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dnsmigrator

Hurricane Electric DNS Amazon Route 53

Migrate DNS from Hurricane Electric to Route 53.

Preview every record before anything is written, then apply, verify and cut over with a way back at each step.

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

What works differently

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

We're still verifying Hurricane Electric.

Record-type support and limits for Hurricane Electric haven't been confirmed against the official API yet, so this page doesn't list differences we can't stand behind. Run the free check on your domain to see how your records compare.

A typical Hurricane Electric zone at Route 53

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

Hurricane Electric Route 53

  • ExactA@

    192.0.2.70

  • ExactAAAA@

    2001:db8::70

  • 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.

  • ExactCNAMEwww

    example.com.

How the move works

  1. 1

    Connect Hurricane Electric

    Connect Hurricane Electric with read-only access (Account username + password (+ TOTP)).

  2. 2

    Connect Route 53

    Connect Route 53 (Cross-account IAM role with an external ID). 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 Route 53

    We snapshot the Route 53 zone, write in batches, and leave Hurricane Electric untouched.

  5. 5

    Verify

    We query Route 53'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 Hurricane Electric

  • Hurricane Electric has no official DNS API. Tools such as DNSControl drive the dns.he.net web interface with the account password, which DNSMigrator does not do yet.
  • Dynamic DNS records keep their own update keys, which can't be read back and must be set again after a move.

Access we need: Hurricane Electric has no API keys or scoped roles; access means full control of the whole account.

Good to know about Route 53

  • Alias records can only target AWS resources or records in the same hosted zone.
  • Weighted, latency, geolocation and failover routing are Route 53 features. Most other providers can't reproduce them.
  • Apex CNAMEs are not allowed. Use an alias record instead.

Access we need: route53:ListHostedZones, GetHostedZone, ListResourceRecordSets for the preview; ChangeResourceRecordSets and CreateHostedZone to apply.

Questions

Will there be downtime moving from Hurricane Electric to Route 53?

Not if both providers serve the same answers during the switch. The records are copied to Route 53 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 Hurricane Electric?

No. We never write to Hurricane Electric. 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 Route 53 and publish its new DS record. The cutover plan walks you through each step.

Related migrations

Ready to see your own zone?

Start a free preview