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dnsmigrator

Amazon Route 53 netcup

Migrate DNS from Route 53 to netcup.

8 record types move as they are. 4 things work differently at netcup, 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
  • SRV
  • CAA
  • TLSA

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

netcup 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 86400s are raised

netcup's minimum TTL is 86400 seconds. Shorter TTLs are raised to 86400s and shown as translated.

A typical Route 53 zone at netcup

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

Route 53 netcup

  • UnsupportedA@

    Not migrated

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

  • TranslatedMX@

    10 mx1.mail.example.net. +1

    TTL 3600s is outside the allowed range. Set to 86400s.

  • TranslatedTXT@

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

    TTL 3600s is outside the allowed range. Set to 86400s.

  • TranslatedCAA@

    0 issue "letsencrypt.org"

    TTL 3600s is outside the allowed range. Set to 86400s.

  • TranslatedTXT_dmarc

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

    TTL 3600s is outside the allowed range. Set to 86400s.

  • TranslatedSRV_sip._tls

    100 1 443 sip.example.net.

    TTL 3600s is outside the allowed range. Set to 86400s.

  • 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    SPF record type is obsolete.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.

  • TranslatedCNAMEwww

    example.com.

    TTL 3600s is outside the allowed range. Set to 86400s.

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 netcup

    Connect netcup (Customer number + API key + API password (CCP API session)). 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 netcup

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

  5. 5

    Verify

    We query netcup'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 netcup

  • netcup has no per-record TTL: every record uses the zone TTL (86400 seconds by default), so source TTLs are not kept.
  • Domains can only be listed for reseller accounts; everyone else enters the zone name, and NS records are not managed.
  • TXT values with quotes or backslashes and CAA values with semicolons are altered or rejected by the API.

Access we need: A CCP API key and API password. netcup keys cannot be limited to read-only or to single domains, so the same key is used for preview and apply.

Questions

Will there be downtime moving from Route 53 to netcup?

Not if both providers serve the same answers during the switch. The records are copied to netcup 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 netcup and publish its new DS record. The cutover plan walks you through each step.

Related migrations

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