Setting up OpenDNS on Sputnik-powered devices
How to use OpenDNS' powerful DNS resolution service to enable content filtering on your Sputnik-powered devices.
If you don't have an OpenDNS account, create one.
Sign up for an account at www.opendns.com. If you already have an account, skip ahead.
Please note: while not required when creating your OpenDNS account, later on you will need to log into OpenDNS from the same network where you'll be hosting your first Sputnik-powered device. The reason is that, when you configure your first OpenDNS network settings, your session's IP address will need to match the network IP that you are managing.
Sign in to your OpenDNS Dashboard.
Enter your username and password to sign into your OpenDNS Dashboard.
Set up your OpenDNS network.
Log into your OpenDNS account and select Dashboard > Settings > Add a network.
Remember, for your first Sputnik-powered device (only) you need to log into OpenDNS from the same network where you'll be hosting it. The reason is that, when you configure your first OpenDNS network settings, your session's IP address will need to match the network IP that you are managing.
Your IP address should be filled in automatically. You'll see your current IP address in the upper right hand side of the browser window. Click "Add this Network" to continue.
Name your network.
Give your network a name that you can remember. Select whether the network is dynamic (default) or static. Click "Done".
You will not need the OpenDNS updater, because the Sputnik router is configured to detect upstream IP changes and will adjust automatically.
Manage your network.
Your new network will appear in the list. (As noted above, if you add a network with a different IP than your current session, you will not be able to continue until you log in from that network's IP.)
Click on the IP address of your network to configure it.
Set your content filtering level.
Review OpenDNS content filtering policies on their web site, and select the level appropriate to your business.
Or use OpenDNS custom content filtering settings.
You can also customize settings and add whitelist and blacklist sites. These settings can be applied across all Sputnik-powered devices that use OpenDNS in your various locations.
Select the first Sputnik-powered device you want to use with OpenDNS.
Log into SputnikNet, click on MANAGE > Routers. Select the Sputnik-powered device you want to apply OpenDNS to, and click on its name from the "Configure Router" column.
IMPORTANT: make sure that your router name doesn't include any special characters - only upper and lower-case letters, numbers. The space character is allowed. Otherwise OpenDNS will not consider it a valid hostname and your settings will not apply.
Select Content Filtering settings.
Click on Services, enable OpenDNS and enter your account email and password. Click on Save Settings to apply the settings to your router.
Advanced options.
Some ISPs block OpenDNS standard port to discourage use of third-party DNS servers. If this is the case, click "Use Alternate OpenDNS Port" to communicate over a different port with OpenDNS.
If your upstream IP changes frequently, you can decrease the default dynamic DNS update value. In the above example, it is set to 1 day or 86400 seconds.
Confirming OpenDNS settings.
Click on Execute Command, and use the predefined command "Custom DDNS Details" to display your router's OpenDNS settings.
Here you can see that the router's DNS settings include sputnik.updates.opendns.com, the OpenDNS username and (hashed) password.
Confirming OpenDNS settings on the router.
Log into the local router DD-WRT interface and browse to Setup > DDNS. You'll see DDNS Service set to Custom with the DYNDNS server set to sputnik.updates.opendns.com. You'll also see your OpenDNS account info and router name, as well as recent DDNS status updates.
Testing OpenDNS content filtering.
Attempt to surf to what you might consider an inappropriate site, such as www.playboy.com. The site will be blocked, and instead you will see a message along with a search field and sponsored links.
You can customize the page's logo as we did here with the Sputnik logo. Simply follow instructions on www.opendns.com to customize your blocked/error page settings. The search widget and results cannot be replaced however.
Adding additional Sputnik-powered devices to OpenDNS.
Important: in order to follow the above steps in SputnikNet to quickly use more Sputnik-powered devices with your OpenDNS account, you need to add Nomad status to your account. This enables you to skip the step of configuring more networks in your OpenDNS account or assigning routers to your account from a specific IP.
Discuss Nomad status with your OpenDNS representative for more information.