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dnsmigrator

RWTH Aachen DNS-Admin Amazon Route 53

Migrate DNS from RWTH to Route 53.

10 record types move as they are. Nothing else needs special handling.

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
  • SSHFP

A straightforward move.

Every record type RWTH supports has a direct equivalent at Route 53.

A typical RWTH zone at Route 53

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

RWTH Route 53

  • ExactA@

    192.0.2.70

  • ExactAAAA@

    2001:db8::70

  • 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.

  • ExactCNAMEwww

    example.com.

How the move works

  1. 1

    Connect RWTH

    Connect RWTH with read-only access (DNS-Admin API token (PRIVATE-TOKEN header)).

  2. 2

    Connect Route 53

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

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

  5. 5

    Verify

    We query Route 53'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 RWTH

  • The DNS-Admin API is only reachable from the RWTH network (campus or VPN), so the hosted service cannot connect; use the DNSMigrator CLI from inside the network.
  • Changes are staged and published by a zone deploy; RWTH deploys zones in 15-minute cycles, so updates can take that long to appear.
  • Zones are assigned by the RWTH IT Center and cannot be created through the API; the SOA record is locked.

Access we need: A DNS-Admin API token with your DNS-Admin rights, optionally restricted to a sub-domain. Tokens are not read-only, so the same token is used for preview and apply.

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.

Questions

Will there be downtime moving from RWTH to Route 53?

Not if both providers serve the same answers during the switch. The records are copied to Route 53 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 RWTH?

No. We never write to RWTH. 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 Route 53 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