6 ms·

Avoid downtime: Currently using GoDaddy's DNS? Switch DNS before transferring

93 points by moserware 15y ago

tlack 15y ago
I'm not 100% about the intricacies of how DNS works but is there no way for them to automatically mirror your DNS settings? That would make this process much much easier.
- yahelc 15y ago
  I kind of assumed that's what they did; that's what CloudFlare does. Uh oh.
  - tlack 15y ago
    I guess not because one of their steps is "Copy all your domain settings (host records, email settings etc) to our control panel." - who has time for that? :)
- moserware 15y ago
  Yeah, a simple check to see what nameservers the domain is currently using and then warning about the possible downtime and offering to switch ahead of the transfer would have been a huge win.
drivebyacct2 15y ago
I don't mean to be a jackass, but... duh? If you're using GoDaddy's nameservers, it stands to reason that you'd need to configure the new ones when namecheap isn't going to be able to point to a defunct GoDaddy account. Gandi will even offer to mirror the DNS on import.
- moserware 15y ago
  Agreed, it was a dumb mistake. I just wanted to let others know so they don't have to suffer the consequences as well of multiple hours of downtime waiting for things to finalize before you can change it.
  - drivebyacct2 15y ago
    Heh, sorry, didn't know this was spurred by a necessity. I'm one of those guys that researches things to death before I do them, even if my "liability" is 3 low traffic family email accounts in a domain registrar migration.
- rhizome 15y ago
  As simple as it is, technically, DNS as a component of network connectivity is a mystery to many, many people.
moserware 15y ago
I posted this after making this "rookie" mistake myself: feel free to add www.moserware.com -> 216.239.32.21 to your hosts file for the next few hours until I'm given access to change the DNS settings :) I was directed to this page only after the transfer started (and thus after I could change this). Hopefully this might help others before you make the switch.
clyfe 15y ago
If anyone needs a free DNS service, maybe try https://entrydns.net/ https://entrydns.net/ that I develop in my free time with a sysadmin friend.
- pbreit 15y ago
  Also CloudFlare. You can use the DNS service without the security, performance and caching features.
- ThaddeusQuay2 15y ago
  I require ONE TRILLION queries per month.
andyking 15y ago
Why so much love for Namecheap on here? As far as I can tell, they've simply been in the right place at the right time and done some clever marketing in response to GoDaddy's general idiocy. But for a few days now, HN has almost read like a long ad for one domain registrar that doesn't look like anything particularly special. Every other link seems to go to Namecheap's blog, or some other page on their site. Genuine question - I'm not trying to be a self-appointed site moderator or cheerleading for some other company (although I do use Gandi myself), I'm just genuinely interested as to why Namecheap, and not some other registrar, other than the fact that Namecheap have jumped on this particular bandwagon.
- benologist 15y ago
  Namecheap won the lottery that is blogs spewing out content as fast as HN, Reddit etc can vote it up.
- swalsh 15y ago
  The protest wouldn't work if there was confusion on where to go. I assume a large reason people went to go daddy was because of the recognition. People knew (or at least assumed due to its wide use) they were a trustworthy source. Without the movement designating an alternative, there'd probably be a lot less traction since people might want to spend more time gaining confidence in a new company.
- stevenwagner 15y ago
  simply because they do not support SOPA, are actively listening to the demand, they are cheap, and they have a good interface. That beats all the other options I looked at. I considered gandi.net, but couldn't justify the extra cost. The only feature I am missing right now is a registrar that accepts bitcoins.
  - ThaddeusQuay2 15y ago
    "That beats all the other options I looked at." Then you haven't seen all the options. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3388223 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3388223
hosh 15y ago
This never came up as an issue for me. I've been using DNSMadeEasy (that is, a DNS service provider different from the domain registrar) for a while.
- RossP 15y ago
  I signed up for DNSMadeEasy a few months ago so I could move away from my Registrar's slow & complicated DNS servers. I'm glad I did, the price is pretty good (I have 20 domains listed), their user interface is easy to use, and the template & zone transfer options are very useful for doing your migration. Highly recommended.
mark_l_watson 15y ago
Good call - I forgot to do this several days ago when I switched and it introduced an unnecessary delay.
pedoh 15y ago
As far as I could tell, Namecheap doesn't allow uploading of zone files (GoDaddy allows you to export your DNS settings in this format). It sure would grease the slide for Namecheap (or any other provider, for that matter) if they offered this feature.
RKearney 15y ago
Using GoDaddy for DNS is one of the biggest hosting mistakes you can make (short of using GoDaddy for web hosting).
andrewhillman 15y ago
Another option is using freedns via Afraid.org. I discussed how I found this free dns provider here http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3391687 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3391687 I am really impressed so far...

93 points by moserware 15y ago

tlack 15y ago

I'm not 100% about the intricacies of how DNS works but is there no way for them to automatically mirror your DNS settings? That would make this process much much easier.

yahelc 15y ago
I kind of assumed that's what they did; that's what CloudFlare does. Uh oh.
- tlack 15y ago
  I guess not because one of their steps is "Copy all your domain settings (host records, email settings etc) to our control panel." - who has time for that? :)
moserware 15y ago
Yeah, a simple check to see what nameservers the domain is currently using and then warning about the possible downtime and offering to switch ahead of the transfer would have been a huge win.

drivebyacct2 15y ago

I don't mean to be a jackass, but... duh? If you're using GoDaddy's nameservers, it stands to reason that you'd need to configure the new ones when namecheap isn't going to be able to point to a defunct GoDaddy account. Gandi will even offer to mirror the DNS on import.

moserware 15y ago
Agreed, it was a dumb mistake. I just wanted to let others know so they don't have to suffer the consequences as well of multiple hours of downtime waiting for things to finalize before you can change it.
- drivebyacct2 15y ago
  Heh, sorry, didn't know this was spurred by a necessity. I'm one of those guys that researches things to death before I do them, even if my "liability" is 3 low traffic family email accounts in a domain registrar migration.
rhizome 15y ago
As simple as it is, technically, DNS as a component of network connectivity is a mystery to many, many people.

moserware 15y ago

I posted this after making this "rookie" mistake myself: feel free to add www.moserware.com -> 216.239.32.21 to your hosts file for the next few hours until I'm given access to change the DNS settings :) I was directed to this page only after the transfer started (and thus after I could change this). Hopefully this might help others before you make the switch.

clyfe 15y ago

If anyone needs a free DNS service, maybe try https://entrydns.net/ https://entrydns.net/ that I develop in my free time with a sysadmin friend.

pbreit 15y ago
Also CloudFlare. You can use the DNS service without the security, performance and caching features.
ThaddeusQuay2 15y ago
I require ONE TRILLION queries per month.

andyking 15y ago

Why so much love for Namecheap on here? As far as I can tell, they've simply been in the right place at the right time and done some clever marketing in response to GoDaddy's general idiocy. But for a few days now, HN has almost read like a long ad for one domain registrar that doesn't look like anything particularly special. Every other link seems to go to Namecheap's blog, or some other page on their site. Genuine question - I'm not trying to be a self-appointed site moderator or cheerleading for some other company (although I do use Gandi myself), I'm just genuinely interested as to why Namecheap, and not some other registrar, other than the fact that Namecheap have jumped on this particular bandwagon.

benologist 15y ago
Namecheap won the lottery that is blogs spewing out content as fast as HN, Reddit etc can vote it up.
swalsh 15y ago
The protest wouldn't work if there was confusion on where to go. I assume a large reason people went to go daddy was because of the recognition. People knew (or at least assumed due to its wide use) they were a trustworthy source. Without the movement designating an alternative, there'd probably be a lot less traction since people might want to spend more time gaining confidence in a new company.
stevenwagner 15y ago
simply because they do not support SOPA, are actively listening to the demand, they are cheap, and they have a good interface. That beats all the other options I looked at. I considered gandi.net, but couldn't justify the extra cost. The only feature I am missing right now is a registrar that accepts bitcoins.
- ThaddeusQuay2 15y ago
  "That beats all the other options I looked at." Then you haven't seen all the options. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3388223 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3388223

hosh 15y ago

This never came up as an issue for me. I've been using DNSMadeEasy (that is, a DNS service provider different from the domain registrar) for a while.

RossP 15y ago
I signed up for DNSMadeEasy a few months ago so I could move away from my Registrar's slow & complicated DNS servers. I'm glad I did, the price is pretty good (I have 20 domains listed), their user interface is easy to use, and the template & zone transfer options are very useful for doing your migration. Highly recommended.

mark_l_watson 15y ago

Good call - I forgot to do this several days ago when I switched and it introduced an unnecessary delay.

pedoh 15y ago

As far as I could tell, Namecheap doesn't allow uploading of zone files (GoDaddy allows you to export your DNS settings in this format). It sure would grease the slide for Namecheap (or any other provider, for that matter) if they offered this feature.

RKearney 15y ago

Using GoDaddy for DNS is one of the biggest hosting mistakes you can make (short of using GoDaddy for web hosting).

andrewhillman 15y ago

Another option is using freedns via Afraid.org. I discussed how I found this free dns provider here http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3391687 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3391687 I am really impressed so far...