s within 1 second; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.auth4\_answers10\_100**(gauge) | Number of queries per second answered by auth4s within 100 milliseconds; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.auth4\_answers1\_10**(gauge) | Number of queries per second answered by auth4s within 10 milliseconds; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.auth4\_answers\_slow**(gauge) | Number of queries per second NOT answered by auth4s within 1 second; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.auth6\_answers0\_1**(gauge) | Number of queries per second answered by auth6s within 1 millisecond; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.auth6\_answers100\_1000**(gauge) | Number of queries per second answered by auth6s within 1 second; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.auth6\_answers10\_100**(gauge) | Number of queries per second answered by auth6s within 100 milliseconds; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.auth6\_answers1\_10**(gauge) | Number of queries per second answered by auth6s within 10 milliseconds; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.auth6\_answers\_slow**(gauge) | Number of queries per second NOT answered by auth6s within 1 second; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.cache\_entries**(gauge) | The number of entries in the cache*Shown as entry* | | **powerdns.recursor.cache\_hits**(gauge) | The number of cache hits per second*Shown as hit* | | **powerdns.recursor.cache\_misses**(gauge) | The number of cache misses per second*Shown as miss* | | **powerdns.recursor.case\_mismatches**(gauge) | The number of mismatches in character case per second*Shown as error* | | **powerdns.recursor.chain\_resends**(gauge) | The number of queries per second chained to existing outstanding query*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.client\_parse\_errors**(gauge) | The number of unparsable packets per second*Shown as error* | | **powerdns.recursor.concurrent\_queries**(gauge) | The number of MThreads currently running*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.dlg\_only\_drops**(gauge) | The number of records dropped per second because of 'delegation only' setting; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as record* | | **powerdns.recursor.dnssec\_queries**(gauge) | The number of queries received per second with the DO bit set; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as record* | | **powerdns.recursor.dnssec\_result\_bogus**(gauge) | The number of DNSSEC validations per second that had the Bogus state; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x | | **powerdns.recursor.dnssec\_result\_indeterminate**(gauge) | The number of DNSSEC validations per second that had the Indeterminate state; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x | | **powerdns.recursor.dnssec\_result\_insecure**(gauge) | The number of DNSSEC validations per second that had the Insecure state; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x | | **powerdns.recursor.dnssec\_result\_nta**(gauge) | The number of DNSSEC validations per second that had the NTA (negative trust anchor) state; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x | | **powerdns.recursor.dnssec\_result\_secure**(gauge) | The number of DNSSEC validations per second that had the Secure state; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x | | **powerdns.recursor.dnssec\_validations**(gauge) | The number of DNSSEC validations performed per second; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x | | **powerdns.recursor.dont\_outqueries**(gauge) | The number of outgoing queries dropped per second because of 'dont query' setting*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.edns\_ping\_matches**(gauge) | The number of servers per second that sent a valid EDNS PING response; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as host* | | **powerdns.recursor.edns\_ping\_mismatches**(gauge) | The number of servers per second that sent an invalid EDNS PING response; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as host* | | **powerdns.recursor.failed\_host\_entries**(gauge) | The number of servers that failed to resolve*Shown as host* | | **powerdns.recursor.ignored\_packets**(gauge) | The number of non-query packets received per second on server sockets that should only get queries; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as packet* | | **powerdns.recursor.ipv6\_outqueries**(gauge) | The number of outgoing queries per second over IPv6 | | **powerdns.recursor.ipv6\_questions**(gauge) | The number of end-user-initiated IPv6 UDP queries with the RD bit set*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.max\_mthread\_stack**(gauge) | The maximum amount of thread stack ever used | | **powerdns.recursor.negcache\_entries**(gauge) | The number of entries in the negative answer cache*Shown as entry* | | **powerdns.recursor.no\_error\_packets**(gauge) | The number of erroneous packets received per second; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as packet* | | **powerdns.recursor.noedns\_outqueries**(gauge) | The number of queries per second sent without EDNS; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.noerror\_answers**(gauge) | The number of NOERROR answers per second*Shown as operation* | | **powerdns.recursor.noping\_outqueries**(gauge) | The number of queries per second sent without EDNS PING; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.nsset\_invalidations**(gauge) | The number of times per second an nsset was dropped because it no longer worked; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x | | **powerdns.recursor.nsspeeds\_entries**(gauge) | The number of entries in the NS speeds map; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as entry* | | **powerdns.recursor.nxdomain\_answers**(gauge) | The number of NXDOMAIN answers per second*Shown as response* | | **powerdns.recursor.outgoing4\_timeouts**(gauge) | The number of timeouts per second for outgoing UDP IPv4 queries; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as timeout* | | **powerdns.recursor.outgoing6\_timeouts**(gauge) | The number of timeouts per second for outgoing UDP IPv6 queries; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as timeout* | | **powerdns.recursor.outgoing\_timeouts**(gauge) | The number of outgoing UDP query timeouts per second*Shown as timeout* | | **powerdns.recursor.over\_capacity\_drops**(gauge) | The number of questions per second dropped due to having reached concurrent query limit*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.packetcache\_entries**(gauge) | The number of entries in the packet cache*Shown as entry* | | **powerdns.recursor.packetcache\_hits**(gauge) | The number of packet cache hits per second*Shown as hit* | | **powerdns.recursor.packetcache\_misses**(gauge) | The number of packet cache misses per second*Shown as miss* | | **powerdns.recursor.policy\_drops**(gauge) | The number of packets dropped per second because of Lua policy decision*Shown as packet* | | **powerdns.recursor.policy\_result\_custom**(gauge) | The number of packets per second that were sent a custom answer by the RPZ/filter engine; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as packet* | | **powerdns.recursor.policy\_result\_drop**(gauge) | The number of packets per second dropped by the RPZ/filter engine; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as packet* | | **powerdns.recursor.policy\_result\_noaction**(gauge) | The number of packets per second that were not actioned upon by the RPZ/filter engine; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as packet* | | **powerdns.recursor.policy\_result\_nodata**(gauge) | The number of packets per second that were replied to with NODATA by the RPZ/filter engine; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as packet* | | **powerdns.recursor.policy\_result\_nxdomain**(gauge) | The number of packets per second that were replied to with NXDOMAIN by the RPZ/filter engine; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as packet* | | **powerdns.recursor.policy\_result\_truncate**(gauge) | The number of packets per second that were forced to TCP by the RPZ/filter engine; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as packet* | | **powerdns.recursor.qa\_latency**(gauge) | The average latency in microseconds exponentially weighted over past 'latency-statistic-size' packets*Shown as microsecond* | | **powerdns.recursor.questions**(gauge) | The number of user initiated udp queries per second*Shown as operation* | | **powerdns.recursor.real\_memory\_usage**(gauge) | The amount of memory consumed by PowerDNS in bytes; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as byte* | | **powerdns.recursor.resource\_limits**(gauge) | The number of queries per second that could not be performed due to resource limits; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.server\_parse\_errors**(gauge) | The number of server replied packets per second that could not be parsed*Shown as error* | | **powerdns.recursor.servfail\_answers**(gauge) | The number of SERVFAIL answers per second*Shown as response* | | **powerdns.recursor.spoof\_prevents**(gauge) | The number of times per second PowerDNS considers itself spoofed and drops data | | **powerdns.recursor.sys\_msec**(gauge) | The number of CPU milliseconds spent in 'system' mode*Shown as millisecond* | | **powerdns.recursor.tcp\_client\_overflow**(gauge) | The number of outgoing queries dropped per second because of 'dont query' setting*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.tcp\_clients**(gauge) | The number of active TCP/IP clients per second | | **powerdns.recursor.tcp\_outqueries**(gauge) | The number of outgoing TCP queries per second*Shown as operation* | | **powerdns.recursor.tcp\_questions**(gauge) | The number of incoming tcp queries per second*Shown as operation* | | **powerdns.recursor.throttle\_entries**(gauge) | The number of entries in the throttle map*Shown as entry* | | **powerdns.recursor.throttled\_out**(gauge) | The number of throttled outgoing UDP queries per second*Shown as operation* | | **powerdns.recursor.too\_old\_drops**(gauge) | The number of questions per second that were dropped because they were too old; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as query* | | **powerdns.recursor.udp\_in\_errors**(gauge) | The number of packets per second that were received faster than the OS could process them; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as packet* | | **powerdns.recursor.udp\_noport\_errors**(gauge) | The number of UDP packets per second where an ICMP response was received saying the remote port was not listening; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as packet* | | **powerdns.recursor.udp\_recvbuf\_errors**(gauge) | The number of errors per second caused in the UDP receive buffer; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as error* | | **powerdns.recursor.udp\_sndbuf\_errors**(gauge) | The number of errors per second caused in the UDP send buffer; Available since pdns_recursor v4.x*Shown as error* | | **powerdns.recursor.unauthorized\_tcp**(gauge) | The number of TCP questions denied per second because of allow-from restrictions*Shown as operation* | | **powerdns.recursor.unauthorized\_udp**(gauge) | The number of UDP questions denied per second because of allow-from restrictions*Shown as operation* | | **powerdns.recursor.unexpected\_packets**(gauge) | The number of unexpected answers per second from remote servers*Shown as operation* | | **powerdns.recursor.unreachables**(gauge) | The number times per second nameservers were unreachable | | **powerdns.recursor.uptime**(gauge) | The number of seconds PowerDNS has been running*Shown as second* | | **powerdns.recursor.user\_msec**(gauge) | The number of CPU milliseconds spent in 'user' mode*Shown as millisecond* | ### Events{% #events %} The PowerDNS Recursor check does not include any events. ### Service Checks{% #service-checks %} **powerdns.recursor.can\_connect** Returns `CRITICAL` if the Agent check is unable to connect to the monitored Gearman instance. Returns `OK` otherwise. *Statuses: ok, critical* ## Troubleshooting{% #troubleshooting %} Need help? Contact [Datadog support](https://docs.datadoghq.com/help/).