1. Install the PowerDNS server and MySql backend using apt

sudo apt-get install pdns-server pdns-backend-mysql


2. Create a new database (or use existing) and execute the following SQL queries to create the PowerDNS table structure:

create table domains (
id INT auto_increment,
name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
master VARCHAR(128) DEFAULT NULL,
last_check INT DEFAULT NULL,
type VARCHAR(6) NOT NULL,
notified_serial INT DEFAULT NULL,
account VARCHAR(40) DEFAULT NULL,
primary key (id)
)type=InnoDB;
 
CREATE UNIQUE INDEX name_index ON domains(name);
 
CREATE TABLE records (
id INT auto_increment,
domain_id INT DEFAULT NULL,
name VARCHAR(255) DEFAULT NULL,
type VARCHAR(6) DEFAULT NULL,
content VARCHAR(255) DEFAULT NULL,
ttl INT DEFAULT NULL,
prio INT DEFAULT NULL,
change_date INT DEFAULT NULL,
primary key(id)
)type=InnoDB;
 
CREATE INDEX rec_name_index ON records(name);
CREATE INDEX nametype_index ON records(name,type);
CREATE INDEX domain_id ON records(domain_id);
 
create table supermasters (
ip VARCHAR(25) NOT NULL,
nameserver VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
account VARCHAR(40) DEFAULT NULL
);


3. Configure PowerDNS to use the MySql backend by adding this line into the configuration file (sudo pico /etc/powerdns/pdns.conf)

launch=gmysql


4. Configure MySql login information for the PowerDNS server that can read from the tables you created earlier by adding lines similar to these (sudo pico /etc/powerdns/pdns.d/pdns.local)

gmysql-host=127.0.0.1
gmysql-user=pdns
gmysql-password=password
gmysql-dbname=pdns


Replace the username, password and dbname with a valid login information and database name.

5. Restart PowerDNS

sudo /etc/init.d/pdns restart


Now you should have a fully functional PowerDNS server installed. To manage the database (adding zones and records), consider using the Poweradmin web-based administration tool.