diff --git a/kubernetes/linera-validator/static/kube-dns-upstream-service.yaml b/kubernetes/linera-validator/static/kube-dns-upstream-service.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..88f956133c17
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kubernetes/linera-validator/static/kube-dns-upstream-service.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: Service
+metadata:
+  name: kube-dns-upstream
+  namespace: kube-system
+  labels:
+    app: node-local-dns
+    k8s-app: kube-dns-upstream
+spec:
+  selector:
+    k8s-app: kube-dns
+  ports:
+    - name: dns
+      port: 53
+      protocol: UDP
+      targetPort: 53
+    - name: dns-tcp
+      port: 53
+      protocol: TCP
+      targetPort: 53
+  type: ClusterIP
diff --git a/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/node-local-dns-config.yaml b/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/node-local-dns-config.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..3e460afc05f8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/node-local-dns-config.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+{{- if .Values.nodeLocalDns.enabled }}
+{{- if not .Values.nodeLocalDns.kubeDnsIp }}
+{{- fail "nodeLocalDns.kubeDnsIp is required when nodeLocalDns is enabled. Get it with: kubectl get svc kube-dns -n kube-system -o jsonpath='{.spec.clusterIP}'" }}
+{{- end }}
+{{- /* Get the kube-dns-upstream service IP. If it doesn't exist yet, use kubeDnsUpstreamIp from values or fall back to kubeDnsIp */ -}}
+{{- $upstreamSvc := lookup "v1" "Service" "kube-system" "kube-dns-upstream" }}
+{{- $upstreamIp := "" }}
+{{- if $upstreamSvc }}
+{{- $upstreamIp = $upstreamSvc.spec.clusterIP }}
+{{- else if .Values.nodeLocalDns.kubeDnsUpstreamIp }}
+{{- $upstreamIp = .Values.nodeLocalDns.kubeDnsUpstreamIp }}
+{{- else }}
+{{- /* First deploy: upstream service doesn't exist yet, will be created by this release */ -}}
+{{- /* Use kubeDnsIp as fallback - the DaemonSet will need to be restarted after service is created */ -}}
+{{- $upstreamIp = .Values.nodeLocalDns.kubeDnsIp }}
+{{- end }}
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: ConfigMap
+metadata:
+  name: node-local-dns
+  namespace: kube-system
+  labels:
+    app: node-local-dns
+  annotations:
+    # Force ConfigMap update when upstream IP changes
+    nodelocaldns.kubernetes.io/upstream-ip: {{ $upstreamIp | quote }}
+data:
+  Corefile: |
+    {{ .Values.nodeLocalDns.clusterDomain }}:53 {
+        errors
+        cache {
+            success {{ .Values.nodeLocalDns.successTtl }}
+            denial {{ .Values.nodeLocalDns.denialTtl }}
+        }
+        reload
+        loop
+        bind {{ .Values.nodeLocalDns.localDnsIp }}
+        forward . {{ $upstreamIp }} {
+            force_tcp
+        }
+        prometheus :9253
+        health {{ .Values.nodeLocalDns.localDnsIp }}:8080
+    }
+    in-addr.arpa:53 {
+        errors
+        cache 30
+        reload
+        loop
+        bind {{ .Values.nodeLocalDns.localDnsIp }}
+        forward . {{ $upstreamIp }} {
+            force_tcp
+        }
+        prometheus :9253
+    }
+    ip6.arpa:53 {
+        errors
+        cache 30
+        reload
+        loop
+        bind {{ .Values.nodeLocalDns.localDnsIp }}
+        forward . {{ $upstreamIp }} {
+            force_tcp
+        }
+        prometheus :9253
+    }
+    .:53 {
+        errors
+        cache 30
+        reload
+        loop
+        bind {{ .Values.nodeLocalDns.localDnsIp }}
+        {{- if .Values.nodeLocalDns.upstreamServers }}
+        forward . {{ .Values.nodeLocalDns.upstreamServers }}
+        {{- else }}
+        forward . /etc/resolv.conf
+        {{- end }}
+        prometheus :9253
+    }
+{{- end }}
diff --git a/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/node-local-dns-daemonset.yaml b/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/node-local-dns-daemonset.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..22d8e4d3d425
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/node-local-dns-daemonset.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+{{- if .Values.nodeLocalDns.enabled }}
+apiVersion: apps/v1
+kind: DaemonSet
+metadata:
+  name: node-local-dns
+  namespace: kube-system
+  labels:
+    app: node-local-dns
+spec:
+  selector:
+    matchLabels:
+      app: node-local-dns
+  updateStrategy:
+    rollingUpdate:
+      maxUnavailable: 10%
+    type: RollingUpdate
+  template:
+    metadata:
+      labels:
+        app: node-local-dns
+      annotations:
+        prometheus.io/scrape: "true"
+        prometheus.io/port: "9253"
+        # Trigger pod restart when ConfigMap changes (includes upstream IP)
+        checksum/config: {{ include (print $.Template.BasePath "/node-local-dns-config.yaml") . | sha256sum }}
+    spec:
+      serviceAccountName: node-local-dns
+      priorityClassName: system-node-critical
+      hostNetwork: true
+      dnsPolicy: Default
+      tolerations:
+        - key: CriticalAddonsOnly
+          operator: Exists
+        - operator: Exists
+          effect: NoSchedule
+        - operator: Exists
+          effect: NoExecute
+      containers:
+        - name: node-cache
+          image: "{{ .Values.nodeLocalDns.image }}:{{ .Values.nodeLocalDns.imageTag }}"
+          imagePullPolicy: {{ .Values.nodeLocalDns.imagePullPolicy }}
+          args:
+            - "-localip"
+            - "{{ .Values.nodeLocalDns.localDnsIp }}"
+            - "-conf"
+            - "/etc/Corefile"
+            - "-upstreamsvc"
+            - "kube-dns"
+            - "-skipteardown=true"
+            - "-setupinterface=true"
+            - "-setupiptables=true"
+          securityContext:
+            privileged: true
+          ports:
+            - name: dns
+              containerPort: 53
+              protocol: UDP
+            - name: dns-tcp
+              containerPort: 53
+              protocol: TCP
+            - name: metrics
+              containerPort: 9253
+              protocol: TCP
+          livenessProbe:
+            httpGet:
+              host: {{ .Values.nodeLocalDns.localDnsIp }}
+              path: /health
+              port: 8080
+            initialDelaySeconds: 60
+            timeoutSeconds: 5
+          resources:
+            {{- toYaml .Values.nodeLocalDns.resources | nindent 12 }}
+          volumeMounts:
+            - name: config
+              mountPath: /etc/Corefile
+              subPath: Corefile
+            - name: xtables-lock
+              mountPath: /run/xtables.lock
+              readOnly: false
+      volumes:
+        - name: config
+          configMap:
+            name: node-local-dns
+            items:
+              - key: Corefile
+                path: Corefile
+        - name: xtables-lock
+          hostPath:
+            path: /run/xtables.lock
+            type: FileOrCreate
+{{- end }}
diff --git a/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/node-local-dns-service.yaml b/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/node-local-dns-service.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..f19c63314a18
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/node-local-dns-service.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+{{- if .Values.nodeLocalDns.enabled }}
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: Service
+metadata:
+  name: node-local-dns
+  namespace: kube-system
+  labels:
+    app: node-local-dns
+spec:
+  clusterIP: None
+  selector:
+    app: node-local-dns
+  ports:
+    - name: metrics
+      port: 9253
+      targetPort: 9253
+      protocol: TCP
+{{- end }}
diff --git a/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/node-local-dns-serviceaccount.yaml b/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/node-local-dns-serviceaccount.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..d6aa7d473a24
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/node-local-dns-serviceaccount.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{{- if .Values.nodeLocalDns.enabled }}
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: ServiceAccount
+metadata:
+  name: node-local-dns
+  namespace: kube-system
+  labels:
+    app: node-local-dns
+{{- end }}
diff --git a/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/otel-collector-router-deployment.yaml b/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/otel-collector-router-deployment.yaml
index e6a4df93dc23..c3b5b90424f4 100644
--- a/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/otel-collector-router-deployment.yaml
+++ b/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/otel-collector-router-deployment.yaml
@@ -26,6 +26,32 @@ spec:
       tolerations:
         {{- toYaml .Values.otelCollector.router.tolerations | nindent 8 }}
       {{- end }}
+      {{- if .Values.nodeLocalDns.enabled }}
+      dnsPolicy: None
+      dnsConfig:
+        nameservers:
+          - {{ .Values.nodeLocalDns.localDnsIp }}
+        searches:
+          - {{ .Release.Namespace }}.svc.cluster.local
+          - svc.cluster.local
+          - cluster.local
+        options:
+          - name: ndots
+            value: "5"
+      {{- end }}
+      initContainers:
+        - name: wait-for-sampler-dns
+          image: busybox:1.36
+          command:
+            - sh
+            - -c
+            - |
+              echo "Waiting for sampler DNS to be resolvable..."
+              until nslookup otel-collector-sampler-headless.{{ .Release.Namespace }}.svc.cluster.local; do
+                echo "DNS not ready, retrying in 2 seconds..."
+                sleep 2
+              done
+              echo "DNS resolution successful!"
       containers:
         - name: otel-collector-router
           image: {{ .Values.otelCollector.router.image }}:{{ .Values.otelCollector.router.imageTag }}
diff --git a/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/proxy.yaml b/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/proxy.yaml
index e64b99d75e40..a5d81d1f4433 100644
--- a/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/proxy.yaml
+++ b/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/proxy.yaml
@@ -58,6 +58,19 @@ spec:
         value: "true"
         effect: NoSchedule
       {{- end }}
+      {{- if .Values.nodeLocalDns.enabled }}
+      dnsPolicy: None
+      dnsConfig:
+        nameservers:
+          - {{ .Values.nodeLocalDns.localDnsIp }}
+        searches:
+          - {{ .Release.Namespace }}.svc.cluster.local
+          - svc.cluster.local
+          - cluster.local
+        options:
+          - name: ndots
+            value: "5"
+      {{- end }}
       terminationGracePeriodSeconds: 10
       initContainers:
         - name: linera-proxy-initializer
diff --git a/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/shards.yaml b/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/shards.yaml
index 136ee4f85847..289c6e150357 100644
--- a/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/shards.yaml
+++ b/kubernetes/linera-validator/templates/shards.yaml
@@ -38,6 +38,19 @@ spec:
         value: "true"
         effect: NoSchedule
       {{- end }}
+      {{- if .Values.nodeLocalDns.enabled }}
+      dnsPolicy: None
+      dnsConfig:
+        nameservers:
+          - {{ .Values.nodeLocalDns.localDnsIp }}
+        searches:
+          - {{ .Release.Namespace }}.svc.cluster.local
+          - svc.cluster.local
+          - cluster.local
+        options:
+          - name: ndots
+            value: "5"
+      {{- end }}
       terminationGracePeriodSeconds: 10
       initContainers:
         - name: linera-server-initializer
diff --git a/kubernetes/linera-validator/values.yaml b/kubernetes/linera-validator/values.yaml
index 70276c114ba0..995ab53d71ce 100644
--- a/kubernetes/linera-validator/values.yaml
+++ b/kubernetes/linera-validator/values.yaml
@@ -360,3 +360,56 @@ otelCollector:
   # Tempo endpoint (where Tier 2 exports to)
   tempoEndpoint: "tempo.tempo.svc.cluster.local:4317"
   tempoInsecure: true
+
+# ============================================================================
+# NodeLocal DNSCache - Reduces CoreDNS load by caching DNS at node level
+# ============================================================================
+# Deploys a DaemonSet that runs a DNS cache on every node, reducing
+# latency and load on the cluster's CoreDNS pods.
+
+nodeLocalDns:
+  # Enable/disable NodeLocal DNSCache
+  enabled: false
+
+  # Local DNS IP - link-local address for the node cache
+  # Must not conflict with any existing cluster IPs
+  localDnsIp: "169.254.20.10"
+
+  # kube-dns service IP - REQUIRED for iptables interception
+  # Get this with: kubectl get svc kube-dns -n kube-system -o jsonpath='{.spec.clusterIP}'
+  # For GKE, typically 10.x.0.10 where x depends on your service CIDR
+  kubeDnsIp: ""
+
+  # kube-dns-upstream service IP - Used for forwarding DNS queries
+  # This service bypasses NOTRACK iptables rules, allowing NAT to work properly
+  # If empty, Helm will look up the service IP automatically (requires service to exist)
+  # On first deploy, falls back to kubeDnsIp (requires second helm upgrade to fix)
+  kubeDnsUpstreamIp: ""
+
+  # Image configuration
+  image: "registry.k8s.io/dns/k8s-dns-node-cache"
+  imageTag: "1.23.1"
+  imagePullPolicy: "IfNotPresent"
+
+  # Resource limits - lineractl calculates proportional values based on VM vCPUs
+  # Shard nodes have high DNS load from ScyllaDB connection queries
+  resources:
+    requests:
+      cpu: "400m"
+      memory: "64Mi"
+    limits:
+      cpu: "1200m"
+      memory: "256Mi"
+
+  # DNS configuration
+  # Cluster DNS domain (usually cluster.local)
+  clusterDomain: "cluster.local"
+
+  # Upstream DNS servers for external queries (empty = use node's resolv.conf)
+  upstreamServers: ""
+
+  # Cache TTL settings (in seconds)
+  # How long to cache successful DNS responses
+  successTtl: 30
+  # How long to cache negative DNS responses (NXDOMAIN)
+  denialTtl: 5