Deploying Technitium DNS Server Platform on Ubuntu 24.04

Technitium DNS Server is an open-source, authoritative and recursive DNS server built for privacy and security, with DNS-over-TLS, DNS-over-HTTPS, ad blocking, and a modern web console for zone and record management. This guide deploys Technitium using Docker Compose with Traefik securing the web console over HTTPS, after freeing the system's port 53. By the end, you'll have a working DNS server resolving queries with an HTTPS-secured admin console.

Free Port 53

Ubuntu's systemd-resolved binds port 53 by default. Release it before deploying.

1. Stop and disable systemd-resolved:

$ sudo systemctl stop systemd-resolved
$ sudo systemctl disable systemd-resolved

2. Replace the resolver configuration:

$ sudo rm /etc/resolv.conf
$ echo "nameserver 1.1.1.1" | sudo tee /etc/resolv.conf

Set Up the Directory Structure

1. Create the project directory structure:

$ mkdir -p ~/technitium/{config,letsencrypt}
$ cd ~/technitium

2. Create the environment file:

$ nano .env

DOMAIN=technitium.example.com
LETSENCRYPT_EMAIL=admin@example.com

Deploy with Docker Compose

1. Add your user to the Docker group:

$ sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
$ newgrp docker

2. Create the Docker Compose manifest:

$ nano docker-compose.yml

services:
  traefik:
    image: traefik:latest
    container_name: traefik
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      DOCKER_API_VERSION: "1.44"
    command:
      - "--providers.docker=true"
      - "--providers.docker.exposedbydefault=false"
      - "--providers.docker.network=traefik-public"
      - "--entrypoints.web.address=:80"
      - "--entrypoints.websecure.address=:443"
      - "--entrypoints.web.http.redirections.entrypoint.to=websecure"
      - "--entrypoints.web.http.redirections.entrypoint.scheme=https"
      - "--certificatesresolvers.le.acme.httpchallenge=true"
      - "--certificatesresolvers.le.acme.httpchallenge.entrypoint=web"
      - "--certificatesresolvers.le.acme.email=${LETSENCRYPT_EMAIL}"
      - "--certificatesresolvers.le.acme.storage=/letsencrypt/acme.json"
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
      - ./letsencrypt:/letsencrypt

  dns-server:
    image: technitium/dns-server:latest
    container_name: dns-server
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - TZ=UTC
      - DNS_SERVER_DOMAIN=${DOMAIN}
    ports:
      - "53:53/udp"
      - "53:53/tcp"
    volumes:
      - ./config:/etc/dns
    labels:
      - "traefik.enable=true"
      - "traefik.http.routers.dns.rule=Host(`${DOMAIN}`)"
      - "traefik.http.routers.dns.entrypoints=websecure"
      - "traefik.http.routers.dns.tls=true"
      - "traefik.http.routers.dns.tls.certresolver=le"
      - "traefik.http.services.dns.loadbalancer.server.port=5380"

3. Start the services:

$ docker compose up -d

4. Verify the services are running:

$ docker compose ps

Initial Configuration

Navigate to https://technitium.example.com.
Log in with the default credentials admin / admin.
Change the password when prompted.
Go to Settings → Proxy & Forwarders.
Add upstream DNS providers, one per line: 1.1.1.1 and 8.8.8.8.
Click Save Settings.

Test Resolution

From any machine, query the server by its IP:

$ dig @SERVER_IP vultr.com

A valid answer section confirms the DNS server is resolving queries.

Next Steps

Technitium is running with an HTTPS-secured console. From here you can:

Create authoritative zones and records for your domains
Enable DNS-over-TLS and DNS-over-HTTPS for encrypted resolution
Turn on block lists to filter ads and malicious domains network-wide

For the full guide with additional tips, visit the original article on Vultr Docs.

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