Best of the ISP-Lists

Resolving to Change the IP

Members of the ISP-DNS list discuss the results of chaging the IP of a secondary DNS server with many domains. How can you avoid sending hundreds messages to many registrars?

[June 7, 2001]

On the ISP-DNS list in May, SH queried,

"I just changed the IP of a secondary DNS server which has few hundred domains on it from various registrars, but mostly from Network Solutions. Do I have to send modify requests for every one of them? Is there any faster way to get them to just grab the new IP address?"

Most respondents noted that as long as it's just the IP that's been modified, it should be pretty simple:

[TL observed] "All you have to do is modify the host record once at Network Solutions to reflect the new IP address, and all domains that use that server are dynamically updated in the master table. If you used another registrar besides Network Solutions to register the domain that your name servers are part of, of course you have to use that same registrar to update the host record."

[JN added] "If you didn't change the name, just the IP, it should work fine. Every time I have updated 'ns1.xyz.net,' it has automatically updated for the three-odd domains that run against that DNS. Conversely, if each domain is registered to ns3.individualdomain.com, then yeah, you have to update it once each."

Others gave more detailed suggestions:

[JM recalled] "I've dealt with this issue before. For Network Solutions, you just have to modify the host record for your name server. Here's a link to the correct form:
http://networksolutions.com/cgi-bin/makechanges/itts/host."

[AK offered] "I did this using email a while ago. Just send an email to Network Solutions with 'global modify' in the subject line. In the body, write the following:

 
Please change all domains: 
from 
ns1.old.com x.x.x.x 
ns2.old.com x.x.x.x 
        
to 
ns1.new.com z.z.z.z 
ns2.new.com z.z.z.z'
      

—End