CUSTOMIZING PRIMARY DNS SERVICES
rebranding our primary DNS service
Rebranding our primary DNS service is one of the most challenging features of
Nettica. This FAQ explains the process. While situations vary, we
recommend following the steps in order. There are checks in place to
prevent you from doing any serious damage to your service, but since there
are actions you can take beyond our control, problems with rebranding are not
covered by our SLA. Before undertaking this work, please contact support
if you have questions.
This FAQ will walk you through the process of creating five
nameservers (ns1-ns5.example.com), that correspond to
dns1-dns5.nettica.com. This includes creating the A records, setting up
your domain registration properly, creating templates, and finally adding
domains using the new nameserver definitions. Rebranding primary DNS
service is one of the many features of our Bulk DNS
Service; it is not included with stand-alone DNS service.
STEP ONE: CREATE A RECORDS
The first thing you must do is create A (host) records that correspond to
Nettica's DNS servers. The table below lists five nameservers. You
should create A records for all these domains regardless of whether you intend
to use all of our servers. It cannot be stressed enough that you must do
this first. Our nameservers are authoritative nameservers; they will not
go out on the Internet to resolve addresses, so if we are not hosting the DNS
for these A records, our servers will not be able to resolve the addresses, and
therefore, your rebranding will not work.
|
|
|
HOST NAME
|
TYPE
|
TTL
|
DATA
|
EDIT
|
DELETE
|
| example.com |
Host (A) |
Default |
10.0.0.1 |
 |
 |
| ns1.example.com |
Host (A) |
Default |
64.94.136.11 |
|
|
| ns2.example.com |
Host (A) |
Default |
64.237.45.34 |
|
|
| ns3.example.com |
Host (A) |
Default |
64.94.136.13 |
|
|
| ns4.example.com |
Host (A) |
Default |
69.41.170.223 |
|
|
| ns5.example.com |
Host (A) |
Default |
212.100.247.15 |
|
|
| www.example.com |
Alias (CNAME) |
Default |
example.com |
|
|
|
|
|
Now that the A records have been added, it's time to alter your domain
registration.
STEP TWO: ADDING NAMESERVERS TO YOUR DOMAIN REGISTRATION
In the first step your setup the A records so that our servers can resolve the
addresses. In addition, you must add the same servers, and IP addresses,
to your domain registration. This may be called "create new host", or
"create custom nameserver", "child name servers", etc. Creating
these records in your domain registration adds the record's to the Internet's
root servers (or more precisely, your registry's root servers). The
records must be in both places, and they must match. If you cannot
complete this step do not continue and contact support. While we do not
require that you host your domain registration at Nettica, if you cannot
setup these records using your current registrar, transferring your domain to
Nettica will ensure that you can. If you already have custom
nameservers defined, and you'd like to make a smooth transition to Nettica,
save this step for last.
STEP THREE: CREATING A TEMPLATE
The next step is to create a template. You can use the default template,
or create a new one specifically for this occassion, or modify an existing
one. In this example we will modify the default template to include new
SOA and NS records. Click on the "Bulk DNS Management" link from your
Account Summary, then click on the "Edit Primary DNS Template" link on the next
page. Finally, click on "SOA & NS".
PRIMARY DNS
TEMPLATE
|
|
|
|
HOST NAME
|
TYPE
|
TTL
|
DATA
|
EDIT
|
DELETE
|
| {domain} |
A |
Default |
10.0.0.1 |
 |
|
| mail.{domain} |
A |
Default |
10.0.0.1 |
|
|
| www.{domain} |
CNAME |
Default |
{domain} |
|
|
|
|
Modify the SOA values to your preference. You should once again map the IP
addresses on the left to the A records for your domain. Click "SAVE
CHANGES" when you are finished making your modifications.
PRIMARY DNS
TEMPLATE
|
|
|
|
HOST NAME
|
TYPE
|
TTL
|
DATA
|
EDIT
|
DELETE
|
| {domain} |
A |
Default |
10.0.0.1 |
|
|
| {domain} |
SOA |
Default |
0
ns1.example.com
hostmaster.example.com
3600
900
86400
3600 |
|
|
| {domain} |
NS |
Default |
ns1.example.com |
|
|
| {domain} |
NS |
Default |
ns2.example.com |
|
|
| {domain} |
NS |
Default |
ns3.example.com |
|
|
| {domain} |
NS |
Default |
ns4.example.com |
|
|
| {domain} |
NS |
Default |
ns5.example.com |
|
|
| mail.{domain} |
A |
Default |
10.0.0.1 |
|
|
| www.{domain} |
CNAME |
Default |
{domain} |
|
|
|
|
Well, look at that! Your template is now significantly different with
those changes. You are now ready to begin adding or modifying
domains. It is not necessary to delete the domain in order to alter the
nameservers; you can apply the template to existing domains in your
account. (Please note that the 10.0.0.1 is just part of the example, you
should use your real IP addresses if you are duplicating this template).
STEP FOUR: ADDING SERVICE
ADD PRIMARY DNS SERVICES
|
|
Add domains to this group:
(leave blank for the default group) |
| Add domains above, one per line. The domain name must be the first item on the
line. Any additional information after the first whitespace chatacter
will be ignored. This is to allow easy cut-and-pasting of domain names. |
|
|
At this point, you can simply add domains as usual and they will be created
using the new nameserver definitions. As always, when you add the domain
you'll need to change the nameservers at the domain registrar to point to
your new nameservers (ns1-ns5.example.com). Please keep in mind that your
nameservers may not be in every registry, so some customers may have problems
adding your nameservers at their registrar. For example, if your domain
ends with ".biz", your nameservers may not automatically be added to the ".com"
registry. There are many other subtle problems you may run into trying to
run custom nameservers. If you cannot figure out what the problem is,
create the domain using our nameservers.
CONCLUSION
Rebranding, while challenging, offers some compelling
features. Rebranding is an ideal way to transition into
Nettica's DNS services with zero customer impact. It also demonstrates to
your customer base that you have the sophisticated technical capabilities, and
provides you fine-grained control over your service. If you need any help
with rebranding, our support team is always available to review your setup and
ensure your service is configured to your requirements.
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