Secondary (Backup) DNS

Secondary (Backup) DNS – Why use it?

DNS is great! It allows the Internet to exist. Without it, we have no other viable alternative to connect so many devices in one united web. Imagine a text document with all the IP addresses of all the host and connected devices in the world. And somebody that is manually editing each change, just impossible!

We have a DNS for managing this, but often, it experiences problems. If you have just a primary DNS server and no Secondary (backup) DNS servers, you could be in big trouble. If it gets attacked, your site won’t be reachable until it gets up again. 

What is Primary DNS (Master DNS)? 

The Primary DNS, also known as the Master DNS, is the one that has the original zone file. It has the DNS records, and all the changes happen inside this one. When you add records, you are adding them to the Primary DNS server. 

What is Secondary DNS (Backup DNS)?

The Secondary DNS, also known as the Backup DNS or Slave DNS, is a recursive DNS server or servers that has or have a copy of the zone file. It will have a copy of the DNS records, but it will just copy the information from the Primary DNS. If you change any DNS record, you will need to wait until the Secondary DNS servers update. This depends on the values that were set inside the SOA (start of authority) record. Inside the SOA record, you can see the refresh rate and TTL value. 

So, in short, the Backup DNS is a system of recursive DNS servers that has a read-only copy of the DNS records. The Secondary DNS will stay on, even if the Primary DNS is down, and will still resolve queries as long as the values inside the SOA record allows it (for a certain time until the data is not current anymore). 

It is a good practice to have a Secondary DNS with a different provider. That way, you could have better chances to stay up in case of attack. 

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Anycast DNS

What objective does Anycast DNS serve?

What is the aim of Anycast DNS?

Anycast DNS is an extra service that you can find from DNS providers. It is a helpful traffic-routing system that delivers website material very quickly. That is made feasible by the multiple nameservers that keep a specific similar IP address.

Each of these servers is positioned in a different location to be closer to the possible users. The user experience is enhanced, and DNS query replies are significantly quicker as a result. The closest and most accessible server will fulfill the user’s request. As a result, your customers won’t have to wait long to access and browse your website thanks to the Anycast DNS service, which almost eliminates latency.

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Authoritative DNS server

Authoritative DNS server explained in detail

An Authoritative DNS server is a really essential part of the DNS resolution process. Why? Because it stores critical information about the zone records (SOA record, A record, etc.). In this article today, we will explain it in detail, its purpose, how you can check it, and the main difference between an Authoritative DNS server and a Recursive DNS server. So, if this matches your needs, let’s explore it!

Authoritative DNS server – Definition

An Authoritative name server responds to Domain Name System queries such as the IP address of a mail server or the IP address of a website (A resource record). It responds to DNS queries with unique and definitive replies. It does not just give cached responses retrieved from another name server. As a result, it only responds to requests regarding domain names stored in its configuration system. Authoritative Name Servers are divided into two categories:

  • A Master server (also known as a Primary name server) keeps the original master copies of all zone records. 
  • A Slave server (Secondary name server) is a copy of the master server.

How to check it?

The nslookup command, which is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux, is the simplest way to check the Authoritative DNS servers.

We’ll need to execute a DNS lookup for the NS DNS records, which will show all of the domain’s nameservers.

Open the Command Prompt on Windows or Terminal on macOS and Linux to get started. Then run the nslookup command as follows:

nslookup -type=NS highfive.me.uk

You’ll see a list of the domain’s nameservers, along with their IP addresses. You can replace “highfive.me.uk” with the domain name you want to verify.

Authoritative DNS server and Recursive DNS server – Main difference

An Authoritative DNS server responds to DNS requests using data configured by an originating source, such as a domain administrator or Domain Name System procedures. And in the meantime, a Recursive DNS server is a server that accepts a user’s website name or URL and checks Authoritative name server records to get the appropriate IP address. This is the primary distinction between an Authoritative DNS server and a Recursive DNS server.

Conclusion

You now have another piece of the DNS puzzle. What you should take away from this post is that the Authoritative DNS server is the one that stores DNS records and responds to DNS queries from Recursive DNS servers. Clearly defined, finding something on the Internet without the information they hold and the upgrades they allow and provide would be like looking for a needle in a haystack!

Monitoring service

Monitoring service – Why do you need it?

Monitoring service – definition

The Monitoring service gives you the ability to receive detailed information about the condition of your servers that you implement for your different services such as web, email, DNS, and many more. 

With it, you are able to check and understand the status of your servers in real-time. By constantly monitoring your network, you are going to have the opportunity to detect different problems like a component failure or really slow traffic. Additionally, such type of service is going to notify you automatically through email, text, or in another way like web hooks if an issue occurs.

The Monitoring service aims to spot network issues, for example, overloaded routers, server failures, or network connection problems.

Check the link to test a great Monitoring service!

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rDNS

2 main reasons to use rDNS

What is rDNS?

The rDNS, also known as reverse DNS, is the DNS lookup using an IP address and searching for its corresponding domain name. It is simply the opposite of the normal forward DNS lookup, where the goal is to find the associated IP address of a domain name.

It is common for Managed DNS providers to supply the rDNS service. When you decide to get it, you are going to have the opportunity to make a reverse Master zone. Next, by creating PTR records in this zone, you are able to verify the accurate equivalent linking IP addresses and their hostnames. PTR records act as a piece of evidence when you have to prove the IP address actually belongs to the domain name. That way, you are making sure to avoid fraud. In addition, rDNS is able to operate with IPv4 addresses and with the newer IPv6 addresses.

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DDNS

DDNS (Dynamic DNS) – How does it work?

What is DDNS (Dynamic DNS)?

The DDNS abbreviation means Dynamic Domain Name System. It’s a very useful method to update your name server automatically and regularly. It updates IP addresses every time they change, together with their corresponding A (IPv4) and AAAA (IPv6) records. It saves you the time and effort of doing this task manually.

Internet service providers (ISP) constantly change IP addresses for clients. They have a big challenge administrating them, not to run out of them. They need a unique IP address for every device that gets connected to their network. 

Maybe as a regular home-Internet-user, you don’t get impacted by these constant IP changes. Businesses are a different story. If a business offers a service -or multiple services- through Internet, its servers for sure are affected by such IP address changes. Every change means a risk for its users requesting the service, not to have access since they are trying with a previous, not valid IP address.

Businesses have to look for alternatives:

  • A person in charge of constantly monitoring and changing the IP address manually whenever it gets changed by the ISP.
  • Paying to have a static IP address. It’s an expensive solution. IP addresses are not an unlimited resource, and to have sets or pools of them also has a cost for the ISPs. If they provide you a fixed IP address, they can’t use it for other clients.
  • Using DDNS to keep IP addresses up to date automatically. 

It’s not a hard quiz, right? Using DDNS is definitely the most simple choice. 

How does DDNS work?

Once you get the DDNS service, you won’t worry about monitoring and updating your IP address. But let’s go a bit deeper on how the process works.

Your business offers a service through the Internet. So you have your own server or servers. To make the service available for external users, you need to follow a few steps. Your business network (inside) has to communicate with the Internet through a network address translation (NAT) router. NAT will assign an IP address to your server/s.

Then, port forwarding will be required, plus an external port (Portex) and IP address (IPex). Done! The service is now available for external users via the Internet. At this point, IPex changes will become a problem or not if you get DDNS service. 

Once you get the DDNS service from a provider, DDNS software is set up on your network. IPex is added to the DDNS info, and NAT must be configured to update the IPex whenever needed and inform the DNS server about it. 

What NAT will ask you is to add your DDNS account and password, and that’s it! They will work together, communicate all the time, for you not to worry. 

Why use DDNS?

It brings very convenient benefits:

  • Easy to use solution. You get the service, the software is installed, and that’s it.
  • Notifications of IP changes to the DNS server are real-time.
  • Constant access to your server or website. Just by using the hostname, users will reach you, no matter if the IP address changes.
  • It’s a cost-effective solution. There are paid and free DDNS providers. It’s cheaper than paying static IPs for your business’ devices.
  • Remote access or VPN access will work smoothly for your employees working from home. 
  • Installation of security cameras on your business. They will need a connection to the Internet to work properly. With DDNS, they will keep available 24/7.
  • People using their computer at home for hosting an app, game server, website, etc., totally will feel the benefits of DDNS.

Conclusion

DDNS is very useful. If everything is set up correctly, it is a resource that won’t interfere with the performance of your system. Exactly the opposite. It will optimize it. Try it now!

best CMS platforms

5 best CMS platforms for 2021

Are you looking for Content Management System (CMS) platforms? Welcome on board! CMS platforms are a great way to build a website without being an expert on programming or writing codes.

The only issue is that variety is massive already. To pick well is the key to save you time, effort, and money. Moving from one to another is possible, but it will delay your online success. 

Let’s narrow the menu for you not to be dizzy! 

Word Press

Open-source available since 2003. Based on MySQL (database) and PHP, a scripting language for managing dynamic content. You can build from a blog to a big e-shop with it.

Advantages:

  • It’s free.
  • Available in more than sixty languages.
  • Robust infrastructure to build any type of site.
  • Flexible. There are literally thousands of native Word Press but also third-party apps, themes, plugins… Free, paid ones compatible and available for installing. Customization for your website has massive possibilities.
  • It downloads all your content in XML format, in case you want to migrate to a different system. 
  • SEO friendly. 
  • Big and supportive community.

Disadvantages:

  • New additions are making it a heavy platform and a bit confusing.
  • They limited out-of-the-box functionality. Additional plugins are needed.

Drupal

CMS open-source since 2001. Popular and powerful PHP-written CMS. 

Advantages:

  • It’s free.
  • Built-in system to make things easier.
  • Its flexible and modular structure allows many different modules (plugins) for you to customize as much as you want. 
  • Plenty of plugins (Drupal native and third-party too) are available for expanding your website’s functionality.
  • It supports lots of data. 
  • SEO friendly.
  • Active community, ready to help.

Disadvantages:

  • Some modules require manual configuration via FTP. Not compatible extensions with the backend will require a process to be updated. It can be a bit complex for beginners.  
  • If your business needs are demanding, the basic Drupal installation will need a lot of additions. 

Joomla

It was released in 2005. It’s a reliable and popular open-source CMS. PHP and MySQL based.

Advantages: 

  • It’s free.
  • Robust and flexible infrastructure. Any kind of website can be built with it, maintain, and scale.
  • Thousands of free and paid extensions are compatible and available to increase your website’s functionality. What to add totally depends on your business’ needs.
  • Built-in multilingual support. 
  • Multi theme use.
  • Wide and helpful community.

Disadvantages:

  • Managing the whole system’s possibilities could be a challenge for beginners. You can need guidance.
  • Available extensions are thousands, but less than for otherCMSs.

Ghost

Open-source specifically for blogging. Written in JavaScript. Ideal CMS for big companies and individuals. Available since 2013.

Advantages:

  • It’s free. 
  • A friendly, neat editor that allows text formatting even when adding special characters.
  • Built-in SEO’s optimization.
  • The necessary tools for charging users to get your content (subscriptions) are available.

Disadvantages.:

  • Less flexible than other CMSs if you change the kind of business.
  • It’s a popular CMS but still not compatible with all hosting providers, like more used CMSs.
  • For advanced functions, a bit of code must be understood.

Magento

Released in 2008, Magento is a reliable open-source for e-Commerce. Written in PHP, a powerful CMS. 

Advantages:

  • Free and paid versions. We’ll talk about the free one. 
  • Pretty customizable.
  • Flexible, a lot of third-party extensions can be added to expand your site’s functionality.
  • It allows you to build all shop sizes, managing plenty of customers and products. There’s room for your business to grow.
  • Choices for getting payments, money transfers are many, and some are already built-in.

Disadvantages:

  • It can be hard for beginners. Building an e-shop from scratch is a big task. 
  • Just the paid version (expensive) includes customer support. Getting the free one, you rely on Magento’s community.

Conclusion

These 5 best CMS platforms are top-notch. They power really big online e-shops, government institutions, publishers, and more. Remember, the software is free, but you still need a hosting provider to run them. 

DNS load balancing

DNS load balancing

Now we are going to explore something that a few people know – DNS load balancing. 

You have probably heard about cache plugins and CDN (Content Delivery Network). Now we are going to talk about another network element that increases the speed by managing the DNS requests faster than a single server. It will boast the first step of someone’s visit to a site and redirect the traffic for better performance. 

What is DNS load balancing?

DNS load balancing is a technique for administrating the traffic of a hostname. Many of these DNS load balancers are smart. They use different criteria, analyze the traffic, decide to let it go or stop it, and redirect it to another server based on current load or another parameter. 

Find out more information about DNS Load Balancing!

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DDoS Protected DNS

What is DDoS Protected DNS, and do I need it?

Statistics about Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks’ growth and frequency around the world are scary. Nobody wants to experience them, but there is no way to deny, anybody can be targeted. 

The time a DDoS attack can last is not a minor issue. Some have lasted a few hours, but others, days. Every hour your business is shut down means losses for you. Plus the cost for fixing the DDoS side effects on your site.

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DNS records

5 most popular DNS records

Here you have 5 most popular DNS records. You will find them on your first day of managing a DNS. Each of them is extremely important for the right functionality of the DNS. There are many more DNS record types, but those 5 essential DNS records are a good start for the first contact with the DNS records.

A record

The A record is the best-known record out there. It is the first that you will add to your Master zone. It links the hostname to its IP address. The address, in this case, is IPv4 (32-bit).

When somebody wants to visit your site, he or she will need the A record to find the domain name’s IP address. When he or she types the domain name, his or her browser will go on a look for the A record, and when it finds it, it can resolve the domain.

The A record is still popular, despite there is a newer AAAA record. 

What is RP record and why do you need it?

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