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dnsmigrator

Google Cloud DNS RWTH Aachen DNS-Admin

Migrate DNS from Cloud DNS to RWTH.

10 record types move as they are. 3 things work differently at RWTH, and the preview shows exactly which of your records they affect.

Free preview. Read-only. Nothing changes until you apply.

What works differently

Generated from the same provider capability data the migration engine uses.

Moves as-is

  • A
  • AAAA
  • CNAME
  • MX
  • TXT
  • NS
  • SRV
  • CAA
  • PTR
  • SSHFP

Routing policies are flattened

RWTH has no routing policies. Weighted, geo and latency sets collapse into one set of answers, and failover keeps only the primary. Each one is flagged for review.

TTLs below 60s are raised

RWTH's minimum TTL is 60 seconds. Shorter TTLs are raised to 60s and shown as translated.

A typical Cloud DNS zone at RWTH

Example records for example.com. Open any flagged row to read why it changed.

Cloud DNS RWTH

  • ExactA@

    192.0.2.40

  • ExactMX@

    10 mx1.mail.example.net. +1

  • ExactTXT@

    "v=spf1 include:_spf.example.net -all"

  • ExactCAA@

    0 issue "letsencrypt.org"

  • ExactTXT_dmarc

    "v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:dmarc@example.com"

  • ExactSRV_sip._tls

    100 1 443 sip.example.net.

  • ReviewAeu

    192.0.2.41 +1

    Geo routing isn't available at the destination. All 2 answers are served together as simple round-robin.

  • ExactCNAMEwww

    example.com.

How the move works

  1. 1

    Connect Cloud DNS

    Connect Cloud DNS with read-only access (Service account key (JSON)).

  2. 2

    Connect RWTH

    Connect RWTH (DNS-Admin API token (PRIVATE-TOKEN header)). Write access is only used when you apply.

  3. 3

    Review the preview

    Check every record marked Review or Unsupported. Each one explains what changes and why.

  4. 4

    Apply to RWTH

    We snapshot the RWTH zone, write in batches, and leave Cloud DNS untouched.

  5. 5

    Verify

    We query RWTH's own nameservers for every record and compare the answers before you switch.

  6. 6

    Switch nameservers

    Lower TTLs a day or two ahead, remove any DS record if DNSSEC is on, then point the domain at the new nameservers at your registrar.

Good to know about Cloud DNS

  • Routing policies (weighted round robin, geolocation, failover) don't carry over to most providers.
  • Apex CNAMEs are not allowed.

Access we need: roles/dns.reader for the preview, roles/dns.admin to apply.

Good to know about RWTH

  • The DNS-Admin API is only reachable from the RWTH network (campus or VPN), so the hosted service cannot connect; use the DNSMigrator CLI from inside the network.
  • Changes are staged and published by a zone deploy; RWTH deploys zones in 15-minute cycles, so updates can take that long to appear.
  • Zones are assigned by the RWTH IT Center and cannot be created through the API; the SOA record is locked.

Access we need: A DNS-Admin API token with your DNS-Admin rights, optionally restricted to a sub-domain. Tokens are not read-only, so the same token is used for preview and apply.

Questions

Will there be downtime moving from Cloud DNS to RWTH?

Not if both providers serve the same answers during the switch. The records are copied to RWTH and verified before you change nameservers, so resolvers get the same answer from either side while caches expire.

Do I have to delete anything at Cloud DNS?

No. We never write to Cloud DNS. Keep the old zone for a week after cutover so you can switch back instantly if anything looks wrong.

What about DNSSEC?

If DNSSEC is on, remove the DS record at your registrar and wait for it to expire before switching nameservers. Then enable DNSSEC at RWTH and publish its new DS record. The cutover plan walks you through each step.

Related migrations

Ready to see your own zone?

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