Alibaba Cloud DNS:Domain name FAQ

When a domain expires, the registrar changes its DNS server addresses to expirens3.hichina.com and expirens4.hichina.com, which blocks recursive resolvers from reaching your authoritative servers and makes resolution unavailable.

The recovery time depends on your DNS configuration:

Scenario 1: Using the Free Edition of Alibaba Cloud DNS

The domain registry always returns the Free Edition cluster endpoint as the authoritative address, so Free Edition domains are unaffected by the DNS server change. After renewal, resolution returns to normal once the TTL expires (typically about 10 minutes).

Scenario 2: Using a Paid Edition of Alibaba Cloud DNS

With a Paid Edition, DNS server addresses are set to vip(1-8).alidns.com. After renewal, basic lines continue to work, but paid lines require up to 48 hours for global DNS propagation.

Scenario 3: Using a third-party DNS service

After renewal, the registrar restores the DNS server addresses to your previous provider. Allow up to 48 hours for global propagation. There is no way to speed up this process.

Workaround for faster recovery: The domain registry returns the Free Edition cluster endpoint as the authoritative address. You can temporarily use Alibaba Cloud DNS by adding records in the Alibaba Cloud DNS - Authoritative DNS console that match the records at your other DNS provider. After the TTL expires (typically 10 minutes), resolution returns to normal. Over the next 24 to 48 hours, resolution gradually shifts back to your original DNS provider.

To verify that resolution has recovered, run: nslookup example.com. Replace example.com with your actual domain name. If the command returns the expected IP address, resolution is working.

No. When a domain expires, the registrar redirects the authoritative address, so recursive resolvers cannot reach Alibaba Cloud DNS regardless of its operational state. After renewal, global resolution recovery takes 24 to 48 hours as changes propagate through caching servers respecting configured TTLs.

The domain check tool queries WHOIS, which does not update in real time. For current status, go to WHOIS Lookup and click Get Latest Information.

The cause depends on the error message:

• Scenario 1: "The domain name does not belong to the current account"

  Your domain is registered with Alibaba Cloud under a different account. Log on to the account that owns the domain. In the Domain Names console, click the domain on the All Domain Names tab, then click Transfer Between Accounts in the left navigation pane.

  Note

  • To understand how this affects DNS resolution, see How to avoid DNS resolution interruptions when transferring a domain name between accounts.

• Scenario 2: "The domain name has been added by another account"

  Use Retrieve Domain Name to move the domain to your current account. Retrieve a domain name.

Alibaba Cloud-registered domains cannot be deleted from the Alibaba Cloud DNS console. This prevents accidental removal of DNS records.

The domain is not in your account's authoritative domain list. This typically happens when the domain was purchased from another registrar. Verify the domain name is correct. If correct but still not found, add it to Alibaba Cloud DNS. Add a domain name.

Follow these steps to migrate the primary domain while preserving subdomain resolution. Example: primary domain example.com, subdomain api.example.com on Alibaba Cloud DNS:

1. Export DNS records from Alibaba Cloud, including NS records for api.example.com pointing to Alibaba Cloud DNS servers.

2. Import the records to the new DNS provider.

3. At your registrar, change the DNS servers for example.com to the new provider.

4. Keep the NS records in Alibaba Cloud DNS for at least 48 hours.

To verify that migration completed successfully, run: nslookup -type=NS api.example.com. Replace api.example.com with your actual subdomain. The output should show the Alibaba Cloud DNS server names assigned to your subdomain.

No, if you follow the correct steps. The following procedure focuses on preserving subdomain resolution. For full migration details, see Smoothly migrate DNS resolution for a domain name to Alibaba Cloud DNS.

Example: primary domain example.com, subdomain api.example.com on Alibaba Cloud DNS:

1. If example.com is not registered with Alibaba Cloud, add it to Alibaba Cloud DNS.

2. Add NS records for api.example.com under example.com, pointing to the Alibaba Cloud DNS servers assigned to the subdomain (listed on the subdomain's DNS Settings page).

3. At the registrar, change the DNS servers for example.com to Alibaba Cloud DNS.

4. Keep the NS records at the original provider for at least 48 hours.

To create a subdomain, add a DNS record. Enter your domain name prefix in the Host field (record name) and your server IP address in the Record Value field. For example, if your primary domain name is example.com and you want to set up the subdomain www.example.com, add an A record and enter www in the Host field. If you want to manage www.example.com and its subdomains independently, see Subdomain management.

Yes. Supported scenarios:

• Scenario 1: The primary domain uses a third-party DNS service, and the subdomain uses Alibaba Cloud DNS.

• Scenario 2: Both the primary domain and the subdomain use Alibaba Cloud DNS but are managed by different accounts.

• Scenario 3: Both the primary domain and subdomain use Alibaba Cloud DNS and are associated with the same account.

Subdomain management.

Adding a subdomain and assigning DNS servers are asynchronous. Wait a few minutes, refresh the page, then click the subdomain to open the DNS Settings page. The assigned server names appear in the notification area.

To verify that DNS server names have been assigned, run: nslookup -type=NS subdomain.example.com. Replace subdomain.example.com with your actual subdomain. The output should show the Alibaba Cloud DNS server names.

This depends on whether DNS records exist for the subdomain under the primary domain:

• If no records exist: This is expected. You need to add DNS records for the subdomain.

• If records exist: Adding a domain and synchronizing records from the primary domain are asynchronous operations. Wait a few minutes, then refresh the page.

This means Alibaba Cloud DNS cannot find NS records for the subdomain under the primary domain. To fix this, find the DNS server names on the subdomain's DNS Settings page, then add two NS records under the primary domain pointing to those servers.

For example, if the subdomain api.example.com is assigned DNS servers dns1.alidns.com and dns2.alidns.com, add the following NS records under example.com:

To verify the configuration, run: nslookup -type=NS api.example.com. The output should list the Alibaba Cloud DNS server names you configured.