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dnsmigrator

Amazon Route 53 MikroTik RouterOS

Migrate DNS from Route 53 to MikroTik.

7 record types move as they are. 3 things work differently at MikroTik, 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

Alias records are converted

Route 53 alias records become CNAMEs below the apex. At the apex they need static addresses, and the preview shows which ones.

Routing policies are flattened

MikroTik 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.

A typical Route 53 zone at MikroTik

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

Route 53 MikroTik

  • UnsupportedA@

    Not migrated

    @ is an alias to d1a2b3.cloudfront.net at the zone apex. MikroTik doesn't support apex aliases or CNAMEs.

  • ExactMX@

    10 mx1.mail.example.net. +1

  • ExactTXT@

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

  • UnsupportedCAA@

    Not migrated

    MikroTik doesn't support CAA records through its API.

  • 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.

  • TranslatedTXTlegacy

    "v=spf1 -all"

    SPF record type is obsolete. Stored as TXT, which is what mail servers read.

  • ExactCNAMEwww

    example.com.

How the move works

  1. 1

    Connect Route 53

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

  2. 2

    Connect MikroTik

    Connect MikroTik (RouterOS REST API URL + username + password (HTTP Basic, RouterOS v7.1+)). 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 MikroTik

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

  5. 5

    Verify

    We query MikroTik'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 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 MikroTik

  • Routers usually sit on a private network; we refuse private addresses by design, so the REST API (www-ssl) is only reachable if you expose it publicly over HTTPS.
  • RouterOS has no zones: we group static entries by the domains you list (or the last two labels of each name). Regexp entries, dynamic entries and disabled entries are not imported, and match-subdomain / address-list settings are kept on existing entries but not migrated elsewhere.
  • MIKROTIK_FORWARDER records live in the virtual zone _forwarders.mikrotik and need RouterOS 7.17 or newer.

Access we need: A user group with the read and rest-api policies for the preview; add the write policy to apply changes.

Questions

Will there be downtime moving from Route 53 to MikroTik?

Not if both providers serve the same answers during the switch. The records are copied to MikroTik 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 MikroTik 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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