How to get started with Secondary DNS?

Secondary DNS is an absolutely incredible service. Why? Because if your main server is down for any reason, your domain will still continue to function. This definitely saves a lot of money and stress.

Secondary DNS – what does it mean?

Almost everyone on the Internet uses the Domain Name System, even if they do not realize it. The purpose of DNS is to link the easy-to-remember domain names with its Internet Protocols. This domain has Primary DNS, which holds all the critical information. Many domains, however, employ Secondary DNS to ensure faster load times, better load balancing, and redundancy in the event of an outage or attack. So, we can say that Secondary DNS is an amazing service whose primary purpose is to link you to a DNS server network. You can find it with the other name like Backup DNS or Slave DNS. 

Secondary DNS server – Everything you need to know

How does it work?

Secondary DNS is very easy to understand. It actually contains the copied information from the Primary DNS. This data is regularly duplicated to keep the information up to date. This transfer is also known as zone transfer. That is, there are more DNS servers that process the queries made. And if, for some reason, the Primary DNS is down, the Secondary DNS will come into play, and the queries will continue to be processed. That is, your domain name will continue to function and work without issue.

Why is Secondary DNS beneficial?

There are 4 main reasons why you should implement a Backup DNS:

  1. You’ll have 100 percent uptime. Even if the Primary DNS goes down, users will be able to access your website using the backup DNS. If you’re in the e-commerce business, you know how important uptime is in terms of profitability.
  2. Have a reliable backup plan in place. If something goes wrong with the Primary DNS, this is your great backup option. Backup DNS will make a copy of your DNS records for you.
  3. Make sure your Primary DNS isn’t overloaded. If a significant number of inquiries are received, you will be able to disperse the load and ensure the availability of DNS records.
  4. The mere existence of a Primary DNS server entails risk in the event of failure, malfunction, or attack. The DNS zone’s authoritative records will simply not be available. Secondary DNS is a wonderful way to avoid having to deal with this.

Where can you get it?

You can try a number of free Secondary DNS providers, but most of them have significant limitations. For example, they usually have a monthly restriction on DNS queries, a small number of DNS records, no sophisticated features like DDoS protection or Dynamic DNS, and a limited number of name servers.

So the best option is to use a paid Secondary DNS. Many good providers offer this service. For example, ClouDNS, BuddyNS, Hurricane Electric DNS, etc. The cost of the service entirely depends on the plan you choose.

Conclusion

Let’s review. Secondary DNS is a copied version of the main DNS server – Primary DNS. Using it could prevent DoS attacks and to improve the network performance. So that’s something to think about. Give it a shot and adopt it into your system.