SOLVED Can DNS records be edited and managed from a master dnsonly server?

[unity200]

Are we able to directly edit dns zones on a dnsonly cpanel server?

If not, does this mean that we will have to have a master dns server running in a cpanel install separate from this dnsonly server to make it work?

How we handle migrations when moving accounts to another server in such a case? The receiving server will update the dns cluster? Where do we even set the ips?

I wanted to have one master dnsonly nameserver to avoid hassling with nameserver situations when moving/upgrading servers and accounts. But this does not seem to be possible. And to be honest the documentation is not clear on this, leave aside the info which cpanel gives on clustering page confusing - 'this server' phrase is used indefinitely - which server? remote server or localhost? And does 'this server' point to localhost in all 3 cases relating to standalone, write-only, and synchronize?

...........

If we arent able to manage the dns records from a single dnsonly master server, then is the whole point of dnsonly some extra redundancy?

 

[cPanelLauren]

Hello @unity200

Are we able to directly edit dns zones on a dnsonly cpanel server?

You can but I would absolutely not do this. All DNS zone edits should come from the primary webserver in the cluster.

How we handle migrations when moving accounts to another server in such a case? The receiving server will update the dns cluster? Where do we even set the ips?

If the receiving server is in the cluster new/transferred accounts will automatically be synchronized once added and all changes to IP's and zones need to be made from the webserver then synchronized to the dns servers in the cluster (which happens automatically after a zone file modification)

Did see this documentation? Guide to DNS Cluster Configurations - cPanel Knowledge Base - cPanel Documentation goes over common cluster configurations and how they work.

If we arent able to manage the dns records from a single dnsonly master server, then is the whole point of dnsonly some extra redundancy?

The point of DNS clustering is to maintain DNS in in separate IP blocks, in the instance once nameserver is experiencing issues the other will (hopefully) not be affected. The DNS clustering documentation goes over the purpose and scope of clustering as well here: DNS Cluster - Version 80 Documentation - cPanel Documentation

A DNS cluster is a group of nameservers that share records, which allows you to physically separate nameservers that handle the DNS requests from your web servers.

• WHM's DNS Cluster feature only provides redundancy for DNS. It does not add Apache or any other services to a DNS cluster configuration.

 

[unity200]

You can but I would absolutely not do this. All DNS zone edits should come from the primary webserver in the cluster.

So then there always needs to be a cpanel full server as the master dns server?

What happens when we are moving this cpanel installation to a new server?

If the receiving server is in the cluster new/transferred accounts will automatically be synchronized once added and all changes to IP's and zones need to be made from the webserver then synchronized to the dns servers in the cluster (which happens automatically after a zone file modification)

So i we are moving the master server, what happens then? Because the master server and also ns1.server.com is moving, how will the dns zone moves even work.

Did see this documentation? Guide to DNS Cluster Configurations - cPanel Knowledge Base - cPanel Documentation goes over common cluster configurations and how they work.

Yeah, i did, but to be honest they are a bit confusing. The above questions for example, are not addressed, and inferring them from what is told there would be risky.

 

[cPanelLauren]

So then there always needs to be a cpanel full server as the master dns server?

That is correct

What happens when we are moving this cpanel installation to a new server?

If you're moving to a new cPanel server I'd suggest adding the new server to the cluster prior to moving it - this should be relatively painless

So i we are moving the master server, what happens then? Because the master server and also ns1.server.com is moving, how will the dns zone moves even work.

I'm not sure I understand the issue here, if you're migrating to a new server and not going to be using any of the servers in the cluster using the transfer tool to migrate shouldn't affect anything in the cluster, if you're using NS in the cluster you'd just add the new server, perform your migration and remove the servers you no longer want present in the cluster.

 

[unity200]

I'm not sure I understand the issue here, if you're migrating to a new server and not going to be using any of the servers in the cluster using the transfer tool to migrate shouldn't affect anything in the cluster, if you're using NS in the cluster you'd just add the new server, perform your migration and remove the servers you no longer want present in the cluster.

So,

If the new server didnt join the cluster yet: I just move the server to there, delete all zones in the old server, and sync the zones from new server? Which would mean the zones would not be available until they are synced from the new server by the way.

If the new server is in the cluster: When i transfer the accounts to the new server, how do i have the cluster update the records? Do i delete the accounts in the old server, and then sync them from new server?

 

[cPanelMichael]

Hello @unity200,

First, can you verify how your DNS cluster is setup? Can you share how many servers you are working with, and how many of them are DNS-Only and how many of them are standard cPanel & WHM servers?

Additionally, here's a quote you may find helpful. It's from my response on another thread regarding advice about DNS cluster setups:

After you install cPanel DNS-Only on a server, you can then configure your hosting servers to synchronize DNS zones to the DNS-Only server via the WHM >> DNS Cluster interface on each hosting server. This is the "Direct Links" example from our documentation:

webserver1 >sync changes> dnsonly1
webserver2 >sync changes> dnsonly1
webserver3 >sync changes> dnsonly1

If you have two DNS-Only servers, you'd complete the same steps for the second DNS-Only server:

webserver1 >sync changes> dnsonly2
webserver2 >sync changes> dnsonly2
webserver3 >sync changes> dnsonly2

Note that you can choose "Synchronize" or "Write-Only" as the DNS role when enabling clustering in the WHM >> DNS Cluster interface on each hosting server:

Synchronize — This method synchronizes records between the local server and the remote server.
Write-only — This method pushes the local server's records to write to the remote server, but does not query records from the remote server to write to the local server.

If you use "Synchronize" instead of "Write-Only" as the DNS roles, then it will prevent the creation of a DNS zone on any hosting server in the cluster if it already exists (e.g. Customer on Web Server 1 can't create addondomain123.tld if a customer on Web Server 2 has already created addondomain123.tld).

Also, remember to enable "Setup Reverse Trust Relationship" for each DNSONLY server you add when configure clustering using the "WHM >> DNS Cluster" option on the web servers. If you select this option, you will not need to log in to WHM's DNS Cluster interface on the remote DNSONLY server.

Next, in each of the hosting servers, browse to "WHM >> Basic WebHost Manager Setup" and ensure the name servers are set to the hostnames of your preference. The name servers don't have to match the hostnames of the DNS-Only servers. You just have to make sure that whatever name servers you use are associated with the IP addresses of the DNS-Only servers. We document how to setup name servers at the domain registrar here:

How to Set Up Nameservers in a cPanel Environment - cPanel Knowledge Base - cPanel Documentation

One final note: You mentioned the possibility of using a hosting server in lieu of a second DNS-Only server. This is not recommended, as this type of configuration may cause DNS errors on your servers. Instead, you should simply use two cPanel DNS-Only servers (or just a single DNS-Only server with two IP addresses).

Thanks!

 

[unity200]

There are 2 dnsonly servers and 2 cpanel servers which use them.

I chose synchronize for all servers, because to be honest the explanation in the docs and in the cluster setup page in dnsonly server is pretty confusing. I have added each server to cluster using 'synchronize' and 'reverse trust relationship'. I did the same for connections i set up from the dnsonly servers to cpanel servers. This may have mixed stuff up.

The wordage is unclear in descriptions - which one is 'this server', and which one is 'remote servers'. This server is the local cpanel server? What about when you are using the dnsonly panel? then which is 'this server'? the local dnsonly? same goes for remote servers.

........

From the quote you included, which seems more clear, what i understand is:

- We add the dnsonly servers to the cpanel server from cpanel server's cluster options, we set reverse trust relationship, we set synchronize when doing so.

- This will cause changes on any cpanel server to synchronize to dns servers.

But do we add the cpanel servers to the dnsonly servers' dns cluster by using dnsonly servers' control panel too? Is that necessary? Should we delete those connections created in dnsonly servers if they are not necessary, and leave only the connections set up in cpanel servers?

 

[cPanelMichael]

Hello @unity200,

cPanel & WHM - This refers to a server with a full cPanel license. It's sometimes referred to as a "hosting server" because the full cPanel license allows you to create cPanel accounts through Web Host Manager.

cPanel DNS Only - This refers to a server with a cPanel DNS Only license. It's sometimes referred to as a "DNSOnly Server" or "remote DNS server" because cPanel DNS Only limits functionality to DNS services (e.g. there is no "Create A New Account" link in Web Host Manager).

From the quote you included, which seems more clear, what i understand is:

- We add the dnsonly servers to the cpanel server from cpanel server's cluster options, we set reverse trust relationship, we set synchronize when doing so.

- This will cause changes on any cpanel server to synchronize to dns servers.

This is correct. The use of "cpanel server" in your quote above refers to the cPanel & WHM server.

But do we add the cpanel servers to the dnsonly servers' dns cluster by using dnsonly servers' control panel too? Is that necessary? Should we delete those connections created in dnsonly servers if they are not necessary, and leave only the connections set up in cpanel servers?

You do not have to add the cPanel & WHM servers in cPanel DNS Only >> WHM >> DNS Cluster because you enabled the Reverse Trust Relationship option when using WHM >> DNS Cluster on the cPanel & WHM servers. To correct this, change the role to Standalone in the cPanel DNS Only >> WHM >> DNS Cluster interface.

Let me know if this information helps.

Thank you.

 

[unity200]

Ok, thanks, this clears it up well. It would be very nice if the above concise information was included in the dns cluster page in cpanel and cpanel dnsonly servers.