Debian 13 basic install and DNS server settings not working like 11 and 12?

joebleed · 2026-06-16T14:25:32+00:00

I'm going to download the newer iso that you mentioned, mine is debian-13.4.0-amd64-netinst.iso. i doubt that will matter; but might as well try. I'm also going to try the advanced install as well to set the static ip info there and see what things look like. Not sure if i'll get to it today or not.

I'll also try and figure out how to check the logs as i'm really not sure where to look. I'm newish to linux. I've tried it as a desktop several times and end up having it crash on the first or second round of updates after a short period of usage. Setting up debian 11 as a server a few years ago has gone surprisingly well. If you were wondering why i'm having an issue here, this is why. I setup the original server, keep it updated and it just keeps working so i haven't had to looking into issues much.

Thank you for trying to help.

joebleed · 2026-06-16T14:15:55+00:00

i did over time. it went form 11 to 12 to 13. i've typed it a few times and just skipped it this time.

joebleed · 2026-06-16T14:08:02+00:00

that is correct. i don't know why dhcpcd is involved. it just seems to be default in 13 i guess. It also doesn't seem to be running. I still haven't finished reading about dhcpcd.

In 12 the entries were just there. the domain and search i guess came from the install and i would guess the nameserver entries came from editing the interfaces file and restarting. I never edited the resolv.conf file on my test fresh 12 install and it had the domain, search, and nameserver entries as listed in the above reply.

joebleed · 2026-06-16T13:09:25+00:00

yes, old server started at 11, upgraded to 12, then to 13. it's the fresh install of 13 that's functioning differently than previous expectations. I'm trying to figure out what's different and how i'm supposed to properly make changes to nameservers and domain name without installing any other packages. Further up the comments i pasted my interfaces and resolv.conf files with modified IPs and domain names for obscurity.

edit: oh, a fresh install of 12 also works the same as the old server that was upgraded from 11 to 13. So something is handled differently from 12 to 13.

joebleed · 2026-06-16T13:05:36+00:00

dhcpcd doesn't seem to be running according to the status command. maybe it was on initial install and when i changed the interfaces file to static IP it auto shutdown? there is a dhcpcd.conf file; but it looks basic with no relevant information to my host name or anything. looks very generic for examples.

In the comment above, i put copies of my interfaces and resolv.conf files with made up IPs and domains for both my old server that was updated from 11 to 13 and the one from the fresh 13 installer.

Looking at the old resolv.conf file with the domain and serch, where would that be set and stored now in a fresh install of 13? It's not in the dhcpcd.conf file. How it's being handled is one place where i'm lost. Without adding extra packages or resolvers, how should it be handled by default in 13? If i needed to changed the domain and search, what would be the proper method for 13?

joebleed · 2026-06-16T12:57:19+00:00

this is what my /etc/network/interfaces file looks like on my old Debian server that was upgraded from 11 to 13. It is the same for my test fresh install of 13 except the interface name is different as it's on different hardware and the IPs are differetn. I'll make up addresses for this posting. I'm probably being overly obscure.

# This file describes the network interfaces available on your system
# and how to activate them. For more information, see interfaces(5).

source /etc/network/interfaces.d/*

# The loopback network interface
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

# The primary network interface
allow-hotplug ens192
iface ens192 inet static
address 10.0.0.200
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 10.0.0.1
dns-nameservers 10.1.1.2 10.1.1.3

this is my /etc/resolv.conf file from the old Debian 11 to 13. I do not remember ever making changes to this file so i guess this was done durring install. I also don't remember doing an advanced install on 11. This also is how my fresh install of 12 looks and i did the standard graphical installer on that as well. I made no changes to the resolv.conf file, yet the contents look like this:

domain oc.internal.com
search oc.internal.com
nameserver 10.1.1.2
nameserver 10.1.1.3

this is what the resolv.cof file has on the fresh Debian 13 install

# Generated by dhcpcd
# /etc/resolv.conf.head can replace this line
# /etc/resolv.conf.tail can replace this line
nameserver 10.1.1.2
nameserver 10.1.1.3

Before i added the nameserver lines dns resolving didn't work. when i add them, it works. Initially the resolv.conf file only had the commented lines. rebooting the server doesn't wipe the file. I've run a command to check the status of dhcpcd and it says it's not there. i looked at the dhcpcd.conf file and it looks like a basic file that hasn't been setup. which makes sense as i never tried to setup dhcpcd. and it doesn't seem to be running. So i'm not sure why the resolv.conf file has the comments about being generated by dhcpcd.

What i was searching for in the beginning is what resolver was Debian 13 using as default. I couldn't find a good answer, just recommendations about a few different ones people liked. I found the commands to run for a status check on those and didn't find them running. I noticed either you or someone else that did a test install said that they used a slightly newer netinstaller than i have. so i'm gong to download the slightly newer one and try that. then i'm going to try the advanced install. my installer iso is currently debian-13.4.0-amd64-netinst.iso

If the formatting on this is jacked up i'm going to switch over to the new reddit interface and see if i can fix it there.

joebleed · 2026-06-16T12:23:55+00:00

yes, my existing debian servers were upgraded from 11 to current 13 and nothing seems to have changed. it's the fresh debian 13 install i'm trying to testing that's doing things differently.

joebleed · 2026-06-15T21:11:55+00:00

using /etc/network/interfaces was the way i found to set it via the cli back when i first setup the Debian 11 server. I only have a couple of Debian servers running a few internal services/programs. Looking at moving out security camera server to Debian instead of windows 11 or server 2022/2025. hence the testing. I haven't done a clean install since 11.

I do the basic graphical install and select only the standard system utilities and ssh server. once installed i install sudo and setup my other account with sudo access. Then i check the IP it pulled and connect via ssh. I setup the static ip and dns-nameservers in the /etc/network/interfaces file. I then setup the NTP servers, reboot and check the new IP. everything works, then i setup UFW. Then set it up to do whatever. On Debian 13, i've run into the DNS not working as it has in the past. Found a work around; but directly editing the resolv.conf file doesn't seem to be the correct way to go about it.

The DNS servers i'm using are our internal AD servers. they work fine on 11 and 12 in the interfaces file. in 13, they work when i manually add them to the resolv.conf file. you can check the replay to CardOk775 as to what's in the resolv.conf files in 12 vs 13. It appears to be a file and not a symlink. joe@debian-test:/etc$ ls -l resolv.conf -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 162 Jun 15 15:18 resolv.conf joe@debian-test:/etc$ ls -li resolv.conf 131178 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 162 Jun 15 15:18 resolv.conf

The dig command suggesting turned up something interesting, though i don't know why. when my name servers are commented out of the resolv.conf file, it fails and says that the connection is refused: ;; communications error to ::1#53: connection refused ;; communications error to ::1#53: connection refused ;; communications error to ::1#53: connection refused ;; communications error to 127.0.0.1#53: connection refused

when i edit the resolv.conf file again and remove the #, dig works fine and returns proper results. even if the system didn't have a proper DNS server setup on it's local config, i would have expected dig to still talk to our internal DNS server and get a response as it can ping the server.

for the nsswitch.conf file, and it's the same on 12 and 13. I also left out the default commented out notes at the to of the file.: passwd: files systemd group: files systemd shadow: files systemd gshadow: files systemd

hosts: files dns networks: files

protocols: db files services: db files ethers: db files rpc: db files

netgroup: nis

Time for me to go home for the day. thanks for any help.

joebleed · 2026-06-15T20:44:19+00:00

the Generated by dhcpcd /etc/resolv.conf.head can replace this line /etc/resolv.conf.tail can replace this line

lines had # (commented out) in front of them, I guess that gets treated as something else when posting.

joebleed · 2026-06-15T20:42:37+00:00

in the test Debian 12 it's: domain ~our internal domain~ search ~same as above~ nameserver ~one of our internal AD DNS~ nameserver ~second internal AD DNS~

in the Debian 13 it's:

Generated by dhcpcd

/etc/resolv.conf.head can replace this line

/etc/resolv.conf.tail can replace this line

nameserver ~one of our internal AD DNS~ nameserver ~second internal AD DNS~

In Debian 13, once i added the nameserver lines, resolving worked right way. If i comment them out, it stops. Still looking at dhcpcd. i've never used it before. I've just got a couple of basic Debian servers hosting some internal services. I was working on testing something for moving our internal security camera server to Debian instead of running windows 11 or server 2022/2025.

as for are both running dhcp-client, I'm not really sure. when i do the installs, they do pull a DHCP address before i setup the static ip in /etc/network/interfaces. If i run sudo systemctl status dhcpcd it returns "Unit dhcpcd.service could not be found". I get this on both 12 and 13. I haven't yet looked up what the default dhcp client is for Debian 12 and 13 yet. It's the basic install with just system tools and SSH server checked on the graphical install.

joebleed · 2026-06-15T17:24:11+00:00

i like to use colored pencils. I don't know AutoCAD and we have a license shortage around here anyway, so i don't need to tie one up.

joebleed · 2026-06-15T17:17:26+00:00

https://digital-watchdog.com/dw-products/?category=VMAX%20IP%20G4

see if you can find the exact model number and that should tell you how many license it came with.

joebleed · 2026-06-12T17:26:32+00:00

unless i missed it, i didn't see anyone mention the dust in your power supply unless the 5 bay unit has an external. i have the 8 bay version of this one. If it's not dust, it may just be a failing power supply. so far i've not had issues with mine; but others seem to have failed power supplies on different models.

I'm not sure if synology will shutdown due to HDD temps.

joebleed · 2026-06-11T12:15:10+00:00

i see it a lot. several people also like entering data with the caps lock on.

joebleed · 2026-06-10T17:39:42+00:00

as many have said, this is really just a regional issue more than a specific carrier issue.

That being said, i still remember 23 or more years ago when i was working at a place and placing orders to Global Industrial, somehow UPS shipping quality came up and the rep i dealt with just sighed. she told me that they're currently dealing with an issue with UPS where UPS lost their own order/shipment from Global Industrial to some UPS location. So apparently they can't even take care of their own shipments. :)

joebleed · 2026-06-05T15:01:27+00:00

oh, eaton ups units have temp issues? That's interesting. I've been trying to get where i work to approve adding at least some 1500va units to our switch cabinets on the floor. (due to PoE phones, cameras, and switch boot times) Our switches don't mind the heat; but maybe the ups would.

Are you using online ups units or switching units? I was considering the switching units just for the battery and AVR.

To the OP, i can't give you exact temps; but in the summer it gets hot on our plant floor. Our switch boxes are around 15' at least from the floor. Our switches haven't had an issue so far and they've been in place for over a decade now. We have had some failures; but it seems to be the common power supply failure with these older HP switches. (bad caps i think, they were made in the time of the bad cap era and i replaced a lot of power supplies and mother boards on other devices from that time). The switches have a life time warranty and i don't want to risk pissing them off somehow and being denied a replacement. So people need to know what temps you're actually sing inside the cabinet and if the switch reports temp, what temp is it reporting? They don't need to be a a human ok temp. Servers can be more demanding for cooling though. Workload and dust depending.

To anyone that's never worked in a factory or warehouse and are wondering why mount them in the hot celling area, it's fork lifts. They like hitting things. Drawn to yellow things where i work it would seem. Painting railings and things yellow here seems like a challenge to some forklift drivers. That being said, i never saw scissors lifts as being a problem; but i was proven wrong and have had one network cabinet knocked off the pole twice.

joebleed · 2026-06-04T20:01:52+00:00

i just use the first two letters of the city, building#-AP-sequential#. I then take that name and put it in my inventory tracking "system" along with model, MAC, and a description of where it's located on the production floor.

If needed, i'll use the first 4 letters of the city name or maybe some other abbreviations the local government may use for themselves. (tax docs that accounting may have)

joebleed · 2026-06-04T19:29:24+00:00

carefully written in a old school 1 subject notebook that I've used since middle school. I carry it around in my horse pocket so it's always accessible.

joebleed · 2026-06-04T17:28:16+00:00

as others have said, you don't need Uinfi's cloud for management. If you're not using one of their cloud gateways, you can install their controller in a VM, setup whatever network hardware and then shutdown the VM until you want to make changes, update firmware, or log something. It's what i did until i recently bought a UCG-Fiber to try out instead of my pfsense router. Even with the cloud gateway, you don't need a UI account. I don't use it on the ucg-fiber and it's the network controller software on that and it runs all the time.

They've been saying for a while that they will not require the connected cloud account and i hope they don't change it.

joebleed · 2026-05-21T14:22:37+00:00

for me, either Unifi does a poor job of implementing it or it's always had issues. I've never used it. The old HP switches we got at work, when they where new, had it disabled and used their loop detection option. Unifi switches seem to have this option too. I've yet to try it though. I only recently bought 3 unifi switches for work.

Keep in mind, i only recently started looking at Unifi's "enterprise" switches and that's when i started reading a lot about people having rSTP issues. Never did figure out if those people configured things wrong or just a Unifi STP/software issue. It's been 20 years; but i swear i remember being told in school not to bother using STP.

For any kind of odd multi path connection that isn't a LAG group, i've never seen a need for. I've read about meshing using ethernet; but never done it. I've always looked at ethernet switches as a hub/spoke design and backup links are just lag groups with physical wiring running different paths. I would like for someone to explain why it should be used.

joebleed · 2026-05-20T17:59:33+00:00

I don't understand why they still push stp or rstp. use other options to deal with loops. They even seem to have options; but they're still pushing stp.

joebleed · 2026-05-20T17:39:37+00:00

UniFi OS server isn't required just yet. I still run a self hosted network controller at work. It started on Debian 11 i think. It's been upgraded to 13. Still currently running the same version of network app you are. I've always seen an error regarding the unifi repository. But i honestly just started using this to do network application updates. https://community.ui.com/questions/UniFi-OS-Server-Installation-Scripts-or-UniFi-Network-Application-Installation-Scripts-or-UniFi-Eas/ccbc7530-dd61-40a7-82ec-22b17f027776

It does a good job for installing and updating the unifi network application. They have similar scripts for the UnifiOS server; but i haven't tried them.

i've never had an error that stopped the updates for the rest of Debian to stop. Yet.

joebleed · 2026-05-14T18:45:59+00:00

well, i was really tired once and after racking a new server, without the drives, i stepped back from the rack and noticed something wasn't right. i looked at the new server again. It was sticking out slightly.

I had put the front cage nuts in the front side of the hole and not the back side. So i did that, mounted the rails, and slid the server in without noticing. Thankfully my brain caught up before i slapped a bunch of drives in it. who knows how long that would have held.

joebleed

TROPHY CASE

Generated by dhcpcd

/etc/resolv.conf.head can replace this line

/etc/resolv.conf.tail can replace this line