Skip to content
DNSmigrator

Amazon Route 53 Selectel DNS Hosting

Migrate DNS from Route 53 to Selectel.

11 record types move as they are. 3 things work differently at Selectel, and the preview shows exactly which of your records they affect.

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

Route 53 to Selectel DNS migration differences

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

Moves as-is

  • A
  • AAAA
  • CNAME
  • MX
  • TXT
  • NS
  • SRV
  • CAA
  • HTTPS
  • SVCB
  • SSHFP

Routing policies are flattened

Selectel 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

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

A typical Route 53 zone at Selectel

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

Route 53 Selectel

  • TranslatedALIAS@

    d1a2b3.cloudfront.net.

    Stored as a Selectel 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.

  • TranslatedTXTlegacy

    "v=spf1 -all"

    SPF record type is obsolete.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

  • ExactCNAMEwww

    example.com.

Set up the connections

Use the provider-specific credential guides before you preview, then keep the migration checklist beside the cutover plan.

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 Selectel

    Connect Selectel (Service user (username + password) with a project-scoped IAM token). 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 Selectel

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

  5. 5

    Verify

    We query Selectel'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 Selectel

  • Only DNS Hosting (actual) zones are supported. Zones still on DNS Hosting (legacy, API v1) must be moved to the actual version in the control panel first.
  • Zones belong to a project; this connection only sees the project it signs in to.
  • Apex NS and SOA records are created and managed by Selectel and can't be changed.
  • A CNAME can't be placed at the zone apex; use ALIAS instead.
  • Each record set can hold at most 100 values.
  • Records you disabled in Selectel are left untouched and aren't imported.
  • Selectel doesn't publish API rate limits; requests are retried with backoff when throttled.

Access we need: Create a service user with the member role scoped to only the project that holds your zones. The reader role on that project is enough for read-only exports.

Questions

Will there be downtime moving from Route 53 to Selectel?

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