Alibaba Cloud DNS:Smoothly migrate domain name resolution to Alibaba Cloud DNS

Preparations

1. Check and disable DNSSEC

   Check if your domain name has Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) enabled. If it is enabled, go to your domain name registrar to delete the DS record and disable DNSSEC. You can re-enable DNSSEC in the Alibaba Cloud console after the migration is complete. If your domain name does not use DNSSEC, you can skip this step.

   # Use the dig command to check the DNSSEC status of the domain name.
   # If the response contains an RRSIG record, DNSSEC is enabled.
   dig +dnssec yourdomain.com

2. Unlock the domain name

   Log on to the console of your domain name registrar. Disable the update lock, which may be indicated by a serverUpdateProhibited or clientUpdateProhibited status. If the domain name is locked, you cannot change its NS server addresses.

3. Export the original DNS records

   From your original DNS service provider, export all DNS records for the domain name that you want to migrate. If your original provider does not support batch export, you can manually enter the DNS records using the DNS record template. For more information about how to add different types of records, see Add a DNS record.

   Important

   Do not delete the records from your original DNS service provider during the migration. DNS queries may still be sent to the original provider for up to 48 hours. You can delete the original records one week after the migration is complete.

Procedure

Step 1. Purchase a Public Zone instance

Purchase a Public Zone instance to provide stable, high-quality public authoritative resolution for your domain name.

1. Go to Alibaba Cloud DNS - Instance Editions and select the Public Zone tab.

2. Click Buy Now.

You can also use the Free Edition of the authoritative DNS service. This edition does not offer an availability guarantee and has no points of presence (POPs) outside mainland China. The Free Edition is intended for trial purposes and is not recommended for production environments.

Step 2. Add a domain name

1. Go to Alibaba Cloud DNS - Public Zone.

2. On the Public Zone tab, click Add Zone.

3. Enter the domain name that you want to manage and select the Public Zone instance that you created. For more information about the parameters, see Purchase and attach a domain name.

   

Step 3. Import DNS records

1. Confirm the record format: In the preparation step, you exported the original DNS records. Ensure that the record format is correct, special characters are escaped, TTL values are reasonable, and there are no duplicate or conflicting records.

2. Import the DNS records: Click the target domain name to go to the Settings page. Click the Import/Export button to import the edited DNS records. If you are adding DNS records for the first time, select Full Update.

3. Verify that the DNS records have taken effect

   In the Network Probe Tool, enter the domain name, specify the record type that you want to verify, and enter the DNS server address that is assigned by the system. Then, click Detect Now. If the resolution result matches the imported record value, the DNS records that you added to Alibaba Cloud DNS have taken effect.

   You can also use the following commands to check if the DNS records have taken effect.

   dig @ns1.alidns.com yourdomain A
   dig @ns1.alidns.com yourdomain MX

Step 4. Change the DNS server addresses

1. Find the DNS server addresses assigned by Alibaba Cloud DNS

   1. On the Alibaba Cloud DNS - Public Zone page, find the target domain name.

   2. Hover over DNS Server IP Address to view the System-assigned NS. These are the addresses of the authoritative DNS servers that Alibaba Cloud assigns to your domain name.

      

2. Change the DNS servers

   Go to your domain name registrar and change the DNS server addresses to the addresses assigned by Alibaba Cloud DNS. The methods for changing DNS servers at different registrars are as follows:

   • Change DNS servers for a Tencent Cloud domain name

   • Change DNS servers for a Xinnet domain name

   • Change DNS servers for a Xinnet domain name

   • Change DNS servers for a Huawei Cloud domain name

   • Change DNS servers for a Baidu AI Cloud domain name

   • Change DNS servers for a West.cn domain name

   Important

   Change the DNS servers for your domain name during off-peak hours. Continuously monitor the resolution traffic. If a resolution error occurs, revert to the original DNS server addresses and save the context for troubleshooting. Proceed with the migration only after the issue is resolved.

Step 5. Analyze traffic

1. Use the traffic analysis feature of Alibaba Cloud DNS to check if resolution request traffic is correctly switching to Alibaba Cloud Public Authoritative DNS. You can analyze the data using the Request Source feature in the traffic analysis for Public Authoritative DNS. This feature shows which local DNS servers from different carriers and provinces are starting to send requests to Alibaba Cloud DNS. Monitor the resolution request data for at least 10 minutes. If the volume of requests for each domain name gradually increases, the migration is proceeding normally. For more information, see Domain name resolution statistics.

2. Use the analytics feature of your original DNS service to monitor changes in resolution traffic.

3. Monitor your business services for any abnormalities.

Step 6. Wait for the DNS server change to propagate globally (up to 48 hours)

It can take up to 48 hours for the DNS server change to propagate globally. During this time, some resolution traffic will still go to your original DNS service. Do not shut down the original service or modify DNS records during this period. If you must modify a record, update it at both your old and new DNS providers to maintain data consistency.

Step 7. Remove the original DNS records (Optional)

You can remove the original DNS records one week after you migrate the DNS service to Alibaba Cloud DNS.