diff --git a/data/templates/dns-forwarding/recursor.conf.lua.j2 b/data/templates/dns-forwarding/recursor.conf.lua.j2
index 8026442c7..622283ad8 100644
--- a/data/templates/dns-forwarding/recursor.conf.lua.j2
+++ b/data/templates/dns-forwarding/recursor.conf.lua.j2
@@ -1,8 +1,36 @@
 -- Autogenerated by VyOS (service_dns_forwarding.py) --
 -- Do not edit, your changes will get overwritten --
 
 -- Load DNSSEC root keys from dns-root-data package.
 dofile("/usr/share/pdns-recursor/lua-config/rootkeys.lua")
 
 -- Load lua from vyos-hostsd --
 dofile("{{ config_dir }}/recursor.vyos-hostsd.conf.lua")
+
+-- ZoneToCache --
+{% if zone_cache is vyos_defined %}
+{%     set option_mapping = {
+    'refresh': 'refreshPeriod',
+    'retry_interval': 'retryOnErrorPeriod',
+    'max_zone_size': 'maxReceivedMBytes'
+} %}
+{%     for name, conf in zone_cache.items() %}
+{%         set source = conf.source.items() | first %}
+{%         set settings = [] %}
+{%         for key, val in conf.options.items() %}
+{%             set mapped_key = option_mapping.get(key, key) %}
+{%             if key == 'refresh' %}
+{%                 set val = val['interval'] %}
+{%             endif %}
+{%             if key in ['dnssec', 'zonemd'] %}
+{%                 set _ = settings.append(mapped_key ~ ' = "' ~ val ~ '"') %}
+{%             else %}
+{%                 set _ = settings.append(mapped_key ~ ' = ' ~ val) %}
+{%             endif %}
+{%         endfor %}
+
+zoneToCache("{{ name }}", "{{ source[0] }}", "{{ source[1] }}", { {{ settings | join(', ') }} })
+
+{%     endfor %}
+
+{% endif %}
diff --git a/interface-definitions/service_dns_forwarding.xml.in b/interface-definitions/service_dns_forwarding.xml.in
index 5667028b7..d0bc2e6c8 100644
--- a/interface-definitions/service_dns_forwarding.xml.in
+++ b/interface-definitions/service_dns_forwarding.xml.in
@@ -1,802 +1,975 @@
 <?xml version="1.0"?>
 <!-- DNS forwarder configuration -->
 <interfaceDefinition>
   <node name="service">
     <children>
       <node name="dns">
         <properties>
           <help>Domain Name System (DNS) related services</help>
         </properties>
         <children>
           <node name="forwarding" owner="${vyos_conf_scripts_dir}/service_dns_forwarding.py">
             <properties>
               <help>DNS forwarding</help>
               <priority>918</priority>
             </properties>
             <children>
               <leafNode name="cache-size">
                 <properties>
                   <help>DNS forwarding cache size</help>
                   <valueHelp>
                     <format>u32:0-2147483647</format>
                     <description>DNS forwarding cache size</description>
                   </valueHelp>
                   <constraint>
                     <validator name="numeric" argument="--range 0-2147483647"/>
                   </constraint>
                 </properties>
                 <defaultValue>10000</defaultValue>
               </leafNode>
               <leafNode name="dhcp">
                 <properties>
                   <help>Interfaces whose DHCP client nameservers to forward requests to</help>
                   <completionHelp>
                     <script>${vyos_completion_dir}/list_interfaces</script>
                   </completionHelp>
                   <multi/>
                 </properties>
               </leafNode>
               <leafNode name="dns64-prefix">
                 <properties>
                   <help>Help to communicate between IPv6-only client and IPv4-only server</help>
                   <valueHelp>
                     <format>ipv6net</format>
                     <description>IPv6 address and /96 only prefix length</description>
                   </valueHelp>
                   <constraint>
                     <validator name="ipv6-prefix"/>
                   </constraint>
                 </properties>
               </leafNode>
               <leafNode name="dnssec">
                 <properties>
                   <help>DNSSEC mode</help>
                   <completionHelp>
                     <list>off process-no-validate process log-fail validate</list>
                   </completionHelp>
                   <valueHelp>
                     <format>off</format>
                     <description>No DNSSEC processing whatsoever!</description>
                   </valueHelp>
                   <valueHelp>
                     <format>process-no-validate</format>
                     <description>Respond with DNSSEC records to clients that ask for it. No validation done at all!</description>
                   </valueHelp>
                   <valueHelp>
                     <format>process</format>
                     <description>Respond with DNSSEC records to clients that ask for it. Validation for clients that request it.</description>
                   </valueHelp>
                   <valueHelp>
                     <format>log-fail</format>
                     <description>Similar behaviour to process, but validate RRSIGs on responses and log bogus responses.</description>
                   </valueHelp>
                   <valueHelp>
                     <format>validate</format>
                     <description>Full blown DNSSEC validation. Send SERVFAIL to clients on bogus responses.</description>
                   </valueHelp>
                   <constraint>
                     <regex>(off|process-no-validate|process|log-fail|validate)</regex>
                   </constraint>
                 </properties>
                 <defaultValue>process-no-validate</defaultValue>
               </leafNode>
               <tagNode name="domain">
                 <properties>
                   <help>Domain to forward to a custom DNS server</help>
                   <valueHelp>
                     <format>txt</format>
                     <description>An absolute DNS domain name</description>
                   </valueHelp>
                   <constraint>
                     <validator name="fqdn"/>
                   </constraint>
                 </properties>
                 <children>
                   #include <include/name-server-ipv4-ipv6-port.xml.i>
                   <leafNode name="addnta">
                     <properties>
                       <help>Add NTA (negative trust anchor) for this domain (must be set if the domain does not support DNSSEC)</help>
                       <valueless/>
                     </properties>
                   </leafNode>
                   <leafNode name="recursion-desired">
                     <properties>
                       <help>Set the "recursion desired" bit in requests to the upstream nameserver</help>
                       <valueless/>
                     </properties>
                   </leafNode>
                 </children>
               </tagNode>
               <tagNode name="authoritative-domain">
                 <properties>
                   <help>Domain to host authoritative records for</help>
                   <valueHelp>
                     <format>txt</format>
                     <description>An absolute DNS domain name</description>
                   </valueHelp>
                   <constraint>
                     <regex>((?!-)[-_a-zA-Z0-9.]{1,63}|@|any)(?&lt;!\.)</regex>
                   </constraint>
                 </properties>
                 <children>
                   <node name="records">
                     <properties>
                       <help>DNS zone records</help>
                     </properties>
                     <children>
                       <tagNode name="a">
                         <properties>
                           <help>A record</help>
                           <valueHelp>
                             <format>txt</format>
                             <description>A DNS name relative to the root record</description>
                           </valueHelp>
                           <valueHelp>
                             <format>@</format>
                             <description>Root record</description>
                           </valueHelp>
                           <valueHelp>
                             <format>any</format>
                             <description>Wildcard record (any subdomain)</description>
                           </valueHelp>
                           <constraint>
                             <regex>([-_a-zA-Z0-9.]{1,63}|@|any)(?&lt;!\.)</regex>
                           </constraint>
                         </properties>
                         <children>
                           <leafNode name="address">
                             <properties>
                               <help>IPv4 address</help>
                               <valueHelp>
                                 <format>ipv4</format>
                                 <description>IPv4 address</description>
                               </valueHelp>
                               <multi/>
                               <constraint>
                                 <validator name="ipv4-address"/>
                               </constraint>
                             </properties>
                           </leafNode>
                           #include <include/dns/time-to-live.xml.i>
                           <leafNode name="ttl">
                               <defaultValue>300</defaultValue>
                           </leafNode>
                           #include <include/generic-disable-node.xml.i>
                         </children>
                       </tagNode>
                       <tagNode name="aaaa">
                         <properties>
                           <help>AAAA record</help>
                           <valueHelp>
                             <format>txt</format>
                             <description>A DNS name relative to the root record</description>
                           </valueHelp>
                           <valueHelp>
                             <format>@</format>
                             <description>Root record</description>
                           </valueHelp>
                           <valueHelp>
                             <format>any</format>
                             <description>Wildcard record (any subdomain)</description>
                           </valueHelp>
                           <constraint>
                             <regex>([-_a-zA-Z0-9.]{1,63}|@|any)(?&lt;!\.)</regex>
                           </constraint>
                         </properties>
                         <children>
                           <leafNode name="address">
                             <properties>
                               <help>IPv6 address</help>
                               <valueHelp>
                                 <format>ipv6</format>
                                 <description>IPv6 address</description>
                               </valueHelp>
                               <multi/>
                               <constraint>
                                 <validator name="ipv6-address"/>
                               </constraint>
                             </properties>
                           </leafNode>
                           #include <include/dns/time-to-live.xml.i>
                           <leafNode name="ttl">
                               <defaultValue>300</defaultValue>
                           </leafNode>
                           #include <include/generic-disable-node.xml.i>
                         </children>
                       </tagNode>
                       <tagNode name="cname">
                         <properties>
                           <help>CNAME record</help>
                           <valueHelp>
                             <format>txt</format>
                             <description>A DNS name relative to the root record</description>
                           </valueHelp>
                           <valueHelp>
                             <format>@</format>
                             <description>Root record</description>
                           </valueHelp>
                           <constraint>
                             <regex>([-_a-zA-Z0-9.]{1,63}|@)(?&lt;!\.)</regex>
                           </constraint>
                         </properties>
                         <children>
                           <leafNode name="target">
                             <properties>
                               <help>Target DNS name</help>
                               <valueHelp>
                                 <format>name.example.com</format>
                                 <description>Absolute DNS name</description>
                               </valueHelp>
                               <constraint>
                                 <regex>[-_a-zA-Z0-9.]{1,63}(?&lt;!\.)</regex>
                               </constraint>
                             </properties>
                           </leafNode>
                           #include <include/dns/time-to-live.xml.i>
                           <leafNode name="ttl">
                               <defaultValue>300</defaultValue>
                           </leafNode>
                           #include <include/generic-disable-node.xml.i>
                         </children>
                       </tagNode>
                       <tagNode name="mx">
                         <properties>
                           <help>MX record</help>
                           <valueHelp>
                             <format>txt</format>
                             <description>A DNS name relative to the root record</description>
                           </valueHelp>
                           <valueHelp>
                             <format>@</format>
                             <description>Root record</description>
                           </valueHelp>
                           <constraint>
                             <regex>([-_a-zA-Z0-9.]{1,63}|@)(?&lt;!\.)</regex>
                           </constraint>
                         </properties>
                         <children>
                           <tagNode name="server">
                             <properties>
                               <help>Mail server</help>
                               <valueHelp>
                                 <format>name.example.com</format>
                                 <description>Absolute DNS name</description>
                               </valueHelp>
                               <constraint>
                                 <regex>[-_a-zA-Z0-9.]{1,63}(?&lt;!\.)</regex>
                               </constraint>
                             </properties>
                             <children>
                               <leafNode name="priority">
                                 <properties>
                                   <help>Server priority</help>
                                   <valueHelp>
                                     <format>u32:1-999</format>
                                     <description>Server priority (lower numbers are higher priority)</description>
                                   </valueHelp>
                                   <constraint>
                                     <validator name="numeric" argument="--range 1-999"/>
                                   </constraint>
                                 </properties>
                                 <defaultValue>10</defaultValue>
                               </leafNode>
                             </children>
                           </tagNode>
                           #include <include/dns/time-to-live.xml.i>
                           <leafNode name="ttl">
                               <defaultValue>300</defaultValue>
                           </leafNode>
                           #include <include/generic-disable-node.xml.i>
                         </children>
                       </tagNode>
                       <tagNode name="ns">
                         <properties>
                           <help>NS record</help>
                           <valueHelp>
                             <format>txt</format>
                             <description>A DNS name relative to the root record</description>
                           </valueHelp>
                           <constraint>
                             <regex>([-_a-zA-Z0-9.]{1,63}|@)(?&lt;!\.)</regex>
                           </constraint>
                         </properties>
                         <children>
                           <leafNode name="target">
                             <properties>
                               <help>Target DNS server authoritative for subdomain</help>
                               <valueHelp>
                                 <format>nsXX.example.com</format>
                                 <description>Absolute DNS name</description>
                               </valueHelp>
                               <constraint>
                                 <regex>[-_a-zA-Z0-9.]{1,63}(?&lt;!\.)</regex>
                               </constraint>
                               <multi/>
                             </properties>
                           </leafNode>
                           #include <include/dns/time-to-live.xml.i>
                           <leafNode name="ttl">
                               <defaultValue>300</defaultValue>
                           </leafNode>
                           #include <include/generic-disable-node.xml.i>
                         </children>
                       </tagNode>
                       <tagNode name="ptr">
                         <properties>
                           <help>PTR record</help>
                           <valueHelp>
                             <format>txt</format>
                             <description>A DNS name relative to the root record</description>
                           </valueHelp>
                           <valueHelp>
                             <format>@</format>
                             <description>Root record</description>
                           </valueHelp>
                           <constraint>
                             <regex>([-_a-zA-Z0-9.]{1,63}|@)(?&lt;!\.)</regex>
                           </constraint>
                         </properties>
                         <children>
                           <leafNode name="target">
                             <properties>
                               <help>Target DNS name</help>
                               <valueHelp>
                                 <format>name.example.com</format>
                                 <description>Absolute DNS name</description>
                               </valueHelp>
                               <constraint>
                                 <regex>[-_a-zA-Z0-9.]{1,63}(?&lt;!\.)</regex>
                               </constraint>
                             </properties>
                           </leafNode>
                           #include <include/dns/time-to-live.xml.i>
                           <leafNode name="ttl">
                               <defaultValue>300</defaultValue>
                           </leafNode>
                           #include <include/generic-disable-node.xml.i>
                         </children>
                       </tagNode>
                       <tagNode name="txt">
                         <properties>
                           <help>TXT record</help>
                           <valueHelp>
                             <format>txt</format>
                             <description>A DNS name relative to the root record</description>
                           </valueHelp>
                           <valueHelp>
                             <format>@</format>
                             <description>Root record</description>
                           </valueHelp>
                           <constraint>
                             <regex>([-_a-zA-Z0-9.]{1,63}|@)(?&lt;!\.)</regex>
                           </constraint>
                         </properties>
                         <children>
                           <leafNode name="value">
                             <properties>
                               <help>Record contents</help>
                               <valueHelp>
                                 <format>txt</format>
                                 <description>Record contents</description>
                               </valueHelp>
                               <multi/>
                             </properties>
                           </leafNode>
                           #include <include/dns/time-to-live.xml.i>
                           <leafNode name="ttl">
                               <defaultValue>300</defaultValue>
                           </leafNode>
                           #include <include/generic-disable-node.xml.i>
                         </children>
                       </tagNode>
                       <tagNode name="spf">
                         <properties>
                           <help>SPF record</help>
                           <valueHelp>
                             <format>txt</format>
                             <description>A DNS name relative to the root record</description>
                           </valueHelp>
                           <valueHelp>
                             <format>@</format>
                             <description>Root record</description>
                           </valueHelp>
                           <constraint>
                             <regex>([-_a-zA-Z0-9.]{1,63}|@)(?&lt;!\.)</regex>
                           </constraint>
                         </properties>
                         <children>
                           <leafNode name="value">
                             <properties>
                               <help>Record contents</help>
                               <valueHelp>
                                 <format>txt</format>
                                 <description>Record contents</description>
                               </valueHelp>
                             </properties>
                           </leafNode>
                           #include <include/dns/time-to-live.xml.i>
                           <leafNode name="ttl">
                               <defaultValue>300</defaultValue>
                           </leafNode>
                           #include <include/generic-disable-node.xml.i>
                         </children>
                       </tagNode>
                       <tagNode name="srv">
                         <properties>
                           <help>SRV record</help>
                           <valueHelp>
                             <format>txt</format>
                             <description>A DNS name relative to the root record</description>
                           </valueHelp>
                           <valueHelp>
                             <format>@</format>
                             <description>Root record</description>
                           </valueHelp>
                           <constraint>
                             <regex>([-_a-zA-Z0-9.]{1,63}|@)(?&lt;!\.)</regex>
                           </constraint>
                         </properties>
                         <children>
                           <tagNode name="entry">
                             <properties>
                               <help>Service entry</help>
                               <valueHelp>
                                 <format>u32:0-65535</format>
                                 <description>Entry number</description>
                               </valueHelp>
                               <constraint>
                                 <validator name="numeric" argument="--range 0-65535"/>
                               </constraint>
                             </properties>
                             <children>
                               <leafNode name="hostname">
                                 <properties>
                                   <help>Server hostname</help>
                                   <valueHelp>
                                     <format>name.example.com</format>
                                     <description>Absolute DNS name</description>
                                   </valueHelp>
                                   <constraint>
                                     <regex>[-_a-zA-Z0-9.]{1,63}(?&lt;!\.)</regex>
                                   </constraint>
                                 </properties>
                               </leafNode>
                               <leafNode name="port">
                                 <properties>
                                   <help>Port number</help>
                                   <valueHelp>
                                     <format>u32:0-65535</format>
                                     <description>TCP/UDP port number</description>
                                   </valueHelp>
                                   <constraint>
                                     <validator name="numeric" argument="--range 0-65536"/>
                                   </constraint>
                                 </properties>
                               </leafNode>
                               <leafNode name="priority">
                                 <properties>
                                   <help>Entry priority</help>
                                   <valueHelp>
                                     <format>u32:0-65535</format>
                                     <description>Entry priority (lower numbers are higher priority)</description>
                                   </valueHelp>
                                   <constraint>
                                     <validator name="numeric" argument="--range 0-65535"/>
                                   </constraint>
                                 </properties>
                                 <defaultValue>10</defaultValue>
                               </leafNode>
                               <leafNode name="weight">
                                 <properties>
                                   <help>Entry weight</help>
                                   <valueHelp>
                                     <format>u32:0-65535</format>
                                     <description>Entry weight</description>
                                   </valueHelp>
                                   <constraint>
                                     <validator name="numeric" argument="--range 0-65535"/>
                                   </constraint>
                                 </properties>
                                 <defaultValue>0</defaultValue>
                               </leafNode>
                             </children>
                           </tagNode>
                           #include <include/dns/time-to-live.xml.i>
                           <leafNode name="ttl">
                               <defaultValue>300</defaultValue>
                           </leafNode>
                           #include <include/generic-disable-node.xml.i>
                         </children>
                       </tagNode>
                       <tagNode name="naptr">
                         <properties>
                           <help>NAPTR record</help>
                           <valueHelp>
                             <format>txt</format>
                             <description>A DNS name relative to the root record</description>
                           </valueHelp>
                           <valueHelp>
                             <format>@</format>
                             <description>Root record</description>
                           </valueHelp>
                           <constraint>
                             <regex>([-_a-zA-Z0-9.]{1,63}|@)(?&lt;!\.)</regex>
                           </constraint>
                         </properties>
                         <children>
                           <tagNode name="rule">
                             <properties>
                               <help>NAPTR rule</help>
                               <valueHelp>
                                 <format>u32:0-65535</format>
                                 <description>Rule number</description>
                               </valueHelp>
                               <constraint>
                                 <validator name="numeric" argument="--range 0-65535"/>
                               </constraint>
                             </properties>
                             <children>
                               <leafNode name="order">
                                 <properties>
                                   <help>Rule order</help>
                                   <valueHelp>
                                     <format>u32:0-65535</format>
                                     <description>Rule order (lower order is evaluated first)</description>
                                   </valueHelp>
                                   <constraint>
                                     <validator name="numeric" argument="--range 0-65535"/>
                                   </constraint>
                                 </properties>
                               </leafNode>
                               <leafNode name="preference">
                                 <properties>
                                   <help>Rule preference</help>
                                   <valueHelp>
                                     <format>u32:0-65535</format>
                                     <description>Rule preference</description>
                                   </valueHelp>
                                   <constraint>
                                     <validator name="numeric" argument="--range 0-65535"/>
                                   </constraint>
                                 </properties>
                                 <defaultValue>0</defaultValue>
                               </leafNode>
                               <leafNode name="lookup-srv">
                                 <properties>
                                   <help>S flag</help>
                                   <valueless/>
                                 </properties>
                               </leafNode>
                               <leafNode name="lookup-a">
                                 <properties>
                                   <help>A flag</help>
                                   <valueless/>
                                 </properties>
                               </leafNode>
                               <leafNode name="resolve-uri">
                                 <properties>
                                   <help>U flag</help>
                                   <valueless/>
                                 </properties>
                               </leafNode>
                               <leafNode name="protocol-specific">
                                 <properties>
                                   <help>P flag</help>
                                   <valueless/>
                                 </properties>
                               </leafNode>
                               <leafNode name="service">
                                 <properties>
                                   <help>Service type</help>
                                   <constraint>
                                     <regex>[a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9]{0,31}(\+[a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9]{0,31})?</regex>
                                   </constraint>
                                 </properties>
                               </leafNode>
                               <leafNode name="regexp">
                                 <properties>
                                   <help>Regular expression</help>
                                 </properties>
                               </leafNode>
                               <leafNode name="replacement">
                                 <properties>
                                   <help>Replacement DNS name</help>
                                   <valueHelp>
                                     <format>name.example.com</format>
                                     <description>Absolute DNS name</description>
                                   </valueHelp>
                                   <constraint>
                                     <regex>[-_a-zA-Z0-9.]{1,63}(?&lt;!\.)</regex>
                                   </constraint>
                                 </properties>
                               </leafNode>
                             </children>
                           </tagNode>
                           #include <include/dns/time-to-live.xml.i>
                           <leafNode name="ttl">
                               <defaultValue>300</defaultValue>
                           </leafNode>
                           #include <include/generic-disable-node.xml.i>
                         </children>
                       </tagNode>
                     </children>
                   </node>
                   #include <include/generic-disable-node.xml.i>
                 </children>
               </tagNode>
               <leafNode name="ignore-hosts-file">
                 <properties>
                   <help>Do not use local /etc/hosts file in name resolution</help>
                   <valueless/>
                 </properties>
               </leafNode>
               <leafNode name="no-serve-rfc1918">
                 <properties>
                   <help>Makes the server authoritatively not aware of RFC1918 addresses</help>
 		          <valueless/>
                 </properties>
               </leafNode>
               <leafNode name="allow-from">
                 <properties>
                   <help>Networks allowed to query this server</help>
                   <valueHelp>
                     <format>ipv4net</format>
                     <description>IP address and prefix length</description>
                   </valueHelp>
                   <valueHelp>
                     <format>ipv6net</format>
                     <description>IPv6 address and prefix length</description>
                   </valueHelp>
                   <multi/>
                   <constraint>
                     <validator name="ip-prefix"/>
                   </constraint>
                 </properties>
               </leafNode>
               #include <include/listen-address.xml.i>
               #include <include/port-number.xml.i>
               <leafNode name="port">
                 <defaultValue>53</defaultValue>
               </leafNode>
               <leafNode name="negative-ttl">
                 <properties>
                   <help>Maximum amount of time negative entries are cached</help>
                   <valueHelp>
                     <format>u32:0-7200</format>
                     <description>Seconds to cache NXDOMAIN entries</description>
                   </valueHelp>
                   <constraint>
                     <validator name="numeric" argument="--range 0-7200"/>
                   </constraint>
                 </properties>
                 <defaultValue>3600</defaultValue>
               </leafNode>
               <leafNode name="serve-stale-extension">
                 <properties>
                   <help>Number of times the expired TTL of a record is extended by 30 seconds when serving stale</help>
                   <valueHelp>
                     <format>u32:0-65535</format>
                     <description>Number of times to extend the TTL</description>
                   </valueHelp>
                   <constraint>
                     <validator name="numeric" argument="--range 0-65535"/>
                   </constraint>
                 </properties>
                 <defaultValue>0</defaultValue>
               </leafNode>
               <leafNode name="timeout">
                 <properties>
                   <help>Number of milliseconds to wait for a remote authoritative server to respond</help>
                   <valueHelp>
                     <format>u32:10-60000</format>
                     <description>Network timeout in milliseconds</description>
                   </valueHelp>
                   <constraint>
                     <validator name="numeric" argument="--range 10-60000"/>
                   </constraint>
                 </properties>
                 <defaultValue>1500</defaultValue>
               </leafNode>
               #include <include/name-server-ipv4-ipv6-port.xml.i>
               #include <include/source-address-ipv4-ipv6-multi.xml.i>
               <leafNode name="source-address">
                 <defaultValue>0.0.0.0 ::</defaultValue>
               </leafNode>
               <leafNode name="system">
                 <properties>
                   <help>Use system name servers</help>
                   <valueless/>
                 </properties>
               </leafNode>
               <leafNode name="exclude-throttle-address">
                 <properties>
                   <help>IP address or subnet</help>
                   <valueHelp>
                     <format>ipv4</format>
                     <description>IPv4 address to match</description>
                   </valueHelp>
                   <valueHelp>
                     <format>ipv4net</format>
                     <description>IPv4 prefix to match</description>
                   </valueHelp>
                   <valueHelp>
                     <format>ipv6</format>
                     <description>IPv6 address</description>
                   </valueHelp>
                   <valueHelp>
                     <format>ipv6net</format>
                     <description>IPv6 address</description>
                   </valueHelp>
                   <multi/>
                   <constraint>
                     <validator name="ipv4-address"/>
                     <validator name="ipv4-prefix"/>
                     <validator name="ipv6-address"/>
                     <validator name="ipv6-prefix"/>
                   </constraint>
                 </properties>
               </leafNode>
               <node name="options">
                 <properties>
                   <help>DNS server options</help>
                 </properties>
                 <children>
                   <leafNode name="ecs-add-for">
                     <properties>
                       <help>Client netmask for which EDNS Client Subnet will be added</help>
                       <valueHelp>
                         <format>ipv4net</format>
                         <description>IPv4 prefix to match</description>
                       </valueHelp>
                       <valueHelp>
                         <format>!ipv4net</format>
                         <description>Match everything except the specified IPv4 prefix</description>
                       </valueHelp>
                       <valueHelp>
                         <format>ipv6net</format>
                         <description>IPv6 prefix to match</description>
                       </valueHelp>
                       <valueHelp>
                         <format>!ipv6net</format>
                         <description>Match everything except the specified IPv6 prefix</description>
                       </valueHelp>
                       <constraint>
                         <validator name="ipv4-prefix"/>
                         <validator name="ipv4-prefix-exclude"/>
                         <validator name="ipv6-prefix"/>
                         <validator name="ipv6-prefix-exclude"/>
                       </constraint>
                       <multi/>
                     </properties>
                   </leafNode>
                   <leafNode name="ecs-ipv4-bits">
                     <properties>
                       <help>Number of bits of IPv4 address to pass for EDNS Client Subnet</help>
                       <valueHelp>
                         <format>u32:0-32</format>
                         <description>Number of bits of IPv4 address</description>
                       </valueHelp>
                       <constraint>
                         <validator name="numeric" argument="--range 0-32"/>
                       </constraint>
                     </properties>
                   </leafNode>
                   <leafNode name="edns-subnet-allow-list">
                     <properties>
                       <help>Netmask or domain that we should enable EDNS subnet for</help>
                       <valueHelp>
                         <format>txt</format>
                         <description>Netmask or domain</description>
                       </valueHelp>
                       <multi/>
                     </properties>
                   </leafNode>
                 </children>
               </node>
+              <tagNode name="zone-cache">
+                <properties>
+                  <help>Load a zone into the recursor cache</help>
+                  <valueHelp>
+                    <format>txt</format>
+                    <description>Domain name</description>
+                  </valueHelp>
+                  <constraint>
+                    <validator name="fqdn"/>
+                  </constraint>
+                </properties>
+                <children>
+                  <node name="source">
+                    <properties>
+                      <help>Zone source</help>
+                    </properties>
+                    <children>
+                      <leafNode name="axfr">
+                        <properties>
+                          <help>DNS server address</help>
+                          <valueHelp>
+                            <format>ipv4</format>
+                            <description>IPv4 address</description>
+                          </valueHelp>
+                          <valueHelp>
+                            <format>ipv6</format>
+                            <description>IPv6 address</description>
+                          </valueHelp>
+                          <constraint>
+                            <validator name="ip-address"/>
+                          </constraint>
+                        </properties>
+                      </leafNode>
+                      <leafNode name="url">
+                        <properties>
+                          <help>Source URL</help>
+                          <valueHelp>
+                            <format>url</format>
+                            <description>Zone file URL</description>
+                          </valueHelp>
+                          <constraint>
+                            <validator name="url" argument="--scheme http --scheme https"/>
+                          </constraint>
+                        </properties>
+                      </leafNode>
+                    </children>
+                  </node>
+                  <node name="options">
+                    <properties>
+                      <help>Zone caching options</help>
+                    </properties>
+                    <children>
+                      <leafNode name="timeout">
+                        <properties>
+                          <help>Zone retrieval timeout</help>
+                          <valueHelp>
+                            <format>u32:1-3600</format>
+                            <description>Request timeout in seconds</description>
+                          </valueHelp>
+                          <constraint>
+                            <validator name="numeric" argument="--range 1-3600"/>
+                          </constraint>
+                        </properties>
+                        <defaultValue>20</defaultValue>
+                      </leafNode>
+                      <node name="refresh">
+                        <properties>
+                          <help>Zone caching options</help>
+                        </properties>
+                        <children>
+                          <leafNode name="on-reload">
+                            <properties>
+                              <help>Retrieval zone only at startup and on reload</help>
+                              <valueless/>
+                            </properties>
+                          </leafNode>
+                          <leafNode name="interval">
+                            <properties>
+                              <help>Periodic zone retrieval interval</help>
+                              <valueHelp>
+                                <format>u32:0-31536000</format>
+                                <description>Retrieval interval in seconds</description>
+                              </valueHelp>
+                              <constraint>
+                                <validator name="numeric" argument="--range 0-31536000"/>
+                              </constraint>
+                            </properties>
+                            <defaultValue>86400</defaultValue>
+                          </leafNode>
+                        </children>
+                      </node>
+                      <leafNode name="retry-interval">
+                        <properties>
+                          <help>Retry interval after zone retrieval errors</help>
+                          <valueHelp>
+                            <format>u32:1-86400</format>
+                            <description>Retry period in seconds</description>
+                          </valueHelp>
+                          <constraint>
+                            <validator name="numeric" argument="--range 1-86400"/>
+                          </constraint>
+                        </properties>
+                        <defaultValue>60</defaultValue>
+                      </leafNode>
+                      <leafNode name="max-zone-size">
+                        <properties>
+                          <help>Maximum zone size in megabytes</help>
+                          <valueHelp>
+                            <format>u32:0</format>
+                            <description>No restriction</description>
+                          </valueHelp>
+                          <valueHelp>
+                            <format>u32:1-1024</format>
+                            <description>Size in megabytes</description>
+                          </valueHelp>
+                          <constraint>
+                            <validator name="numeric" argument="--range 0-1024"/>
+                          </constraint>
+                        </properties>
+                        <defaultValue>0</defaultValue>
+                      </leafNode>
+                      <leafNode name="zonemd">
+                        <properties>
+                          <help>Message Digest for DNS Zones (RFC 8976)</help>
+                          <completionHelp>
+                            <list>ignore validate require</list>
+                          </completionHelp>
+                          <valueHelp>
+                            <format>ignore</format>
+                            <description>Ignore ZONEMD records</description>
+                          </valueHelp>
+                          <valueHelp>
+                            <format>validate</format>
+                            <description>Validate ZONEMD if present</description>
+                          </valueHelp>
+                          <valueHelp>
+                            <format>require</format>
+                            <description>Require valid ZONEMD record to be present</description>
+                          </valueHelp>
+                          <constraint>
+                            <regex>(ignore|validate|require)</regex>
+                          </constraint>
+                        </properties>
+                        <defaultValue>validate</defaultValue>
+                      </leafNode>
+                      <leafNode name="dnssec">
+                        <properties>
+                          <help>DNSSEC mode</help>
+                          <completionHelp>
+                            <list>ignore validate require</list>
+                          </completionHelp>
+                          <valueHelp>
+                            <format>ignore</format>
+                            <description>Do not do DNSSEC validation</description>
+                          </valueHelp>
+                          <valueHelp>
+                            <format>validate</format>
+                            <description>Reject zones with incorrect signatures but accept unsigned zones</description>
+                          </valueHelp>
+                          <valueHelp>
+                            <format>require</format>
+                            <description>Require DNSSEC validation</description>
+                          </valueHelp>
+                          <constraint>
+                            <regex>(ignore|validate|require)</regex>
+                          </constraint>
+                        </properties>
+                        <defaultValue>validate</defaultValue>
+                      </leafNode>
+                    </children>
+                  </node>
+                </children>
+              </tagNode>
             </children>
           </node>
         </children>
       </node>
     </children>
   </node>
 </interfaceDefinition>
diff --git a/python/vyos/utils/convert.py b/python/vyos/utils/convert.py
index 41e65081f..dd4266f57 100644
--- a/python/vyos/utils/convert.py
+++ b/python/vyos/utils/convert.py
@@ -1,205 +1,237 @@
 # Copyright 2023-2024 VyOS maintainers and contributors <maintainers@vyos.io>
 #
 # This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
 # modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
 # License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
 # version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
 #
 # This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
 # but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
 # MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
 # Lesser General Public License for more details.
 #
 # You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
 # License along with this library.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+import re
+
+# Define the number of seconds in each time unit
+time_units = {
+    'y': 60 * 60 * 24 * 365.25,  # year
+    'w': 60 * 60 * 24 * 7,       # week
+    'd': 60 * 60 * 24,           # day
+    'h': 60 * 60,                # hour
+    'm': 60,                     # minute
+    's': 1                       # second
+}
+
+
+def human_to_seconds(time_str):
+    """ Converts a human-readable interval such as 1w4d18h35m59s
+    to number of seconds
+    """
+
+    time_patterns = {
+        'y': r'(\d+)\s*y',
+        'w': r'(\d+)\s*w',
+        'd': r'(\d+)\s*d',
+        'h': r'(\d+)\s*h',
+        'm': r'(\d+)\s*m',
+        's': r'(\d+)\s*s'
+    }
+
+    total_seconds = 0
+
+    for unit, pattern in time_patterns.items():
+        match = re.search(pattern, time_str)
+        if match:
+            value = int(match.group(1))
+            total_seconds += value * time_units[unit]
+
+    return int(total_seconds)
+
 
 def seconds_to_human(s, separator=""):
     """ Converts number of seconds passed to a human-readable
     interval such as 1w4d18h35m59s
     """
     s = int(s)
-
-    year = 60 * 60 * 24 * 365.25
-    week = 60 * 60 * 24 * 7
-    day = 60 * 60 * 24
-    hour = 60 * 60
-
     result = []
 
-    years = s // year
+    years = s // time_units['y']
     if years > 0:
         result.append(f'{int(years)}y')
-        s = int(s % year)
+        s = int(s % time_units['y'])
 
-    weeks = s // week
+    weeks = s // time_units['w']
     if weeks > 0:
         result.append(f'{weeks}w')
-        s = s % week
+        s = s % time_units['w']
 
-    days = s // day
+    days = s // time_units['d']
     if days > 0:
         result.append(f'{days}d')
-        s = s % day
+        s = s % time_units['d']
 
-    hours = s // hour
+    hours = s // time_units['h']
     if hours > 0:
         result.append(f'{hours}h')
-        s = s % hour
+        s = s % time_units['h']
 
-    minutes = s // 60
+    minutes = s // time_units['m']
     if minutes > 0:
         result.append(f'{minutes}m')
         s = s % 60
 
     seconds = s
     if seconds > 0:
         result.append(f'{seconds}s')
 
     return separator.join(result)
 
+
 def bytes_to_human(bytes, initial_exponent=0, precision=2,
                    int_below_exponent=0):
     """ Converts a value in bytes to a human-readable size string like 640 KB
 
     The initial_exponent parameter is the exponent of 2,
     e.g. 10 (1024) for kilobytes, 20 (1024 * 1024) for megabytes.
     """
 
     if bytes == 0:
         return "0 B"
 
     from math import log2
 
     bytes = bytes * (2**initial_exponent)
 
     # log2 is a float, while range checking requires an int
     exponent = int(log2(bytes))
     if exponent < int_below_exponent:
         precision = 0
 
     if exponent < 10:
         value = bytes
         suffix = "B"
     elif exponent in range(10, 20):
         value = bytes / 1024
         suffix = "KB"
     elif exponent in range(20, 30):
         value = bytes / 1024**2
         suffix = "MB"
     elif exponent in range(30, 40):
         value = bytes / 1024**3
         suffix = "GB"
     else:
         value = bytes / 1024**4
         suffix = "TB"
     # Add a new case when the first machine with petabyte RAM
     # hits the market.
 
     size_string = "{0:.{1}f} {2}".format(value, precision, suffix)
     return size_string
 
 def human_to_bytes(value):
     """ Converts a data amount with a unit suffix to bytes, like 2K to 2048 """
 
     from re import match as re_match
 
     res = re_match(r'^\s*(\d+(?:\.\d+)?)\s*([a-zA-Z]+)\s*$', value)
 
     if not res:
         raise ValueError(f"'{value}' is not a valid data amount")
     else:
         amount = float(res.group(1))
         unit = res.group(2).lower()
 
         if unit == 'b':
             res = amount
         elif (unit == 'k') or (unit == 'kb'):
             res = amount * 1024
         elif (unit == 'm') or (unit == 'mb'):
             res = amount * 1024**2
         elif (unit == 'g') or (unit == 'gb'):
             res = amount * 1024**3
         elif (unit == 't') or (unit == 'tb'):
             res = amount * 1024**4
         else:
             raise ValueError(f"Unsupported data unit '{unit}'")
 
     # There cannot be fractional bytes, so we convert them to integer.
     # However, truncating causes problems with conversion back to human unit,
     # so we round instead -- that seems to work well enough.
     return round(res)
 
 def mac_to_eui64(mac, prefix=None):
     """
     Convert a MAC address to a EUI64 address or, with prefix provided, a full
     IPv6 address.
     Thankfully copied from https://gist.github.com/wido/f5e32576bb57b5cc6f934e177a37a0d3
     """
     import re
     from ipaddress import ip_network
     # http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4291#section-2.5.1
     eui64 = re.sub(r'[.:-]', '', mac).lower()
     eui64 = eui64[0:6] + 'fffe' + eui64[6:]
     eui64 = hex(int(eui64[0:2], 16) ^ 2)[2:].zfill(2) + eui64[2:]
 
     if prefix is None:
         return ':'.join(re.findall(r'.{4}', eui64))
     else:
         try:
             net = ip_network(prefix, strict=False)
             euil = int('0x{0}'.format(eui64), 16)
             return str(net[euil])
         except:  # pylint: disable=bare-except
             return
 
 
 def convert_data(data) -> dict | list | tuple | str | int | float | bool | None:
     """Filter and convert multiple types of data to types usable in CLI/API
 
     WARNING: Must not be used for anything except formatting output for API or CLI
 
     On the output allowed everything supported in JSON.
 
     Args:
         data (Any): input data
 
     Returns:
         dict | list | tuple | str | int | float | bool | None: converted data
     """
     from base64 import b64encode
 
     # return original data for types which do not require conversion
     if isinstance(data, str | int | float | bool | None):
         return data
 
     if isinstance(data, list):
         list_tmp = []
         for item in data:
             list_tmp.append(convert_data(item))
         return list_tmp
 
     if isinstance(data, tuple):
         list_tmp = list(data)
         tuple_tmp = tuple(convert_data(list_tmp))
         return tuple_tmp
 
     if isinstance(data, bytes | bytearray):
         try:
             return data.decode()
         except UnicodeDecodeError:
             return b64encode(data).decode()
 
     if isinstance(data, set | frozenset):
         list_tmp = convert_data(list(data))
         return list_tmp
 
     if isinstance(data, dict):
         dict_tmp = {}
         for key, value in data.items():
             dict_tmp[key] = convert_data(value)
         return dict_tmp
 
     # do not return anything for other types
     # which cannot be converted to JSON
     # for example: complex | range | memoryview
     return
diff --git a/smoketest/scripts/cli/test_service_dns_forwarding.py b/smoketest/scripts/cli/test_service_dns_forwarding.py
index 4db1d7495..9a3f4933e 100755
--- a/smoketest/scripts/cli/test_service_dns_forwarding.py
+++ b/smoketest/scripts/cli/test_service_dns_forwarding.py
@@ -1,305 +1,344 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python3
 #
 # Copyright (C) 2019-2024 VyOS maintainers and contributors
 #
 # This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
 # it under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 or later as
 # published by the Free Software Foundation.
 #
 # This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
 # but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
 # MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
 # GNU General Public License for more details.
 #
 # You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
 # along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 
 import re
 import unittest
 
 from base_vyostest_shim import VyOSUnitTestSHIM
 
 from vyos.configsession import ConfigSessionError
 from vyos.template import bracketize_ipv6
 from vyos.utils.file import read_file
 from vyos.utils.process import process_named_running
 
 PDNS_REC_RUN_DIR = '/run/pdns-recursor'
 CONFIG_FILE = f'{PDNS_REC_RUN_DIR}/recursor.conf'
+PDNS_REC_LUA_CONF_FILE = f'{PDNS_REC_RUN_DIR}/recursor.conf.lua'
 FORWARD_FILE = f'{PDNS_REC_RUN_DIR}/recursor.forward-zones.conf'
 HOSTSD_FILE = f'{PDNS_REC_RUN_DIR}/recursor.vyos-hostsd.conf.lua'
 PROCESS_NAME= 'pdns_recursor'
 
 base_path = ['service', 'dns', 'forwarding']
 
 allow_from = ['192.0.2.0/24', '2001:db8::/32']
 listen_adress = ['127.0.0.1', '::1']
 
 def get_config_value(key, file=CONFIG_FILE):
     tmp = read_file(file)
     tmp = re.findall(r'\n{}=+(.*)'.format(key), tmp)
     return tmp[0]
 
 class TestServicePowerDNS(VyOSUnitTestSHIM.TestCase):
     @classmethod
     def setUpClass(cls):
         super(TestServicePowerDNS, cls).setUpClass()
         # ensure we can also run this test on a live system - so lets clean
         # out the current configuration :)
         cls.cli_delete(cls, base_path)
 
     def tearDown(self):
         # Check for running process
         self.assertTrue(process_named_running(PROCESS_NAME))
 
         # Delete DNS forwarding configuration
         self.cli_delete(base_path)
         self.cli_commit()
 
         # Check for running process
         self.assertFalse(process_named_running(PROCESS_NAME))
 
     def setUp(self):
         # forward to base class
         super().setUp()
         for network in allow_from:
             self.cli_set(base_path + ['allow-from', network])
         for address in listen_adress:
             self.cli_set(base_path + ['listen-address', address])
 
     def test_basic_forwarding(self):
         # Check basic DNS forwarding settings
         cache_size = '20'
         negative_ttl = '120'
 
         # remove code from setUp() as in this test-case we validate the proper
         # handling of assertions when specific CLI nodes are missing
         self.cli_delete(base_path)
 
         self.cli_set(base_path + ['cache-size', cache_size])
         self.cli_set(base_path + ['negative-ttl', negative_ttl])
 
         # check validate() - allow from must be defined
         with self.assertRaises(ConfigSessionError):
             self.cli_commit()
         for network in allow_from:
             self.cli_set(base_path + ['allow-from', network])
 
         # check validate() - listen-address must be defined
         with self.assertRaises(ConfigSessionError):
             self.cli_commit()
         for address in listen_adress:
             self.cli_set(base_path + ['listen-address', address])
 
         # configure DNSSEC
         self.cli_set(base_path + ['dnssec', 'validate'])
 
         # Do not use local /etc/hosts file in name resolution
         self.cli_set(base_path + ['ignore-hosts-file'])
 
         # commit changes
         self.cli_commit()
 
         # Check configured cache-size
         tmp = get_config_value('max-cache-entries')
         self.assertEqual(tmp, cache_size)
 
         # Networks allowed to query this server
         tmp = get_config_value('allow-from')
         self.assertEqual(tmp, ','.join(allow_from))
 
         # Addresses to listen for DNS queries
         tmp = get_config_value('local-address')
         self.assertEqual(tmp, ','.join(listen_adress))
 
         # Maximum amount of time negative entries are cached
         tmp = get_config_value('max-negative-ttl')
         self.assertEqual(tmp, negative_ttl)
 
         # Do not use local /etc/hosts file in name resolution
         tmp = get_config_value('export-etc-hosts')
         self.assertEqual(tmp, 'no')
 
         # RFC1918 addresses are looked up by default
         tmp = get_config_value('serve-rfc1918')
         self.assertEqual(tmp, 'yes')
 
         # verify default port configuration
         tmp = get_config_value('local-port')
         self.assertEqual(tmp, '53')
 
     def test_dnssec(self):
         # DNSSEC option testing
         options = ['off', 'process-no-validate', 'process', 'log-fail', 'validate']
         for option in options:
             self.cli_set(base_path + ['dnssec', option])
 
             # commit changes
             self.cli_commit()
 
             tmp = get_config_value('dnssec')
             self.assertEqual(tmp, option)
 
     def test_external_nameserver(self):
         # Externe Domain Name Servers (DNS) addresses
         nameservers = {'192.0.2.1': {}, '192.0.2.2': {'port': '53'}, '2001:db8::1': {'port': '853'}}
         for h,p in nameservers.items():
             if 'port' in p:
                 self.cli_set(base_path + ['name-server', h, 'port', p['port']])
             else:
                 self.cli_set(base_path + ['name-server', h])
 
         # commit changes
         self.cli_commit()
 
         tmp = get_config_value(r'\+.', file=FORWARD_FILE)
         canonical_entries = [(lambda h, p: f"{bracketize_ipv6(h)}:{p['port'] if 'port' in p else 53}")(h, p)
                              for (h, p) in nameservers.items()]
         self.assertEqual(tmp, ', '.join(canonical_entries))
 
         # Do not use local /etc/hosts file in name resolution
         # default: yes
         tmp = get_config_value('export-etc-hosts')
         self.assertEqual(tmp, 'yes')
 
     def test_domain_forwarding(self):
         domains = ['vyos.io', 'vyos.net', 'vyos.com']
         nameservers = {'192.0.2.1': {}, '192.0.2.2': {'port': '53'}, '2001:db8::1': {'port': '853'}}
         for domain in domains:
             for h,p in nameservers.items():
                 if 'port' in p:
                     self.cli_set(base_path + ['domain', domain, 'name-server', h, 'port', p['port']])
                 else:
                     self.cli_set(base_path + ['domain', domain, 'name-server', h])
 
             # Test 'recursion-desired' flag for only one domain
             if domain == domains[0]:
                 self.cli_set(base_path + ['domain', domain, 'recursion-desired'])
 
             # Test 'negative trust anchor' flag for the second domain only
             if domain == domains[1]:
                 self.cli_set(base_path + ['domain', domain, 'addnta'])
 
         # commit changes
         self.cli_commit()
 
         # Test configured name-servers
         hosts_conf = read_file(HOSTSD_FILE)
         for domain in domains:
             # Test 'recursion-desired' flag for the first domain only
             if domain == domains[0]: key =f'\+{domain}'
             else: key =f'{domain}'
             tmp = get_config_value(key, file=FORWARD_FILE)
             canonical_entries = [(lambda h, p: f"{bracketize_ipv6(h)}:{p['port'] if 'port' in p else 53}")(h, p)
                         for (h, p) in nameservers.items()]
             self.assertEqual(tmp, ', '.join(canonical_entries))
 
             # Test 'negative trust anchor' flag for the second domain only
             if domain == domains[1]:
                 self.assertIn(f'addNTA("{domain}", "static")', hosts_conf)
 
     def test_no_rfc1918_forwarding(self):
         self.cli_set(base_path + ['no-serve-rfc1918'])
 
         # commit changes
         self.cli_commit()
 
         # verify configuration
         tmp = get_config_value('serve-rfc1918')
         self.assertEqual(tmp, 'no')
 
     def test_dns64(self):
         dns_prefix = '64:ff9b::/96'
         # Check dns64-prefix - must be prefix /96
         self.cli_set(base_path + ['dns64-prefix', '2001:db8:aabb::/64'])
         with self.assertRaises(ConfigSessionError):
             self.cli_commit()
         self.cli_set(base_path + ['dns64-prefix', dns_prefix])
 
         # commit changes
         self.cli_commit()
 
         # verify dns64-prefix configuration
         tmp = get_config_value('dns64-prefix')
         self.assertEqual(tmp, dns_prefix)
 
     def test_exclude_throttle_adress(self):
         exclude_throttle_adress_examples = [
             '192.168.128.255',
             '10.0.0.0/25',
             '2001:db8:85a3:8d3:1319:8a2e:370:7348',
             '64:ff9b::/96'
         ]
         for exclude_throttle_adress in exclude_throttle_adress_examples:
             self.cli_set(base_path + ['exclude-throttle-address', exclude_throttle_adress])
 
         # commit changes
         self.cli_commit()
 
         # verify dont-throttle-netmasks configuration
         tmp = get_config_value('dont-throttle-netmasks')
         self.assertEqual(tmp, ','.join(exclude_throttle_adress_examples))
 
     def test_serve_stale_extension(self):
         server_stale = '20'
         self.cli_set(base_path + ['serve-stale-extension', server_stale])
         # commit changes
         self.cli_commit()
         # verify configuration
         tmp = get_config_value('serve-stale-extensions')
         self.assertEqual(tmp, server_stale)
 
     def test_listening_port(self):
         # We can listen on a different port compared to '53' but only one at a time
         for port in ['10053', '10054']:
             self.cli_set(base_path + ['port', port])
             # commit changes
             self.cli_commit()
             # verify local-port configuration
             tmp = get_config_value('local-port')
             self.assertEqual(tmp, port)
 
     def test_ecs_add_for(self):
         options = ['0.0.0.0/0', '!10.0.0.0/8', 'fc00::/7', '!fe80::/10']
         for param in options:
             self.cli_set(base_path + ['options', 'ecs-add-for', param])
 
         # commit changes
         self.cli_commit()
         # verify ecs_add_for configuration
         tmp = get_config_value('ecs-add-for')
         self.assertEqual(tmp, ','.join(options))
 
     def test_ecs_ipv4_bits(self):
         option_value = '24'
         self.cli_set(base_path + ['options', 'ecs-ipv4-bits', option_value])
         # commit changes
         self.cli_commit()
         # verify ecs_ipv4_bits configuration
         tmp = get_config_value('ecs-ipv4-bits')
         self.assertEqual(tmp, option_value)
 
     def test_edns_subnet_allow_list(self):
         options = ['192.0.2.1/32', 'example.com', 'fe80::/10']
         for param in options:
             self.cli_set(base_path + ['options', 'edns-subnet-allow-list', param])
 
         # commit changes
         self.cli_commit()
 
         # verify edns_subnet_allow_list configuration
         tmp = get_config_value('edns-subnet-allow-list')
         self.assertEqual(tmp, ','.join(options))
 
     def test_multiple_ns_records(self):
         test_zone = 'example.com'
         self.cli_set(base_path + ['authoritative-domain', test_zone, 'records', 'ns', 'test', 'target', f'ns1.{test_zone}'])
         self.cli_set(base_path + ['authoritative-domain', test_zone, 'records', 'ns', 'test', 'target', f'ns2.{test_zone}'])
         self.cli_commit()
         zone_config = read_file(f'{PDNS_REC_RUN_DIR}/zone.{test_zone}.conf')
         self.assertRegex(zone_config, fr'test\s+\d+\s+NS\s+ns1\.{test_zone}\.')
         self.assertRegex(zone_config, fr'test\s+\d+\s+NS\s+ns2\.{test_zone}\.')
 
+    def test_zone_cache_url(self):
+        self.cli_set(base_path + ['zone-cache', 'smoketest', 'source', 'url', 'https://www.internic.net/domain/root.zone'])
+        self.cli_commit()
+
+        lua_config = read_file(PDNS_REC_LUA_CONF_FILE)
+        self.assertIn('zoneToCache("smoketest", "url", "https://www.internic.net/domain/root.zone", { dnssec = "validate", zonemd = "validate", maxReceivedMBytes = 0, retryOnErrorPeriod = 60, refreshPeriod = 86400, timeout = 20 })', lua_config)
+
+    def test_zone_cache_axfr(self):
+
+        self.cli_set(base_path + ['zone-cache', 'smoketest', 'source', 'axfr', '127.0.0.1'])
+        self.cli_commit()
+
+        lua_config = read_file(PDNS_REC_LUA_CONF_FILE)
+        self.assertIn('zoneToCache("smoketest", "axfr", "127.0.0.1", { dnssec = "validate", zonemd = "validate", maxReceivedMBytes = 0, retryOnErrorPeriod = 60, refreshPeriod = 86400, timeout = 20 })', lua_config)
+
+    def test_zone_cache_options(self):
+        self.cli_set(base_path + ['zone-cache', 'smoketest', 'source', 'url', 'https://www.internic.net/domain/root.zone'])
+        self.cli_set(base_path + ['zone-cache', 'smoketest', 'options', 'dnssec', 'ignore'])
+        self.cli_set(base_path + ['zone-cache', 'smoketest', 'options', 'max-zone-size', '100'])
+        self.cli_set(base_path + ['zone-cache', 'smoketest', 'options', 'refresh', 'interval', '10'])
+        self.cli_set(base_path + ['zone-cache', 'smoketest', 'options', 'retry-interval', '90'])
+        self.cli_set(base_path + ['zone-cache', 'smoketest', 'options', 'timeout', '50'])
+        self.cli_set(base_path + ['zone-cache', 'smoketest', 'options', 'zonemd', 'require'])
+        self.cli_commit()
+
+        lua_config = read_file(PDNS_REC_LUA_CONF_FILE)
+        self.assertIn('zoneToCache("smoketest", "url", "https://www.internic.net/domain/root.zone", { dnssec = "ignore", maxReceivedMBytes = 100, refreshPeriod = 10, retryOnErrorPeriod = 90, timeout = 50, zonemd = "require" })', lua_config)
+
+    def test_zone_cache_wrong_source(self):
+        self.cli_set(base_path + ['zone-cache', 'smoketest', 'source', 'url', 'https://www.internic.net/domain/root.zone'])
+        self.cli_set(base_path + ['zone-cache', 'smoketest', 'source', 'axfr', '127.0.0.1'])
+
+        with self.assertRaises(ConfigSessionError):
+            self.cli_commit()
+        # correct config to correct finish the test
+        self.cli_delete(base_path + ['zone-cache', 'smoketest', 'source', 'axfr'])
+        self.cli_commit()
+
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     unittest.main(verbosity=2)
diff --git a/src/conf_mode/service_dns_forwarding.py b/src/conf_mode/service_dns_forwarding.py
index 70686534f..e3bdbc9f8 100755
--- a/src/conf_mode/service_dns_forwarding.py
+++ b/src/conf_mode/service_dns_forwarding.py
@@ -1,382 +1,402 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python3
 #
 # Copyright (C) 2018-2024 VyOS maintainers and contributors
 #
 # This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
 # it under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 or later as
 # published by the Free Software Foundation.
 #
 # This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
 # but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
 # MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
 # GNU General Public License for more details.
 #
 # You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
 # along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 
 import os
 
 from sys import exit
 from glob import glob
 
 from vyos.config import Config
 from vyos.hostsd_client import Client as hostsd_client
 from vyos.template import render
 from vyos.template import bracketize_ipv6
 from vyos.utils.network import interface_exists
 from vyos.utils.process import call
 from vyos.utils.permission import chown
 from vyos import ConfigError
 from vyos import airbag
 airbag.enable()
 
 pdns_rec_user_group = 'pdns'
 pdns_rec_run_dir = '/run/pdns-recursor'
 pdns_rec_lua_conf_file = f'{pdns_rec_run_dir}/recursor.conf.lua'
 pdns_rec_hostsd_lua_conf_file = f'{pdns_rec_run_dir}/recursor.vyos-hostsd.conf.lua'
 pdns_rec_hostsd_zones_file = f'{pdns_rec_run_dir}/recursor.forward-zones.conf'
 pdns_rec_config_file = f'{pdns_rec_run_dir}/recursor.conf'
 pdns_rec_systemd_override = '/run/systemd/system/pdns-recursor.service.d/override.conf'
 
 hostsd_tag = 'static'
 
 def get_config(config=None):
     if config:
         conf = config
     else:
         conf = Config()
     base = ['service', 'dns', 'forwarding']
     if not conf.exists(base):
         return None
 
     dns = conf.get_config_dict(base, key_mangling=('-', '_'),
                                no_tag_node_value_mangle=True,
                                get_first_key=True,
                                with_recursive_defaults=True)
 
     dns['config_file'] = pdns_rec_config_file
     dns['config_dir'] = os.path.dirname(pdns_rec_config_file)
 
     # some additions to the default dictionary
     if 'system' in dns:
         base_nameservers = ['system', 'name-server']
         if conf.exists(base_nameservers):
             dns.update({'system_name_server': conf.return_values(base_nameservers)})
 
     if 'authoritative_domain' in dns:
         dns['authoritative_zones'] = []
         dns['authoritative_zone_errors'] = []
         for node in dns['authoritative_domain']:
             zonedata = dns['authoritative_domain'][node]
             if ('disable' in zonedata) or (not 'records' in zonedata):
                 continue
             zone = {
                 'name': node,
                 'file': "{}/zone.{}.conf".format(pdns_rec_run_dir, node),
                 'records': [],
             }
 
             recorddata = zonedata['records']
 
             for rtype in [ 'a', 'aaaa', 'cname', 'mx', 'ns', 'ptr', 'txt', 'spf', 'srv', 'naptr' ]:
                 if rtype not in recorddata:
                     continue
                 for subnode in recorddata[rtype]:
                     if 'disable' in recorddata[rtype][subnode]:
                         continue
 
                     rdata = recorddata[rtype][subnode]
 
                     if rtype in [ 'a', 'aaaa' ]:
                         if not 'address' in rdata:
                             dns['authoritative_zone_errors'].append(f'{subnode}.{node}: at least one address is required')
                             continue
 
                         if subnode == 'any':
                             subnode = '*'
 
                         for address in rdata['address']:
                             zone['records'].append({
                                 'name': subnode,
                                 'type': rtype.upper(),
                                 'ttl': rdata['ttl'],
                                 'value': address
                             })
                     elif rtype in ['cname', 'ptr']:
                         if not 'target' in rdata:
                             dns['authoritative_zone_errors'].append(f'{subnode}.{node}: target is required')
                             continue
 
                         zone['records'].append({
                             'name': subnode,
                             'type': rtype.upper(),
                             'ttl': rdata['ttl'],
                             'value': '{}.'.format(rdata['target'])
                         })
                     elif rtype == 'ns':
                         if not 'target' in rdata:
                             dns['authoritative_zone_errors'].append(f'{subnode}.{node}: at least one target is required')
                             continue
 
                         for target in rdata['target']:
                             zone['records'].append({
                                 'name': subnode,
                                 'type': rtype.upper(),
                                 'ttl': rdata['ttl'],
                                 'value': f'{target}.'
                             })
 
                     elif rtype == 'mx':
                         if not 'server' in rdata:
                             dns['authoritative_zone_errors'].append(f'{subnode}.{node}: at least one server is required')
                             continue
 
                         for servername in rdata['server']:
                             serverdata = rdata['server'][servername]
                             zone['records'].append({
                                 'name': subnode,
                                 'type': rtype.upper(),
                                 'ttl': rdata['ttl'],
                                 'value': '{} {}.'.format(serverdata['priority'], servername)
                             })
                     elif rtype == 'txt':
                         if not 'value' in rdata:
                             dns['authoritative_zone_errors'].append(f'{subnode}.{node}: at least one value is required')
                             continue
 
                         for value in rdata['value']:
                             zone['records'].append({
                                 'name': subnode,
                                 'type': rtype.upper(),
                                 'ttl': rdata['ttl'],
                                 'value': "\"{}\"".format(value.replace("\"", "\\\""))
                             })
                     elif rtype == 'spf':
                         if not 'value' in rdata:
                             dns['authoritative_zone_errors'].append(f'{subnode}.{node}: value is required')
                             continue
 
                         zone['records'].append({
                             'name': subnode,
                             'type': rtype.upper(),
                             'ttl': rdata['ttl'],
                             'value': '"{}"'.format(rdata['value'].replace("\"", "\\\""))
                         })
                     elif rtype == 'srv':
                         if not 'entry' in rdata:
                             dns['authoritative_zone_errors'].append(f'{subnode}.{node}: at least one entry is required')
                             continue
 
                         for entryno in rdata['entry']:
                             entrydata = rdata['entry'][entryno]
                             if not 'hostname' in entrydata:
                                 dns['authoritative_zone_errors'].append(f'{subnode}.{node}: hostname is required for entry {entryno}')
                                 continue
 
                             if not 'port' in entrydata:
                                 dns['authoritative_zone_errors'].append(f'{subnode}.{node}: port is required for entry {entryno}')
                                 continue
 
                             zone['records'].append({
                                 'name': subnode,
                                 'type': rtype.upper(),
                                 'ttl': rdata['ttl'],
                                 'value': '{} {} {} {}.'.format(entrydata['priority'], entrydata['weight'], entrydata['port'], entrydata['hostname'])
                             })
                     elif rtype == 'naptr':
                         if not 'rule' in rdata:
                             dns['authoritative_zone_errors'].append(f'{subnode}.{node}: at least one rule is required')
                             continue
 
                         for ruleno in rdata['rule']:
                             ruledata = rdata['rule'][ruleno]
                             flags = ""
                             if 'lookup-srv' in ruledata:
                                 flags += "S"
                             if 'lookup-a' in ruledata:
                                 flags += "A"
                             if 'resolve-uri' in ruledata:
                                 flags += "U"
                             if 'protocol-specific' in ruledata:
                                 flags += "P"
 
                             if 'order' in ruledata:
                                 order = ruledata['order']
                             else:
                                 order = ruleno
 
                             if 'regexp' in ruledata:
                                 regexp= ruledata['regexp'].replace("\"", "\\\"")
                             else:
                                 regexp = ''
 
                             if ruledata['replacement']:
                                 replacement = '{}.'.format(ruledata['replacement'])
                             else:
                                 replacement = ''
 
                             zone['records'].append({
                                 'name': subnode,
                                 'type': rtype.upper(),
                                 'ttl': rdata['ttl'],
                                 'value': '{} {} "{}" "{}" "{}" {}'.format(order, ruledata['preference'], flags, ruledata['service'], regexp, replacement)
                             })
 
             dns['authoritative_zones'].append(zone)
 
+    if 'zone_cache' in dns:
+        # convert refresh interval to sec:
+        for _, zone_conf in dns['zone_cache'].items():
+            if 'options' in zone_conf \
+                    and 'refresh' in zone_conf['options']:
+
+                if 'on_reload' in zone_conf['options']['refresh']:
+                    interval = 0
+                else:
+                    interval = zone_conf['options']['refresh']['interval']
+                zone_conf['options']['refresh']['interval'] = interval
+
     return dns
 
 def verify(dns):
     # bail out early - looks like removal from running config
     if not dns:
         return None
 
     if 'listen_address' not in dns:
         raise ConfigError('DNS forwarding requires a listen-address')
 
     if 'allow_from' not in dns:
         raise ConfigError('DNS forwarding requires an allow-from network')
 
     # we can not use dict_search() when testing for domain servers
     # as a domain will contains dot's which is out dictionary delimiter.
     if 'domain' in dns:
         for domain in dns['domain']:
             if 'name_server' not in dns['domain'][domain]:
                 raise ConfigError(f'No server configured for domain {domain}!')
 
     if 'dns64_prefix' in dns:
         dns_prefix = dns['dns64_prefix'].split('/')[1]
         # RFC 6147 requires prefix /96
         if int(dns_prefix) != 96:
             raise ConfigError('DNS 6to4 prefix must be of length /96')
 
     if ('authoritative_zone_errors' in dns) and dns['authoritative_zone_errors']:
         for error in dns['authoritative_zone_errors']:
             print(error)
         raise ConfigError('Invalid authoritative records have been defined')
 
     if 'system' in dns:
         if not 'system_name_server' in dns:
             print('Warning: No "system name-server" configured')
 
+    if 'zone_cache' in dns:
+        for name, conf in dns['zone_cache'].items():
+            if ('source' not in conf) \
+                    or ('url' in conf['source'] and 'axfr' in conf['source']):
+                raise ConfigError(f'Invalid configuration for zone "{name}": '
+                                  f'Please select one source type "url" or "axfr".')
+
     return None
 
+
 def generate(dns):
     # bail out early - looks like removal from running config
     if not dns:
         return None
 
     render(pdns_rec_systemd_override, 'dns-forwarding/override.conf.j2', dns)
 
     render(pdns_rec_config_file, 'dns-forwarding/recursor.conf.j2', dns,
            user=pdns_rec_user_group, group=pdns_rec_user_group)
 
     render(pdns_rec_config_file, 'dns-forwarding/recursor.conf.j2', dns,
            user=pdns_rec_user_group, group=pdns_rec_user_group)
 
     render(pdns_rec_lua_conf_file, 'dns-forwarding/recursor.conf.lua.j2', dns,
            user=pdns_rec_user_group, group=pdns_rec_user_group)
 
     for zone_filename in glob(f'{pdns_rec_run_dir}/zone.*.conf'):
         os.unlink(zone_filename)
 
     if 'authoritative_zones' in dns:
         for zone in dns['authoritative_zones']:
             render(zone['file'], 'dns-forwarding/recursor.zone.conf.j2',
                     zone, user=pdns_rec_user_group, group=pdns_rec_user_group)
 
 
     # if vyos-hostsd didn't create its files yet, create them (empty)
     for file in [pdns_rec_hostsd_lua_conf_file, pdns_rec_hostsd_zones_file]:
         with open(file, 'a'):
             pass
         chown(file, user=pdns_rec_user_group, group=pdns_rec_user_group)
 
     return None
 
 def apply(dns):
     systemd_service = 'pdns-recursor.service'
     # Reload systemd manager configuration
     call('systemctl daemon-reload')
 
     if not dns:
         # DNS forwarding is removed in the commit
         call(f'systemctl stop {systemd_service}')
 
         if os.path.isfile(pdns_rec_config_file):
             os.unlink(pdns_rec_config_file)
 
         for zone_filename in glob(f'{pdns_rec_run_dir}/zone.*.conf'):
             os.unlink(zone_filename)
     else:
         ### first apply vyos-hostsd config
         hc = hostsd_client()
 
         # add static nameservers to hostsd so they can be joined with other
         # sources
         hc.delete_name_servers([hostsd_tag])
         if 'name_server' in dns:
             # 'name_server' is of the form
             # {'192.0.2.1': {'port': 53}, '2001:db8::1': {'port': 853}, ...}
             # canonicalize them as ['192.0.2.1:53', '[2001:db8::1]:853', ...]
             nslist = [(lambda h, p: f"{bracketize_ipv6(h)}:{p['port']}")(h, p)
                       for (h, p) in dns['name_server'].items()]
             hc.add_name_servers({hostsd_tag: nslist})
 
         # delete all nameserver tags
         hc.delete_name_server_tags_recursor(hc.get_name_server_tags_recursor())
 
         ## add nameserver tags - the order determines the nameserver order!
         # our own tag (static)
         hc.add_name_server_tags_recursor([hostsd_tag])
 
         if 'system' in dns:
             hc.add_name_server_tags_recursor(['system'])
         else:
             hc.delete_name_server_tags_recursor(['system'])
 
         # add dhcp nameserver tags for configured interfaces
         if 'system_name_server' in dns:
             for interface in dns['system_name_server']:
                 # system_name_server key contains both IP addresses and interface
                 # names (DHCP) to use DNS servers. We need to check if the
                 # value is an interface name - only if this is the case, add the
                 # interface based DNS forwarder.
                 if interface_exists(interface):
                     hc.add_name_server_tags_recursor(['dhcp-' + interface,
                                                       'dhcpv6-' + interface ])
 
         # hostsd will generate the forward-zones file
         # the list and keys() are required as get returns a dict, not list
         hc.delete_forward_zones(list(hc.get_forward_zones().keys()))
         if 'domain' in dns:
             zones = dns['domain']
             for domain in zones.keys():
                 # 'name_server' is of the form
                 # {'192.0.2.1': {'port': 53}, '2001:db8::1': {'port': 853}, ...}
                 # canonicalize them as ['192.0.2.1:53', '[2001:db8::1]:853', ...]
                 zones[domain]['name_server'] = [(lambda h, p: f"{bracketize_ipv6(h)}:{p['port']}")(h, p)
                                                 for (h, p) in zones[domain]['name_server'].items()]
             hc.add_forward_zones(zones)
 
         # hostsd generates NTAs for the authoritative zones
         # the list and keys() are required as get returns a dict, not list
         hc.delete_authoritative_zones(list(hc.get_authoritative_zones()))
         if 'authoritative_zones' in dns:
             hc.add_authoritative_zones(list(map(lambda zone: zone['name'], dns['authoritative_zones'])))
 
         # call hostsd to generate forward-zones and its lua-config-file
         hc.apply()
 
         ### finally (re)start pdns-recursor
         call(f'systemctl reload-or-restart {systemd_service}')
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     try:
         c = get_config()
         verify(c)
         generate(c)
         apply(c)
     except ConfigError as e:
         print(e)
         exit(1)