Thread: Changing Name Servers

Anyone have a good article or tips on how to change the primary name servers on an active server with as little downtime or headaches as possible?

I have one server where I do not like the name server I am using, wanted the name server from another server I have.

it was like this

ns1.bad.com ns2.bad.com
other server.
ns1.good.com ns2.good.com

Now I added to the first server
ns3.good.com ns4.good.com so I have that domain used as name servers at least. But I'd like to ditch the name servers on that machine totally that are ns1.bad.com and ns2.bad.com

moving them to the other server, basically I wish I could have just switched the name servers completely

or am I better off keeping them as is and simply adding the ns3 and ns4 for the time being?

Thoughts?

I've never done it, but why don't you investigate the possibility of doing one at a time?
Nameservers rely on fallback. If the first one is unavailable, go to the next one.
So, in theory, you should be able to change the first one today and change the second one in a few days from now. No?

Yeah, but then I also have to manually edit each dns file, and I'm sure more possibly.
grrr wonder if there is a script to do it!

On second thought, I'm now thinking it might not work as planned because the two servers will have different records and they point to each other.
Something is going to go screwy. I just know it.

Just keep da site up on the current one, put da site up at da new one...then change them and you have no down time at all!!!! Now if it's a forum...that's a different story!!!!! Linking to da IP address on da old one is a good thing to do!!! You don't want to hear...ACK!!! Where did my thread go!!!!!!!!! :twisted::twisted::twisted::twisted:

^^^ He's wacko, but he's a techie, nerdy kinda wacko. :twisted:

Bahh but I'm not getting rid of the servers or changing sites, I just wanted to change the name servers.

Grim, it's simple.. Set the TTL (Time to Live) on your domain/s to 300 (seconds) or five minutes about two weeks before the planned move..

Since the normal propagation period is about 8 hours + or a default of 86,600 seconds for DNS, by lowering it to 5 minutes, any changes you make will be near instantaneous.. The only people that might suffer are users of AOL since they tend not to renew there DNS cache for as long as two week in some cases...

I've been using the TTL method for years now with very little ill affects..

Anyway, that is the easiest, quickest method. YMMV.. Good luck!

I should also ad, that if you can, leave them in both places for about a week or two if possible... This way you will avoid any problems with the stragglers out there..

Ninny's got the best idea, I think.

If you're staying on the same server cannot you just bind the new name servers to the old IP?

When I changed name servers for my VPS. I had 4 IPs, I kept the original name servers (ns1.olddomain.com& ns2.olddomain.com) then just added records for ns1.newdomain.com ns2.newdomain.com bound them to unused IPs.. Updated the record at the register... Waited a couple of days, updated all my domains hosted on that server to the new name servers waited a couple more days and deleted the ns1.olddomain.com & ns2.olddomain.com.

That is assuming you have a couple of extra IPs to work with.

Originally Posted by Deejay Dan

Ninny's got the best idea, I think.

If you're staying on the same server cannot you just bind the new name servers to the old IP?

When I changed name servers for my VPS. I had 4 IPs, I kept the original name servers (ns1.olddomain.com& ns2.olddomain.com) then just added records for ns1.newdomain.com ns2.newdomain.com bound them to unused IPs.. Updated the record at the register... Waited a couple of days, updated all my domains hosted on that server to the new name servers waited a couple more days and deleted the ns1.olddomain.com & ns2.olddomain.com.

That is assuming you have a couple of extra IPs to work with.

The problem with that route is I'm dealing with 2 totally different servers. I can not bind the name servers to new IP's while they are still being used as the primary name servers for a different server.

This all comes down to basically I changed my mind on which server I wanted for what. ;(

Originally Posted by Deejay Dan

Ninny's got the best idea, I think.

:eek: Ack!!! Don't say that in public!!!! Every one will want to tar and feather you, just like they want to tar and feather me after all those head transplants!!! :twisted::twisted::twisted:

er Grim, post some more pictures!!!! Like pictures of you in da Gym lifting waits!!!! :twisted::twisted::twisted::twisted:

Originally Posted by Grim

The problem with that route is I'm dealing with 2 totally different servers. I can not bind the name servers to new IP's while they are still being used as the primary name servers for a different server.

This all comes down to basically I changed my mind on which server I wanted for what. ;(

Use a different subdomains. Use ns3 & ns4 instead of ns1 & ns2.

Wait.. I'm lost it's a little early and this DNS stuff isn't my strong suit anyhow :P

Basically you want to move a site to a different name server with zero downtime.. right?

Now I added to the first server
ns3.good.com ns4.good.com so I have that domain used as name servers at least. But I'd like to ditch the name servers on that machine totally that are ns1.bad.com and ns2.bad.com

Update the DNS to ns3.good.com & ns4.good.com for the domains hosted on the bad server. Wait a few days for it all to propagate and trash the original (ns1 & 2.bad.com) name servers. Make sure you update your host name in WHM.

I've decided the easiest route is to simply keep the name servers and add the
ns3 and ns4 versions for the time being