What you can do with this service #

• Zone (domain) management: Manage DNS for multiple domains under a single subscription (each plan has a limit. For example, the Start plan allows up to 5 domains).
• Various DNS records: Supports 13 record types: A / AAAA / CNAME / MX / TXT / SPF / NS / SRV / PTR / CAA / SSHFP / NAPTR / RP.
• Zone import: Import the contents of your existing DNS from a zone file or via AXFR (zone transfer).
• Cloning settings: Copy the record configuration of an existing zone to another domain.
• DNSSEC: Enable DNSSEC per zone (register the DS record with your registrar).
• Failover / monitoring: Health-check A records and automatically switch over in the event of a failure.

Prerequisites #

• You can log in to our Client Area.
• Your DNS service subscription is valid (active).
• The domain name you want to register, along with the record details you want to configure (the IP for A, the host name for MX, the value for TXT, and so on).

Procedure #

1Open the DNS service management screen #

Log in to the Client Area and, from Services in the left menu, open DNS SERVICE. In the list of subscriptions, click the relevant plan name (for example, Start) to display the service details and the list of domains.

2Add a zone (domain) #

2-1. Click “Add domain”

In the domain list on the service details page, click Add domain (to register several at once, use “Add domains in bulk”).

2-2. Specify the domain name and initial contents, then submit

On the “Add a new zone” screen, specify the following and click Submit.

• Domain: Enter the root domain without www, like example.com.
• IP address: Leaving this blank is generally recommended (it is safer to explicitly add the records you need afterward).
• Zone contents: You can choose from four ways to populate the initial records.
  • Add entries manually: Create an empty zone and enter records by hand later.
  • Import records from a zone file: Paste and import a zone file, such as one in BIND format.
  • Import records from a name server (AXFR): Pull them in from your current DNS via zone transfer.
  • Clone entries from another domain: Copy the record configuration of an existing zone.

If you already have existing DNS

When moving over a domain that is already running on another DNS, importing it (via zone file / AXFR) rather than creating it empty helps prevent records from being missed during migration. Even after the zone has been created, you can import them from “Import zone contents” in the zone editor.

3Open the zone and review the record list #

From the domain list, click the name of the domain you want to edit to open the zone editor. Records are listed by type (NS / A / MX, etc.), with Edit / Delete on the right side of each row.

4Add a DNS record #

4-1. Select a record type and click “Add”

In “Add a new record” at the top of the zone editor, select the type you want to add (A / CNAME / MX / TXT, etc.) and click Add. The input form opens.

4-2. Enter the values and submit (example: an A record)

For an A record, you mainly enter the following fields.

• Name: Enter the subdomain portion (the domain name is shown to the right). To set it on the root (the domain itself), leave it blank; for the www subdomain, enter www.
• TTL: The cache retention time. The default is “1 minute,” and you can choose from 1 minute to 48 hours. A short to standard value is usually fine.
• Content: For A, enter the IPv4 address (for example, 192.0.2.10).

After entering the values, click Submit to reflect them in the list.

For MX and SRV, a priority field is added (the lower the number, the higher the priority). The input fields differ by type (see the “Record type quick reference” below).

Record type quick reference #

Here are the 13 record types you can add with this service, along with their main uses and a guide to the value to enter in “Content.”

Name servers (NS) and delegation #

In the NS records of the zone editor, the four name servers we use to answer for that zone are shown (in the form dns1-4.cloudns.net). To run a domain on our DNS, you must replace the name servers with these four on your domain registrar’s side.

Enabling DNSSEC #

DNSSEC is a mechanism that attaches a digital signature to DNS responses so that tampering can be detected. You can enable it per zone from Manage DNSSEC at the top of the zone editor.

1. Open Manage DNSSEC in the zone editor. The current status (enabled / disabled) is displayed.
2. Click Enable DNSSEC to generate the signing keys and the DS record (Delegation Signer).
3. Register the displayed DS record with your domain registrar. This completes the chain of trust with the parent zone.

Failover / Monitoring #

From Failover/Monitoring at the top of the zone editor, you can set up health-checking of A records. Select the target record and configure the monitoring (health check) and the failover target, and the response IP can be switched automatically when the monitored target goes down.

1. Open Failover/Monitoring and use Select record to choose the target A record.
2. Configure the monitoring method (such as the check interval) and the backup IP to switch to in the event of a failure.
3. Once you save, monitoring begins and failover occurs automatically when a failure is detected.

DNS templates / cloning settings #

• DNS templates: Apply a prepared record template to selected domains all at once. This is handy when you use the same configuration across multiple domains.
• Clone DNS settings: Copy the record configuration of an existing zone to another domain. You can do the same thing with “Clone entries from another domain” when adding a new zone.

Verifying propagation #

After you add or change a record, check that it can be resolved correctly from the outside. Example commands (dig):

Note: Reflecting (propagating) name server changes or record changes can take time. It also depends on the TTL and cache conditions.

Troubleshooting #