DNS Migration Best Practice
As a DNS management provider, we understand that transferring your DNS to a new provider can be a complex and time-consuming process, especially if you have a large number of domain names and complicated DNS records. That’s why we’re here to do the heavy lifting for you, removing the complexity and ensuring a smooth and successful transition to our platform.
We recognise that careful planning, change plans, and controls are essential to minimise the risks of disruption to your services during the migration process. That’s why we’ve developed a robust migration process that leverages best practices and the latest tools and techniques to ensure a seamless transition.
Our team of experts will work with you to develop a customised migration plan that meets your specific needs and minimises the impact on your services. We’ll perform a comprehensive analysis of your existing DNS records, identify any potential issues, and work with you to address them before the migration begins.
During the migration, we’ll leverage our advanced monitoring and control systems to ensure that your DNS records are correctly configured and that your services remain available throughout the process. And in the unlikely event of any issues or disruptions, we have a comprehensive rollback plan in place to quickly restore your services to their original state.
At the end of the migration, we’ll verify that all DNS records are correctly configured and that your services are functioning as expected. We’ll also provide ongoing support and monitoring to ensure that your DNS management remains seamless and trouble-free.
By choosing our DNS management services, you can rest assured that your DNS transfer will be handled with the utmost care and professionalism, enabling you to focus on your core business while we take care of the rest.
DNS Transfer Planning Considerations
Develop a Change/Migration Plan: The first step is to create a detailed plan that outlines the specific steps that need to be taken to migrate from the current DNS provider to the new provider. Each domain name is viewed as a seperare project. The overall plan Includes a timeline for each step and designate responsible for specific tasks.
Develop a Rollback Plan: Develop a plan that outlines how to rollback if the migration does not go as planned. This includes the necessary steps to be taken to switch back to the original provider if necessary. It usually involves setting the TTL on both the losing and gaining Registrar to the lowest possible value and monitoring all services for resolution.
Determine the Best Change Window: We work with our Clients to choose a change window that minimizes the impact on your organization. It’s best to perform the migration during off-peak hours, such as weekends or late at night, when traffic to your domain is at its lowest.
Develop a Risk Plan and Possible Impacted Services: Identify potential risks associated with the migration and develop a plan to mitigate those risks. Possible impacted services can include email, website, FTP, etc. It’s important to communicate any potential impacts to all stakeholders and plan for how to minimize any potential downtime or disruptions.
Monitor the Transfer and Propagation: We set up a monitoring system to track the migration process and ensure that everything is working as expected. This includes monitoring DNS resolution, email delivery, and website performance.
Test services to ensure all services are working prior to transfer: Before switching completely to the new DNS provider, test the new configuration to ensure that everything is working as expected. This includes testing all DNS records and any other services that rely on DNS.
Make the Switch: Once we’re completed all of the above steps and everything is working as expected, it’s time to make the switch. It’s important to communicate the change to all stakeholders and closely monitor the domain and associated services for any issues.
Perform Post-Migration Validation: After the migration, perform post-migration validation to ensure that all services are working correctly. This includes verifying DNS resolution, email delivery, and website performance.
Risk Management – DNS Migration
DNS transfers can be a complex process that involves moving critical data from one provider to another. Any errors or issues during the DNS transfer can result in downtime; therefore, it is essential to implement best practices in risk management to ensure a smooth and successful DNS transfer. By identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks, organizations can proactively manage potential issues and make informed decisions to minimize the impact on their business. In this way, best practice risk management can help organizations achieve their DNS transfer objectives while protecting their assets and reputation.
We recommend leaving DNS migration to the experts, but If you are considering migrating your organisation’s DNS, here are some risk management considerations:
| Risk | Mitigation steps |
| Downtime
|
1. Schedule the migration during off-peak hours to minimize the impact on users.
2. Prepare a comprehensive test plan that includes testing of the DNS migration process in a non-production environment. 3. Have a rollback plan in place to quickly restore services in case of issues. 4. Leverage DNS monitoring tools to identify and quickly resolve any issues that may arise during the migration.
|
| Loss of data
|
1. Backup all DNS records before the migration, and ensure that the backup is complete and accurate.
2. Perform a test migration to a non-production environment to ensure that all data is migrated correctly. 3. Verify that all DNS records have been migrated correctly before completing the migration. 4. Use DNS monitoring tools to verify that all DNS queries are being resolved correctly.
|
| Misconfiguration
|
1. Thoroughly review and validate all DNS records prior to the migration to ensure that they are correctly configured.
2. Create a detailed plan that outlines the steps required to configure each DNS record correctly. 3. Perform a test migration to a non-production environment to identify and resolve any misconfiguration issues. 4. Monitor the DNS records closely during and after the migration to quickly identify and resolve any misconfiguration issues. 5. Leverage DNS monitoring tools to identify any misconfiguration issues that may arise during the migration.
|
| Security breaches
|
1. Implement appropriate security measures, such as secure connections, multi-factor authentication, and IP restrictions, to prevent unauthorized access to the DNS records.
2. Review and validate all DNS records to ensure that they are secure and not vulnerable to attacks. 3. Monitor DNS records for any suspicious activity, such as changes to the records or unauthorized access attempts. 4. Follow industry best practices for security, such as the CIS DNS Security Guidelines. 5. Regularly review and update security measures to address new threats.
|
| Data privacy breaches
|
1. Implement appropriate measures to ensure that all DNS records are encrypted during transfer and storage.
2. Review and validate all DNS records to ensure that they do not contain any sensitive information, such as personal or financial data. 3. Follow industry best practices for data privacy, such as the GDPR or CCPA. 4. Regularly review and update data privacy measures to address new threats. 5. Monitor DNS records for any unauthorized access or changes.
|
| DNS cache issues
|
1. Prepare a comprehensive test plan that includes testing of DNS cache issues in a non-production environment.
2. Monitor DNS queries to identify any issues with DNS caching. 3. Monitor DNS records for changes that may affect DNS caching. 4. Configure TTL values appropriately to minimize the impact of DNS caching.
|
| Network issues
|
1. Perform a network assessment prior to the migration to identify any potential issues.
2. Ensure that all necessary network ports are open for DNS traffic. 3. Monitor network traffic during the migration to identify any issues. 4. Prepare a contingency plan in case of network issues, such as a backup network connection.
|
| Communication breakdown
|
1. Establish clear communication channels and protocols for all stakeholders involved in the migration.
2. Ensure that all stakeholders are aware of the migration schedule and any potential impact on their services. 3. Provide regular updates on the progress of the migration to all stakeholders. 4. Have a contingency plan in place in case of communication breakdowns, such as backup communication channels |
DNS migrations should be managed by the Experts
DNS transfer can be a complex process that requires technical expertise, carries risks, and can disrupt an organization’s operations. It is important to leave the process to the experts to minimize risk, save time and resources, ensure continuity, and have peace of mind.
If you are considering migrating DNS to a new provider, contact brandsec for how we can assist to ensure that the process goes smoothly and the transfer is incident free.