diff --git a/crates/ott-common/src/discovery/dns.rs b/crates/ott-common/src/discovery/dns.rs
index f675d3095..eb5797c3f 100644
--- a/crates/ott-common/src/discovery/dns.rs
+++ b/crates/ott-common/src/discovery/dns.rs
@@ -1,8 +1,11 @@
+use std::str::FromStr;
+
 use async_trait::async_trait;
 use hickory_resolver::{
     config::{NameServerConfig, Protocol, ResolverConfig, ResolverOpts},
     TokioAsyncResolver,
 };
+use serde::Deserializer;
 use tracing::info;
 
 use super::*;
@@ -12,6 +15,8 @@ pub struct DnsDiscoveryConfig {
     /// The port that monoliths should be listening on for load balancer connections.
     pub service_port: u16,
     /// The DNS server to query. Optional. If not provided, the system configuration will be used instead.
+    #[serde(deserialize_with = "deserialize_dns_server")]
+    #[serde(default)]
     pub dns_server: Option<SocketAddr>,
     /// The A record to query. If using docker-compose, this should be the service name for the monolith.
     pub query: String,
@@ -21,6 +26,21 @@ pub struct DnsDiscoveryConfig {
     pub polling_interval: Option<Duration>,
 }
 
+fn deserialize_dns_server<'de, D>(deserializer: D) -> Result<Option<SocketAddr>, D::Error>
+where
+    D: Deserializer<'de>,
+{
+    let buf = String::deserialize(deserializer)?;
+
+    match IpAddr::from_str(&buf) {
+        Ok(ip) => Ok(Some(SocketAddr::new(ip, 53))),
+        Err(_) => match SocketAddr::from_str(&buf) {
+            Ok(socket) => Ok(Some(socket)),
+            Err(e) => Err(serde::de::Error::custom(e)),
+        },
+    }
+}
+
 pub struct DnsServiceDiscoverer {
     config: DnsDiscoveryConfig,
 }
@@ -76,7 +96,7 @@ mod test {
     use serde_json::json;
 
     #[test]
-    fn server_deserializes_correctly() {
+    fn dns_server_deserializes_correctly() {
         let json = json!({
             "service_port": 8080,
             "dns_server": "127.0.0.1:100",
@@ -88,4 +108,43 @@ mod test {
 
         assert_eq!(config.dns_server, Some(([127, 0, 0, 1], 100).into()));
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn dns_server_deserialization_defaults_to_port_53() {
+        let json = json!({
+            "service_port": 8080,
+            "dns_server": "127.0.0.1",
+            "query": "".to_string(),
+        });
+
+        let config: DnsDiscoveryConfig =
+            serde_json::from_value(json).expect("Failed to deserialize json");
+
+        assert_eq!(config.dns_server, Some(([127, 0, 0, 1], 53).into()));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn dns_server_is_optional() {
+        let json = json!({
+            "service_port": 8080,
+            "query": "".to_string(),
+        });
+
+        let config: DnsDiscoveryConfig =
+            serde_json::from_value(json).expect("Failed to deserialize json");
+
+        assert!(config.dns_server.is_none())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn dns_server_failed_deserialization_throws_error() {
+        let json = json!({
+            "not": "valid",
+            "DnsDiscoveryConfig": true,
+        });
+
+        let config: Result<DnsDiscoveryConfig, serde_json::Error> = serde_json::from_value(json);
+
+        assert!(config.is_err())
+    }
 }