Move a domain's DNS to another host

Move one domain's DNS to a new host, or hundreds at once, without any downtime for your visitors — InfraNest checks the new host agrees with the old one before it switches anything over.

Overview

• Moves the DNS zone for one domain or many at the same time.
• Checks that the new host answers every record the same way the old one did, before it changes anything.
• Only switches the domain over at the registrar once the new host has passed that check.
• Works with domains signed using DNSSEC, as long as the new host and registrar both support it through InfraNest.

Move one or more domains

1. Open Domains, then the Domains tab.
2. Tick the domains whose DNS you want to move.
3. Choose Move DNS.
4. Pick where to move it. The DNS host you already use for most of your domains is chosen for you; only accounts that can host a domain registered somewhere else are offered.
5. Choose Move.

You can close the page. Each domain moves on its own, in the background, and the DNS moves list above your domains shows where each one has got to.

NoteNothing changes at your registrar until InfraNest has confirmed the new host answers every record correctly. If a move stops before then, your visitors stay on the old host and nothing is lost.

What InfraNest does for each domain

1. Creates the zone at the new host.
2. Copies every record from the zone InfraNest holds for the domain.
3. Asks the old and the new nameservers for every name, and stops if any answer differs — for example a record your old host served through its proxy, which the new one would publish without it.
4. Points the domain at the new nameservers at its registrar.
5. Checks until the internet asks the new host, which usually takes a few hours and can take up to two days.

The old zone is kept where it is. Once the move has finished, it appears under Tidy up on the DNS overview, for you to remove when you are sure you no longer need it.

Domains signed with DNSSEC

1. InfraNest has the new host sign the zone.
2. It publishes the new key at your registrar next to the old one.
3. It switches the nameservers only once the registry publishes both keys — so every resolver can check the domain, whichever host it asks.
4. Two days after the switch has reached everyone, the old key is removed.
5. If the move stops before the switch, the old key is put back on its own.

This only works when the new host can sign through InfraNest (Cloudflare), the registrar can publish keys through InfraNest, and InfraNest knows the domain's current key. Otherwise the domain is not moved automatically, and the DNS moves list says so.

Troubleshooting

The DNS moves list says why a move hasn't started or has stopped, next to the domain:

• Signed with DNSSEC, and the signature cannot be carried over — remove the DS record at the registrar first, or move the domain by hand.
• InfraNest does not hold its DNS records yet — add the domain's zone first (import it from your DNS host), so there is something to copy.
• The new host answers some names differently — the list shows which names, and what each host answered. Fix the record in the new zone, or move that domain by hand.
• Its registrar is not connected, or changing nameservers is switched off for it — connect the registrar, or switch the operation back on.
• The internet still asks the old host three days after the switch — check the nameservers at the registrar.

TipIf you're moving a lot of domains at once, check the DNS moves list regularly rather than waiting for all of them to finish — fixing a stopped move early is easier than troubleshooting a hundred later.