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How do I use OpenDNS and Manage Internal Resources and Virtual Private Networks?
OpenDNS is an Internet DNS service that resolves requests for Websites and network resources that are on the public Internet. Queries (by name instead of IP address) to internal resources such as printers, storage devices, digital media players, Fax and IP phones are not resolved with OpenDNS – just as they are not resolved by any public DNS service, including the default provided by your ISP.
Typically, an internal DNS server is utilized when creating internal domains on a network. That server can be configured to resolve the internal requests and to use OpenDNS for external DNS requests. Refer to Configuring OpenDNS – Internal DNS Servers to add the speed and security benefits of OpenDNS for external Internet DNS resolution.
To absolutely guarantee that OpenDNS does not interfere with the resolution of queries to your internal network resources, you can add your internal domain(s) to the OpenDNS VPN Exception List.
Virtual Private Network (VPN) software typically also generates internal DNS queries, usually when connecting to the corporate server or when accessing remote corporate network resources. OpenDNS provides a domain name exception list to ensure you can use OpenDNS with networks that also utilize VPN connections.
To configure OpenDNS properly for internal networks and VPN connections, please read the Domain Typos, VPN and Filtering .cm Wildcard section of Managing Advanced OpenDNS Settings.