What is AWS Route53 Service? (Part-3)

What is AWS Route53 Service? (Part-3)

If you are currently using another DNS Service and you want to migrate to Amazon Route53

  • Start by creating a Hosted Zone. Route53 automatically assigns the delegation sets, the four name servers to your hosted zone.

  • To ensure that the DNS routes queries for your domain to the Route53 name servers.

  • Update your registrar's or your DNS service's NS records for the domain to replace the current name servers with the names of the four Route53 name servers for your hosted zone.

  • The method that you use to update the NS records depends on which registrar or DNS service you are using.

  • Some registrars only allow you to specify name servers using IP addresses they don't allow you to specify fully qualified domain names.

  • If your registrar requires using IP addresses, you can get the IP addresses for your name servers using the dig utility (for Mac and Linux) and nslookup (for Windows)

Transferring a domain between accounts within AWS

  • Transferring a domain to a different AWS account

    - If you registered a domain using one AWS account and you want to transfer the domain to another AWS account, you can do so by contacting the AWS support center and requesting the transfer.

Migrating a hosted zone to a different AWS account

  • If you are using Route53 as the DNS service for the domain, Route53 does not transfer the hosted zone when you transfer a domain to a different AWS account.

  • If a domain registration is associated with a single account and the corresponding hosted zone is associated with another account, neither domain registration nor DNS functionality is affected.

  • The only effect is that you will need to sign into the Route53 console using one account to see the domain and sign in using the other account to see the hosted zone.

Supported DNS Record types by Route53

  1. A Record:- Address Record- Maps domain name to IP address e.g. somewebsite.com IN A 1.2.3.4

  2. AAAA Record:- IPv6 address Record- Maps a domain name to an IPv6 address e.g. somewebsite.com IN AAAA 2002:b765::1

  3. CNAME (Canonical Name Record) Record:- Maps and alias to a hostname e.g. Web IN CNAME somewebsite.com

  4. NS (Name Server) Record:- Name server Record used for delegating zone to a nameserver e.g. somewebsite.com IN NS nsi.somewebsite.com

  5. SOA Record:- Start of Authority which tells who's the owner.

  6. MX Record:- Mail Exchange - It defined where to deliver mail for user @somedomainname e.g. somedomain.com IN MX 10 mail01.somedomain.com

Crux Explanation of DNS Record Types

  • NS records define which name server is authoritative to a particular zone or domain name and point you to other DNS servers.

  • A/AAAA are called host records, like business cards.

  • CNAME is an Alternative record or an alias for another record

  • Helpful in redirection or if you want to hide details about your actual servers from the users.

Start of Authority Record (SOA)

  • Every single zone has one and only one SOA resource record at the beginning of the Zone.

  • It is not an actual record, it includes the following information:-

    - Who the owner is (email for the domain)

    - The authoritative server

    - The Serial number which is incremental with changes to the zone data.

    - The refreshing time/cycle info, and the TTL

CNAME Record Type

  • A CNAME value element is the same format as a domain name.

  • The DNS protocol does not allow you to create a CNAME Record for the top node of a DNS namespace, also known as the Zone apex (or root domain)

  • For example -> If you register the DNS name something.com the zone apex is something.com

  • You can not create a CNAME record for something.com

  • However, you can create CNAME records for something.com, support.something.com, and so on

  • In addition, if you create a CNAME record for a subdomain, you can not create any other records for that subdomain

    e.g. if you create a CNAME for something.com you can not create any other records for which the value of the name field is something.com

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