43-3
Cisco ASA 5500 Series Configuration Guide using the CLI
Chapter43 Configuring Inspection of Basic Internet Protocol s
DNS Inspection
For details about the configuration required see the “Configuring DNS Rewrite” section on page43-3.
DNS Rewrite performs two functions:
Translating a public address (the routable or “mapped” address) in a DNS reply to a private address
(the “real” address) when the DNS client is on a private interface.
Translating a private address to a public address when the DNS client is on the public interface.
In Figure 43-1, the DNS server resides on the external (ISP) network The real address of the server
(192.168.100.1) has been mapped using the static command to the ISP-assigned address
(209.165.200.5). When a web client on the inside interface attempts to access the web server with the
URL http://server.example.com, the host running the web client sends a DNS request to the DNS server
to resolve the IP address of the web server. The ASA translates the non-routable source address in the
IP header and forwards the request to the ISP network on its outside interface. When the DNS reply is
returned, the ASA applies address translation not only to the destination address, but also to the
embedded IP address of the web server, which is contained in the A-record in the DNS reply. As a result,
the web client on the inside network gets the correct address for connecting to the web server on the
inside network.
For configuration instructions for scenarios similar to this one, see the “Configuring DNS Rewrite with
Two NAT Zones” section on page 43-4.
Figure43-1 Translating the Address in a DNS Reply (DNS Rewrite)
DNS rewrite also works if the client making the DNS request is on a DMZ network and the DNS server
is on an inside interface. For an illustration and configuration instructions for this scenario, see the
“Overview of DNS Rewrite with Three NAT Zones” section on page43-4.
Configuring DNS Rewrite
You configure DNS rewrite using the NAT configuration.
This section includes the following topics:
Configuring DNS Rewrite with Two NAT Zones, page43-4
Overview of DNS Rewrite with Three NAT Zones, page43-4
Configuring DNS Rewrite with Three NAT Zones, page43-6
132406
Web server
server.example.com
192.168.100.1
Web client
http://server.example.com
192.168.100.2
ISP Internet
DNS server
server.example.com IN A 209.165.200.5
Security appliance
192.168.100.1IN A 209.165.200.5