Amazon Route 53 Gandi LiveDNS
Migrate DNS from Route 53 to Gandi.
16 record types move as they are. 2 things work differently at Gandi, 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
- DS
- HTTPS
- SVCB
- TLSA
- SSHFP
- NAPTR
- SPF
Routing policies are flattened
TTLs below 300s are raised
A typical Route 53 zone at Gandi
Example records for example.com. Open any flagged row to read why it changed.
Route 53 Gandi
- TranslatedALIAS@
d1a2b3.cloudfront.net.
Stored as a Gandi ALIAS record to d1a2b3.cloudfront.net.
- 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.
- ReviewAapi
192.0.2.10 +1
Weighted routing isn't available at the destination. All 2 answers are served together as simple round-robin.
- ExactSPFlegacy
"v=spf1 -all"
- ExactCNAMEwww
example.com.
| Status | Type | Name | At Gandi | TTL | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Translated | A ALIAS | @ |
| 5m | |
| Exact | MX | @ |
| 1h | |
| Exact | TXT | @ |
| 1h | |
| Exact | CAA | @ |
| 1h | |
| Exact | TXT | _dmarc |
| 1h | |
| Exact | SRV | _sip._tls |
| 1h | |
| Review | A | api |
| 5m | |
| Exact | SPF | legacy |
| 5m | |
| Exact | CNAME | www |
| 1h |
How the move works
- 1
Connect Route 53
Connect Route 53 with read-only access (Cross-account IAM role with an external ID).
- 2
Connect Gandi
Connect Gandi (Personal access token (legacy API key also accepted)). Write access is only used when you apply.
- 3
Review the preview
Check every record marked Review or Unsupported. Each one explains what changes and why.
- 4
Apply to Gandi
We snapshot the Gandi zone, write in batches, and leave Route 53 untouched.
- 5
Verify
We query Gandi's own nameservers for every record and compare the answers before you switch.
- 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 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.
Good to know about Gandi
- LiveDNS only hosts zones for domains in your Gandi organization, so zones can't be created for domains registered elsewhere.
- ALIAS records are only allowed at the zone apex; TTLs must be between 300 seconds and 30 days.
- Apex NS records are managed by Gandi and are left untouched.
Access we need: A token with “Manage domain name technical configurations”, scoped to the domains you move. Gandi has no read-only LiveDNS permission.
Questions
Will there be downtime moving from Route 53 to Gandi?
Not if both providers serve the same answers during the switch. The records are copied to Gandi 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 Route 53?
No. We never write to Route 53. 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 Gandi and publish its new DS record. The cutover plan walks you through each step.
Ready to see your own zone?
Start a free preview