Chapter 22. Configuring the order of DNS servers Most applications use the getaddrinfo() function of the glibc library to resolve DNS requests. By default, glibc sends all DNS requests to the first DNS server specified in the /etc/resolv.conf file. If this server does not reply, RHEL uses the server in this file. NetworkManager enables you to influence the order of DNS servers in etc/resolv.conf . 22.1. How NetworkManager orders DNS servers in /etc/resolv.conf NetworkManager orders DNS servers in the /etc/resolv.conf file based on the following rules: If only one connection profile exists, NetworkManager uses the order of IPv4 and IPv6 DNS server specified in that connection. If multiple connection profiles are activated, NetworkManager orders DNS servers based on a DNS priority value. If you set DNS priorities, the behavior of NetworkManager depends on the value set in the dns parameter. You can set this parameter in the [main] section in the /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf file: dns=default or if the dns parameter is not set: NetworkManager orders the DNS servers from different connections based on the ipv4.dns-priority and ipv6.dns-priority parameters in each connection. If you set no value or you set ipv4.dns-priority and ipv6.dns-priority to 0 , NetworkManager uses the global default value. See Default values of DNS priority parameters . dns=dnsmasq or dns=systemd-resolved : When you use one of these settings, NetworkManager sets either 127.0.0.1 for dnsmasq or 127.0.0.53 as nameserver entry in the /etc/resolv.conf file. Both the dnsmasq and systemd-resolved services forward queries for the search domain set in a NetworkManager connection to the DNS server specified in that connection, and forwards queries to other domains to the connection with the default route. When multiple connections have the same search domain set, dnsmasq and systemd-resolved forward queries for this domain to the DNS server set in the connection with the lowest priority value. Default values of DNS priority parameters NetworkManager uses the following default values for connections: 50 for VPN connections 100 for other connections Valid DNS priority values: You can set both the global default and connection-specific ipv4.dns-priority and ipv6.dns-priority parameters to a value between -2147483647 and 2147483647 . A lower value has a higher priority. Negative values have the special effect of excluding other configurations with a greater value. For example, if at least one connection with a negative priority value exists, NetworkManager uses only the DNS servers specified in the connection profile with the lowest priority. If multiple connections have the same DNS priority, NetworkManager prioritizes the DNS in the following order: VPN connections Connection with an active default route. The active default route is the default route with the lowest metric. Additional resources nm-settings(5) man page on your system Using different DNS servers for different domains 22.2. Setting a NetworkManager-wide default DNS server priority value NetworkManager uses the following DNS priority default values for connections: 50 for VPN connections 100 for other connections You can override these system-wide defaults with a custom default value for IPv4 and IPv6 connections. Procedure Edit the /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf file: Add the [connection] section, if it does not exist: Add the custom default values to the [connection] section. For example, to set the new default for both IPv4 and IPv6 to 200 , add: You can set the parameters to a value between -2147483647 and 2147483647 . Note that setting the parameters to 0 enables the built-in defaults ( 50 for VPN connections and 100 for other connections). Reload the NetworkManager service: Additional resources NetworkManager.conf(5) man page on your system 22.3. Setting the DNS priority of a NetworkManager connection If you require a specific order of DNS servers you can set priority values in connection profiles. NetworkManager uses these values to order the servers when the service creates or updates the /etc/resolv.conf file. Note that setting DNS priorities makes only sense if you have multiple connections with different DNS servers configured. If you have only one connection with multiple DNS servers configured, manually set the DNS servers in the preferred order in the connection profile. Prerequisites The system has multiple NetworkManager connections configured. The system either has no dns parameter set in the /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf file or the parameter is set to default . Procedure Optional: Display the available connections: Set the ipv4.dns-priority and ipv6.dns-priority parameters. For example, to set both parameters to 10 , enter: Optional: Repeat the step for other connections. Re-activate the connection you updated: Verification Display the contents of the /etc/resolv.conf file to verify that the DNS server order is correct:

Commands:
[connection]
ipv4.dns-priority=200 ipv6.dns-priority=200
systemctl reload NetworkManager
nmcli connection show NAME UUID TYPE DEVICE Example_con_1 d17ee488-4665-4de2-b28a-48befab0cd43 ethernet enp1s0 Example_con_2 916e4f67-7145-3ffa-9f7b-e7cada8f6bf7 ethernet enp7s0
nmcli connection modify <connection_name> ipv4.dns-priority 10 ipv6.dns-priority 10
nmcli connection up <connection_name>
cat /etc/resolv.conf