Auditing OpenWrt Base Services Before Changes

Before installing DNS, DDNS, or another service, I audit the base services to understand existing ports and startup behavior. This prevents conflicts that are difficult to trace later.

Inspection commands

ubus call system board reports board/release; uci show system and uci show dhcp show configuration; service list or /etc/init.d/ lists init scripts. Use ss -lntup for listening ports and logread -e dnsmasq for DNS/DHCP logs.

Adding a service

1. Record current ports and interfaces.
2. Install from feeds matching the release; do not mix feeds.
3. Create minimal configuration and test in the foreground when possible.
4. Enable the init script only after the service responds correctly.
5. Test reboot and keep a rollback copy.

Do not stop dnsmasq just because a guide says so: it may provide DHCP or act as the resolver for the whole LAN. If changing ports, update firewall and clients together, then verify with nslookup or dig.

Source

OpenWrt Base system .