Overview
This topic is intended for users of the paid edition of Alibaba Cloud Domain Name System (DNS). It describes the processing rules that Alibaba Cloud DNS executes when your purchased Alibaba Cloud DNS instance expires or you unbind a domain name from the instance.
Terms
Term | Description |
Alibaba Cloud DNS instance ID | The unique ID of an Alibaba Cloud DNS instance, which is automatically generated after you purchase the paid edition of Alibaba Cloud DNS. You can view valid instance IDs on the Version Packages tab in the Alibaba Cloud DNS console. |
Release an Alibaba Cloud DNS instance | The action that the system takes to delete an Alibaba Cloud DNS instance in the Alibaba Cloud DNS console. After the instance is deleted, the paid DNS cluster associated with the instance becomes invalid. |
Bind a domain name | The action of binding a domain name to an Alibaba Cloud DNS instance after you purchase the paid edition of Alibaba Cloud DNS. Then, you can enjoy the paid domain name resolution services of Alibaba Cloud DNS. |
Unbind a domain name | The action of unbinding a domain name from an Alibaba Cloud DNS instance. Then, you can bind the domain name to another Alibaba Cloud DNS instance. |
Free DNS cluster | The cluster of DNS servers that provide free services of Alibaba Cloud DNS. |
Paid DNS cluster | The cluster of DNS servers that provide paid services of Alibaba Cloud DNS. |
DNS records | The domain name resolution records. You can add DNS records in the Alibaba Cloud DNS console. |
Update prohibition lock | A lock feature provided by the domain name registrar. When enabled, this lock protects the registration information and DNS server name of a domain name from being changed. |
DNS cluster degradation | The action that the system automatically takes to change the name of the registered DNS server to degrade the DNS cluster from the paid edition to the free edition. Such degradation occurs after you unbind a domain name from the related Alibaba Cloud DNS instance or seven days after the related Alibaba Cloud DNS instance expires. |
Rules on the expiration of Alibaba Cloud DNS instances
If you do not renew the subscription to an Alibaba Cloud DNS instance on the day it expires, your paid DNS cluster continues to provide domain name resolution services for you without interruption.
If you renew the subscription to an Alibaba Cloud DNS instance within seven days (the seventh day excluded) after it expires, your paid DNS cluster continues to provide domain name resolution services for you without interruption.
If you do not renew the subscription to an Alibaba Cloud DNS instance on the seventh day after it expires, the system automatically releases the instance and degrades the paid DNS cluster to the free edition. For more information, see Impacts of the expiration of Alibaba Cloud DNS instances.
On the seventh day after an Alibaba Cloud DNS instance is released, the DNS records stored in the paid DNS cluster are deleted. For more information, see Impacts of the expiration of Alibaba Cloud DNS instances.
Impacts of the expiration of Alibaba Cloud DNS instances
The following table lists the impacts of instance expiration and suggested solutions for users who intend to continue using the paid DNS cluster after an Alibaba Cloud DNS instance expires.
Status | Impact | Solution |
Within seven days (the seventh day excluded) after an Alibaba Cloud DNS instance expires | You can continue to use the paid DNS cluster without interrupting your domain name resolution services. | Renew the subscription to the expired Alibaba Cloud DNS instance. |
On the seventh day after an Alibaba Cloud DNS instance expires | The system automatically releases the instance and stops the paid services, such as storing DNS records. The paid DNS cluster is degraded to the free edition. | The instance is released on the seventh day after expiration. You cannot continue to use the same instance by renewing subscription. To resume the domain name resolution services, follow these steps: 1. Purchase a new Alibaba Cloud DNS instance. 2. Bind your domain name to the new instance. 3. For an Alibaba Cloud domain name, the system automatically upgrades the DNS cluster from the free edition to the paid edition. For a third-party domain name, you must manually change the name of the registered DNS server to complete the upgrade. 4. If DNS records are no longer stored due to instance release, restart the service of storing DNS records. Otherwise, skip this step. |
Within seven days (the seventh day excluded) after an Alibaba Cloud DNS instance is released | After the instance is released, DNS records stored in the paid DNS cluster are retained for six days. However, no new DNS records will be stored. | After the instance is released, you can neither find it in the Alibaba Cloud DNS console, nor continue to use the same instance by renewing subscription. To resume the domain name resolution services, follow these steps: 1. Purchase a new Alibaba Cloud DNS instance. 2. Bind your domain name to the new instance. 3. If DNS records are no longer stored due to instance release, restart the service of storing DNS records. Otherwise, skip this step. 4. Change the name of the registered DNS server according to the DNS server status message on the Manage DNS page in the Alibaba Cloud DNS console. |
On the seventh days after an Alibaba Cloud DNS instance is released | The DNS records stored in the paid DNS cluster are deleted. The system checks the DNS server status in the Alibaba Cloud DNS console. If the DNS cluster has been degraded to the free edition, your domain name resolution services will not be interrupted. If the degradation fails, the domain name resolution services cannot work properly. | To resume the domain name resolution services, follow these steps: 1. Purchase a new Alibaba Cloud DNS instance. 2. Bind your domain name to the new instance. 3. The system automatically synchronizes the DNS records stored in the free DNS cluster to the paid one. 4. The system automatically upgrades the free DNS cluster to the paid edition. If the upgrade fails, change the name of the registered DNS server at the domain name registrar according to the DNS server status message on the Manage DNS page in the Alibaba Cloud DNS console. |
The following table lists the suggested check items for users who intend to stop using the paid DNS cluster after an Alibaba Cloud DNS instance expires.
Check the DNS cluster based on the check items listed in the table and make sure that all the requirements are met. After that, you can smoothly degrade the paid DNS cluster to the free edition.
Checklist for DNS cluster degradation
Feature | Check item | Operation |
DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) | Whether DNSSEC is enabled | Ignore this item if the DNSSEC service is disabled. If the DNSSEC service is enabled, remove the related delegation signer (DS) record at your domain name registrar and then disable DNSSEC in the Alibaba Cloud DNS console. |
Time to live (TTL) | Whether the minimum TTL is less than 600 seconds | Ignore this item if the minimum TTL is equal to or longer than 600 seconds. Otherwise, change the minimum TTL to 600 seconds or longer by modifying DNS records. |
Host record | Whether the subdomain level specified by the host record is higher than 5 | Ignore this item if the subdomain level specified by the host record is lower than or equal to 5. Otherwise, change the subdomain level to 5 or lower by modifying DNS records. |
Resolution line | Whether the resolution line in use is beyond the specification of the free Alibaba Cloud DNS service | Resolution lines supported by the free Alibaba Cloud DNS service include the default line, lines deployed outside the Chinese mainland, and lines provided by China Unicom, China Mobile, China Telecom, and CERNET. Make sure that you use one of the preceding lines or the default line. |
Weight | Whether the number of IP addresses set for a single domain name or resolution line is greater than 10 | Ignore this item if the IP addresses set for a single domain name or resolution line is less than or equal to 10. After the DNS cluster is degraded to the free edition, the excessive IP addresses will become invalid. We recommend that you delete or suspend the useless IP addresses. |
URL forwarding | Whether the number of configured URLs for URL forwarding is greater than two | Ignore this item if the number of URLs configured for URL forwarding is equal to or less than 2. After the DNS cluster is degraded to the free edition, the excessive URLs will become invalid. |
Secondary DNS | Whether secondary DNS is enabled | Ignore this item if secondary DNS is disabled. After the DNS cluster is degraded to the free edition, secondary DNS will become invalid. |
Data backup | Whether data backup is enabled | Ignore this item if data backup is disabled. After the DNS cluster is degraded to the free edition, data backup will become invalid. |
Update prohibition lock | Whether the update prohibition lock is enabled | Ignore this item if the update prohibition lock is disabled. Otherwise, disable the update prohibition lock at the domain name registrar. For more information, see Update prohibition lock service. |
DNS server status | Whether the DNS server status is normal on the Manage DNS page in the Alibaba Cloud DNS console | Ignore this item if the DNS server status is normal. Otherwise, change the name of the registered DNS server at the domain name registrar. |
Rules on unbinding domain names
You can unbind a domain name from an Alibaba Cloud DNS instance. After that, the paid DNS cluster will be degraded to the free edition. If you intend to stop using the paid DNS cluster, you can perform this operation. After you unbind a domain name, check the DNS cluster based on the check items in the Checklist for DNS cluster degradation and make sure that all the requirements are met. Then, you can smoothly degrade the paid DNS cluster to the free edition.
After you unbind a domain name, Alibaba Cloud DNS stops storing DNS records in the paid DNS cluster.
If you unbind an Alibaba Cloud domain name with the update prohibition lock disabled, the system automatically changes the name of the registered DNS server to degrade the paid DNS cluster to the free edition.
If you unbind an Alibaba Cloud domain name with the update prohibition lock enabled, the system cannot change the name of the registered DNS server. You must manually change the DNS server name at the domain name registrar according to the DNS server status message on the Manage DNS page in the Alibaba Cloud DNS console. Otherwise, you cannot continue to use the domain name resolution services.
If you unbind a third-party domain name, you must manually change the name of the registered DNS server at the domain name registrar according to the DNS server status message on the Manage DNS page in the Alibaba Cloud DNS console. Otherwise, you cannot continue to use the domain name resolution services.