--- /dev/null
+dnsdist introduction
+--------------------
+`dnsdist` is a highly DNS-, DoS- and abuse-aware loadbalancer. Its goal in
+life is to route traffic to the best server, delivering top performance
+to legitimate users while shunting or blocking abusive traffic.
+
+`dnsdist` is dynamic, in the sense that its configuration can be changed at
+runtime, and that its statistics can be queried from a console-like
+interface.
+
+Concepts
+--------
+dnsdist receives packets in one or several addresses it listens on. These
+addresses can of course be IPv4 or IPv6 (dnsdist internally does not know
+the difference). If you listen on the magic 0.0.0.0 or :: interfaces,
+dnsdist does the right thing to set the return address of queries. So feel
+free to listen on the ANY addresses.
+
+By default, the program listens on 127.0.0.1 (not ::1!), port 53.
+
+Before packets are processed they have to pass the ACL, which helpfully
+defaults to RFC1918 private IP space. This prevents us from easily becoming
+an open DNS resolver.
+
+To add to the ACL, use one or more lines like: `addACL("130.161.0.0/16")`.
+To change the listen address, pass `-l 130.161.252.29` on the command line,
+or use one or more `addLocal("130.161.252.29")` lines.
+
+Packet actions
+--------------
+Each packet can be:
+
+ * Dropped
+ * Turned into an answer directly
+ * Forwarded to a downstream server
+ * Modified and forwarded to a downstream and be modified back
+
+To add downstream servers, either include them on the command line, like
+this:
+
+```
+# dnsdist -l 130.161.252.29 -a 130.161.0.0/16 8.8.8.8 208.67.222.222 2620:0:ccc::2 2620:0:ccd::2
+```
+
+Or add them to the configuration file like this:
+```
+setLocal("130.161.252.29:53")
+setACL("130.161.0.0/16")
+addServer("8.8.8.8")
+addServer("208.67.222.222")
+addServer("2620:0:ccc::2")
+addServer("2620:0:0ccd::2")
+```
+
+In the default environment, put this file in `/etc/dnsdist/dnsdist.conf` (or
+`/usr/local/etc/`, dnsdist will tell you on startup), and start dnsdist.
+
+These two equivalent configurations give you sane load balancing using a
+very sensible distribution policy. Many users will simply be done with this
+configuration. It works as well for authoritative as for recursive servers.
+
+By default it will run on the foreground, add `--daemon` to make it go into
+the background. Our distribution native packages know how to stop/start
+themselves using operating system services.
+
+Console, statistics, webserver
+------------------------------
+To fully benefit from the statistics, metrics and dynamic control, first
+generate an access key:
+
+```
+$ dnsdist
+> makeKey()
+setKey(...)
+```
+
+Then paste that `setKey()` line, next with the following, into your
+dnsdist.conf file:
+
+```
+-- paste the setKey() line from above here!
+controlSocket("127.0.0.1") -- for the console
+webserver("127.0.0.1:8083", "geheim2") -- instant webserve
+carbonServer("2001:888:2000:1d::2") -- send our statistics to PowerDNS
+```
+
+Now restart `dnsdist`. Three things have changed now:
+
+1. You can login to a running `dnsdist` daemon with `dnsdist -c`
+2. If you connect to http://127.0.0.1:8083 and enter the password, you get
+live stats
+3. Your metrics will be reported to the public PowerDNS Metronome server
+
+
+