Guides
Step-by-step guides to help you get the most out of your secondary DNS setup.
How to Set Up a Secondary DNS Server
Step-by-step guide to adding a secondary (slave) DNS server for your domain using AXFR zone transfers.
DNS Redundancy: Why It Matters
Learn why DNS is a single point of failure and how to build redundancy with secondary nameservers.
Understanding AXFR Zone Transfers
How AXFR and IXFR work, security considerations, and configuration examples for BIND, PowerDNS, and Knot.
How to Add Secondary DNS to CyberPanel Hosting Panel
Automate secondary DNS for CyberPanel hosting panel with SecondDNS. Every domain gets instant DNS redundancy via AXFR.
How to Add Secondary DNS to DirectAdmin Hosting Panel
Set up automatic secondary DNS for DirectAdmin hosting panel with BIND or PowerDNS. Instant DNS redundancy via AXFR.
How to Add Secondary DNS to Plesk Hosting Panel
Set up automatic secondary DNS for Plesk hosting panel. Domains and aliases get instant DNS redundancy via AXFR.
How to Add Secondary DNS to cPanel/WHM Hosting Panel
Set up automatic secondary DNS for cPanel/WHM servers with BIND or PowerDNS. Every domain and addon domain gets instant DNS redundancy via AXFR.
Personalized Nameservers: What You Need to Know
How to use your own hostname for secondary DNS and what to watch out for before you start.
What Is a DNS SOA Record and Why It Matters
The SOA record field by field: serial, refresh, retry, expire - how secondaries use them and how to diagnose a stale zone.
What Are DNS Glue Records and When Do You Need Them
Why a nameserver inside its own zone needs glue at the registrar, what breaks without it, and how to check delegation with dig.
Secondary DNS Server: What It Is and How It Works
What a secondary DNS server is, how it receives your zone with AXFR and NOTIFY, why registrars require one, and how to check it works.
TSIG Keys on Your Primary DNS Server
Configure a SecondDNS TSIG key on BIND, PowerDNS, NSD and Knot DNS so zone transfers are signed instead of allowed by IP address.