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dnsmigrator

Amazon Route 53 IBM NS1 Connect

Migrate DNS from Route 53 to NS1.

15 record types move as they are. 3 things work differently at NS1, 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
  • NAPTR
  • SPF

Routing policies are flattened

NS1 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

NS1's minimum TTL is 60 seconds. Shorter TTLs are raised to 60s and shown as translated.

A typical Route 53 zone at NS1

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

Route 53 NS1

  • TranslatedALIAS@

    d1a2b3.cloudfront.net.

    Stored as a NS1 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.

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 NS1

    Connect NS1 (API key). 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 NS1

    We snapshot the NS1 zone, write in batches, and leave Route 53 untouched.

  5. 5

    Verify

    We query NS1'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 NS1

  • Records that use filter chains, answer metadata, data feeds or record links are copied as plain answers only and flagged in their comment. We never overwrite them on NS1.
  • DNSSEC has to be available on the NS1 account before it can be turned on for a zone.
  • NS1 changes one record set per request, so large zones take longer and count against the API rate limit.

Access we need: DNS → View zones for the preview; DNS → View zones and Manage zones to apply.

Questions

Will there be downtime moving from Route 53 to NS1?

Not if both providers serve the same answers during the switch. The records are copied to NS1 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 NS1 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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