On recomendation from someone on this list, I signed up for Speakeasy DSL. The helped me set up a primary name server (DNS) and they ran a secondary name server for a few extra dollars per month. This has been working well for about a decade. Speakeasy was sold to MegaPath, who yesterday sent me a message that included this:
Dear MegaPath Customer,
This email is to advise you that MegaPath is migrating its legacy Speakeasy ISP, web hosting, webmail and DNS services to a more advanced platform.
<Braindead "customer-experience" happy market-talk deleted>
Going forward, we will no longer support secondary DNS services. If your domain is set up in this manner, please be sure to make the proper changes to avoid a post-migration service disruption.
This all happens next Tuesday. I read this is "We are breaking what has worked for a decade, there is nothing you can do, have fun finding a new ISP in two days." I was wall-punching cursing mad. When I calmed down a bit I began to think, if they don't break anything else, maybe it's not so bad. The system was designed to tolerate failure. _I_ was not designed to tolerate _intentional_ failure, but everything should still work if the secondary name server is broken. Since I have only one IP address on one DSL line, I never really saw the need for a secondary server in the first place. I run a primary server because (A) I like to think of myself as a programmer, and it is self education to figure out how to do it. (B) Sometimes I create subdomains and run test program servers in them. The RFC's require a second name server, and the registrar asks for it, but who's going to care really? If the primary name server goes out, so do all other servers in the domain, since it's all really just one computer. What would you recommend? If anyone else has the same problem, I could be your secondary, and you could be mine. -- Keith
On Oct 21, 2013, at 4:41 AM, kwright@keithdiane.us (Keith Wright) wrote:
The RFC's require a second name server, and the registrar asks for it, but who's going to care really? If the primary name server goes out, so do all other servers in the domain, since it's all really just one computer. Many people don't have totally redundant DNS because of this very reason. Some people have ns1 and ns2 point to the same IP/host, and that works fine. I would just make sure you somehow control whatever the 2nd ns is, so that you can be sure that nobody can answer before you about your DNS. That's why you have to change something.
What would you recommend?
I use dns.he.net. It's free and it's good enough for casual work. You can set them up as secondary DNS:
Secondary domains that disallow AXFR's will be deactivated until they have been validated. You can validate the domain by selecting it from the "Slave domains for this account." (click on the (i)nformation icon) This will attempt to pull the zone from the specified nameserver(s). If it is successful, it will validate the domain and will start listening to your nameservers NOTIFY packets as well as making periodic checks (depending on your TTL). I actually don't see why you wouldn't want to totally switch over to hosted. You get perks like full IPv6 and dynamic updates to hosts; my laptop is always updating it's DNS info so that I can make sure I can find it. It also uses UPNP to punch SSH ports out.
If you don't want to depend on an evil corporation after what MegaPath did to you, I understand. A friend may be the best way. -Randall
From: Randall Mason <clashthebunny@gmail.com>
What would you recommend?
I use dns.he.net. It's free and it's good enough for casual work. You can set them up as secondary DNS:
Thank you. This was bacon-saving advice. I spent most of the day creating secondary servers on Hurricane Electric, and updating Godaddy to match for my three domains. It seems to work.
I actually don't see why you wouldn't want to totally switch over to hosted. You get perks like full IPv6 and dynamic updates to hosts; my laptop is always updating it's DNS info so that I can make sure I can find it. It also uses UPNP to punch SSH ports out.
I don't really understand this. Maybe you should give a talk about how to set up DNS on the modern internet and what help is available. I have an 2001 edition of the Cricket Liu & Paul Albitz "DNS and BIND" book and RFCs. It works well enough for this steam-driven computer. -- Keith
On Oct 23, 2013, at 3:51 AM, kwright@keithdiane.us (Keith Wright) wrote:
I actually don't see why you wouldn't want to totally switch over to hosted. You get perks like full IPv6 and dynamic updates to hosts; my laptop is always updating it's DNS info so that I can make sure I can find it. It also uses UPNP to punch SSH ports out.
I don't really understand this. Maybe you should give a talk about how to set up DNS on the modern internet and what help is available. I have an 2001 edition of the Cricket Liu & Paul Albitz "DNS and BIND" book and RFCs. It works well enough for this steam-driven computer.
This is mostly a statement of the poor state of things with ISPs. A normal person gets 1 dynamic IPv4 address. You're going to need some sort of extra services in addition the the "Internet" that you're paying for before you get what I would consider Internet. The world is also more mobile since 2001. If I had to get to any of my hosts in 2001, they were all cabled into some internet connection that was fairly predictable. These days there can be a file on my phone and I don't feel that I need to know what connection is active at the moment or where it is in the world to get back to it. Dynamic DNS + UPNP help, but IPv6 totally solves the problem. A real internet connection with a static IP anywhere in the world without NAT traversal and port forwarding is why I need more than just what my ISP will ever give me which is why I will probably always need some sort of hosted DNS. I doubt MegaPath, Cox, or Verizon will ever enable [Mobile IP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_IP). -Randall
as a FYI, if you have a WPI alumni account at alum.wpi.edu, you can set up and use them as a secondary name server (as long as you're not a large company or ISP) https://alum.wpi.edu/cgi-bin/alumni On Sun, Oct 20, 2013 at 9:41 PM, Keith Wright <kwright@keithdiane.us> wrote: ....
Since I have only one IP address on one DSL line, I never really saw the need for a secondary server in the first place. I run a primary server because (A) I like to think of myself as a programmer, and it is self education to figure out how to do it. (B) Sometimes I create subdomains and run test program servers in them.
The RFC's require a second name server, and the registrar asks for it, but who's going to care really? If the primary name server goes out, so do all other servers in the domain, since it's all really just one computer.
What would you recommend?
If anyone else has the same problem, I could be your secondary, and you could be mine.
-- Keith _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug@mail.wlug.org http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug
participants (3)
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Keith Wright -
Michelle Vadeboncoeur -
Randall Mason