Introducing Name Server Sets
Anthony Eden
on
Managing the name servers for a single domain is easy — you rarely need to make changes, and when you do, it's usually just entering a few name server names. But, if you have more than a few domains, it quickly becomes cumbersome. So we simplified it.
Today, the DNSimple team is excited to announce name server sets.
In the past, customers with existing domains that had fewer than four name servers couldn't migrate those domains into DNSimple. Now, any customer can use vanity name servers plus name server sets to migrate those domains to DNSimple - without changing the delegation at the domain registrar. They also let you reuse the same name servers across multiple zones and domains without having to repeatedly enter the same information.
Name server sets are now available on every DNSimple plan.
Let's take a closer look at what this means and how to implement it for your domains.
Save time, reduce errors
Name server sets simplify name server management, acting as templates you can apply to any domain. They create reusable groups of name server records you can apply to the name server delegation, secondary DNS configuration, and zone NS records of your domains.
Whenever name servers are changed, a set can be applied, so you can enter name server and NS records faster while reducing the possibility for errors.
This feature also allows the creation of sets of vanity name servers with fewer than four name servers (and up to thirteen). So if you have a large number of domains, and are migrating those domains to DNSimple, you can keep your existing name server names and just change their IP addresses.
Implementation
Name server sets are private to an account and can contain custom name servers. You can manage your account's name server sets from the Account Name Server Sets page if you have full access to the account.
To create an account name server set, go to the Account page, click the Name Server Sets tab, then click Add to create a new name server set. Enter a unique label for the new name server set and the hostname.
You can also provide the IPv4 address and IPv6 address (glue IPs), so they'll be stored and automatically applied later when needed — like when changing a domain's delegation.
The DNSimple UI has changed to make it easier to work with domain name servers, including adding support for name server sets.
We've also added a new endpoint to the DNSimple API to support applying name servers and name server sets to a zone. This lets you apply a variable number of NS records, including vanity name server NS records, to a domain's zone.
Changes to a name server set's definition will not affect any existing domain name server or configurations that had included the name server sets.
For more on editing or deleting name server sets, check out our support documentation.
Automate your DNS with DNSimple
We're always working to add new features like name server sets so you can automate and simplify your domain management even further. Not using DNSimple yet? Give us a try free for 30 days to experience our best-in-class domain management for yourself.
Have questions or want to learn more? Drop us a line – we're always happy to help.
Anthony Eden
I break things so Simone continues to have plenty to do. I occasionally have useful ideas, like building a domain and DNS provider that doesn't suck.
We think domain management should be easy.
That's why we continue building DNSimple.
