Improving Your Vanity Name Server Experience
Grant Butler
on
One of our biggest goals at DNSimple is to make your experience as consistent as possible. Whether you're pointing a few domains through the web interface or hundreds of domains through the API, we want to ensure that consistency is there.
Using DNSimple through the API and the web interface should feel the same and accomplish the same task. We noticed that when interacting with our vanity name servers feature, the API experience and web interface were not quite aligned, so we updated the feature to bring you a more consistent experience between the two.
We'll go over what's changed, along with a brief overview of what vanity name servers are and how they can add value and security to your business.
What we changed
Previously, vanity name servers were enabled through one endpoint in the API, then domains were delegated to these name servers using a different endpoint.
Now, the web interface functions the same way as the API. It follows the two-step process of setting up the vanity name servers, then delegating domains to the name servers. It also shows which domains are delegated to the vanity name servers and which vanity name servers the domain is pointed at.
Why we updated this feature
Our goal is to bring clarity to our vanity name servers feature so that you can seamlessly white-label DNSimple's infrastructure as your own. In the previous interface, it was possible to remove vanity name servers despite another domain still being pointed to them — breaking the resolution. We have since made it impossible to disable vanity name servers if any zones are pointed at them.
The ability to disable vanity name servers without un-delegating domains to them had the potential to cause issues for TLDs that need vanity name servers to meet registry requirements, like .BANK and .INSURANCE.
In one instance, all emails for a customer were failing, because they had disabled vanity name servers, and the delegated MX records could not be resolved by the domain's zone. Knowing which zones are delegated to the vanity name servers is integral to keeping your zones up and running when making large changes in your setup.
This change simplifies the experience to logical steps that help you understand how this feature works and prevent accidental service interruptions.
What are vanity name servers?
Vanity name servers are name servers that reflect your organization's name. Instead of pointing your domain to DNSimple name servers (ns1.dnsimple.com), you can point your domain to DNSimple using custom names (ns1.yourcompany.com). Having your domain name point at these custom name servers provides you with our industry-leading DNS solutions while displaying your brand in any lookups on your domains.
For a more in-depth explanation of vanity name servers, read this blog post.
Why use vanity name servers?
Security and branding are the most compelling reasons to use vanity name servers. Having your brand displayed in lookups has clear value for a large organization. If you host content for users, vanity name servers maintain your brand's professional appearance by handing out your target name servers while still accessing all the powerful features on DNSimple's platform. This white-label DNS lets you offer a seamless, branded experience to clients, enhancing your brand visibility and reinforcing customer loyalty.
Custom names for your name servers also simplify automation of your domains. When you want to re-delegate, a single IP change is needed at the name server level instead of individual changes on every domain. This effectively converts all customers to a new platform in a single action, rather than many actions across the entirety of your domain base.
Another key benefit of vanity name servers is security. With branded name servers, your customers will know your organization controls the name servers, increasing trust.
Vanity name servers on the Enterprise plan
Vanity name servers offer significant advantages when you manage a large number of domains — that's why DNSimple offers vanity name servers on our Enterprise plan. If you're on the Enterprise plan, you can enable vanity name servers today. Read this support article to learn how.
If you're not on the Enterprise plan yet, contact our sales team to learn how we can tailor it to your organization's specific needs. You can also find more details in our Enterprise DNS Solutions post.
If you have any questions about vanity name servers, or need assistance enabling them for your domains, just contact support. We're always happy to help.
Grant Butler
Always has a camera.
We think domain management should be easy.
That's why we continue building DNSimple.
