How Does Dyn Secondary DNS Work?

Dyn Secondary DNS provides an option for those who may host their own DNS internally, or at another managed services provider, to leverage Dyn’s unicast DNS network (same as Standard DNS) as a backup. Your primary DNS server will send us a notification when the zone information has changed (eg., adding a new record, modifying a record, etc.) in the form of a whole new zone file, and our local copy of the zone will then reflect the newest update. In the less than ideal situation where your primary DNS is unreachable, having Dyn Secondary DNS will ensure that your site is still available.

Creating Secondary DNS

1.  Log into your Dyn account.
2.  Click Add Zone/Domain Services.
3.  Use the following information to complete the Add Zone Services form:    Domain Name: Name of the domain you are creating Dyn Secondary DNS for. Caution: Only input the domain name (eg. yourdomain.com); http://yourdomain.com or www.yourdomain.com will not work if they are used. Name Registration Selections Register a new domain name: If you want to do this, you’re looking to purchase a domain name that currently doesn’t exist. Transfer an existing domain: In this option, your domain exists with another registrar (e.g., Go Daddy, etc.) and you wish to transfer it to Dyn. By selecting this option, this process will renew the domain name for a one-year period (or the minimum registration time) after the transfer has happened. None, keep in other provider account: If you select this option, your domain is already registered with us or some other provider. DNS Selections Secondary DNS: Select this option. This is what you’re setting up. When the form has been completed, click Continue to advance to the next step.
4.    Requested Domains The domain(s) you have requested to create Dyn Secondary DNS service for are listed here. Note: Check to ensure they are spelled correctly as Dyn Secondary DNS instances cannot have their associated domain name modified after purchase. Secondary DNS Insert the Master IP address of the server that you’ll be configuring Secondary DNS for. Ensure that this server is able to do zone transfers and send notifies to the following IP addresses: 147.154.108.185,147.154.111.143,130.35.2.126 When the confirmation step has been completed, click Continue to advance to the next step.
5.  Purchase your new Dyn Secondary DNS. After completing the checkout process, the newly configured Secondary DNS service will accept zone transfers and send notifies to the IP address you provided. A zone becomes active on the edge in approximately 10 to 20 minutes.

Standard DNS/Secondary DNS Conversion

As your needs grow and change, you may find that you need to move from one of our DNS services to the other. Since Dyn Standard DNS and Secondary DNS use the same set of nameservers, it is relatively easy to switch between services; however, there is more than one way to do it.

Typically, you have two options: a painless changeover that can take a few days, but loses no queries, or a rapid changeover that can be completed in 10 to 20 minutes in exchange for 10 to 20 minutes of downtime. The instructions for both types of transitions can be found below.

“I can’t afford downtime!” – Lossless Transition

Dyn Standard DNS to Secondary DNS

1. 1. Submit a delegation change to remove our nsx.mydyndns.org or nsxxxx.dns.dyn.com nameservers and replace them with your own primary nameserver.
   2. Wait four days. This will ensure no queries are coming to our nameservers for your domain.
   3. Cancel the Dyn Standard DNS zone through the zone’s configuration page.
   4. Create a new Secondary DNS zone for your domain.
   5. On the Preferences page for your Secondary DNS zone, click Force Activation. This will force our servers to transfer the zone file from your primary nameserver.
   6. Wait 10 to 20 minutes for the preactivation to take effect. (You can test our servers using dig queries for your domain’s SOA to verify that they are answering.)
   7. Add our secondary nameservers to your domain’s delegation, which you can find by visiting the Zone Level Services page. Then scroll to the bottom of the page for Your Account’s Nameservers.
   8. Whitelist the following IP addresses to allow transfers and sending notifies:
      1. 147.154.108.185
      2. 147.154.111.143
      3. 130.35.2.126

Secondary DNS to Dyn Standard DNS

1. 1. Submit a delegation change to remove our nsx.mydyndns.org or nsxxxx.dns.dyn.com nameservers from your domain, leaving only your primary nameserver.
   2. Wait four days. This will ensure no queries are coming to our nameservers for your domain.
   3. Cancel the Secondary DNS zone for your domain through the zone’s configuration page.
   4. Create a new Dyn Standard DNS zone for your domain. Configure the zone.
   5. On the Preferences page of your Dyn Standard DNS zone, click Force Activation. This will force our servers to load your zone file prior to delegation.
   6. Wait 10 to 20 minutes for the preactivation to take effect. (You can test our servers using dig queries for your domain’s SOA to verify that they are answering.)
   7. Add our nameservers to your domain’s delegation, which you can find by visiting the Zone Level Services page. Scroll to the bottom of the page for Your Account’s Nameservers. Then remove your primary nameserver from the list. (Ensure that your primary nameserver is still answering for up to four days after the change to ensure it still answers cached queries.)

“Downtime isn’t important; I don’t want to wait.” – Rapid Transition

Dyn Standard DNS to Secondary DNS

1. 1. Submit a delegation change to remove nsx.mydyndns.org or nsxxxx.dns.dyn.com and replace it with your primary nameserver.
   2. Cancel your Dyn Standard DNS zone through the zone’s configuration page.
   3. Create a Secondary DNS zone for your domain.
   4. Whitelist the following IP addresses to allow transfers and sending notifies:
      1. 147.154.108.185
      2. 147.154.111.143
      3. 130.35.2.126

Secondary DNS to Dyn Standard DNS

1. 1. Submit a delegation change to add nsx.mydyndns.org or nsxxxx.dns.dyn.com to your domain, and remove your primary nameserver from the list.
   2. Cancel your Secondary DNS zone through the zone’s configuration page.
   3. Create a Dyn Standard DNS zone for your domain.

<< Dyn Help Center