Alibaba Cloud DNS:FAQ about configuring a domain name/subdomain

The scenarios where you cannot add a domain name are as follows:

• Scenario 1: What do I do if the system displays a message, indicating that a domain name is not registered by using the current Alibaba Cloud account, when I add the domain name?

  This message means that the domain name is registered with Alibaba Cloud by using another Alibaba Cloud account. If you want to transfer this domain name to the current Alibaba Cloud account, log on to the Domains console with the account used to register the domain name. In the left-side navigation pane, click Domain Names. On the All tab of the Domain Name List page, click the domain name to open the domain name details page. Click Transfer between Accounts in the left-side navigation pane.

  Note

  • For information on how this operation affects DNS resolution, see Transfer a domain name across Alibaba Cloud accounts without interrupting business.

• Scenario 2: When you add a domain name in the Alibaba Cloud DNS console, if the system displays a message indicating that the domain name has been added by using another account.

  You can retrieve the domain name to the current account. For more information, see Retrieve a domain name.

If your domain name is registered with Alibaba Cloud, it cannot be deleted in the Alibaba Cloud DNS console.

The general cause is that the number of domain names that you want to bind to your paid instance exceeds the upper limit supported by the edition of Alibaba Cloud DNS. You can log on to the Alibaba Cloud DNS console. On the Authoritative DNS Resolution page, click the Editions tab and click Bind Domain Name in the Actions column of your domain name. In the Basic Information section of the page that appears, you can view the value of Maximum Bound Domain Names. If you want to bind more domain names, click Upgrade on the Editions tab and increase the value of Quantity on the page that appears.

The prompt means that the domain name is not listed in the authoritative domain name list of your current account. We recommend that you first check whether the domain name entered is correct. If the domain name is correct but not listed, manually add the domain name to the list before binding it to the instance. For instructions on adding a domain name, see Add a domain name.

You can perform the following steps to change the DNS service provider of the primary domain without affecting the DNS resolution of the subdomains:

1. Export the DNS records of the primary domain that is hosted by Alibaba Cloud DNS, including NS records pointing to the primary domain.

2. Import the DNS records above to the thrid-party DNS service provider.

3. Change the DNS records at the domain name registrar to point the domain name to a new provider.

4. Retain the NS records of the primary domain in the Alibaba Cloud DNS console for at least 48 hours after the DNS server is changed.

You can perform the following steps to change the DNS service provider of the primary domain without affecting the DNS resolution of the subdomains (the following steps are related to the subdomains; for the migration of the primary domain, see Smooth domain name imgration to Alibaba Cloud DNS.

1. If the primary domain is not registered with Alibaba Cloud, add the primary domain in Alibaba Cloud DNS. If the primary domain is registered with Alibaba Cloud, skip this step.

2. Add NS records for subdomains under the primary domain to delegate the subdomains to Alibaba Cloud DNS.

3. Go to the website of the domain name registrar to change the DNS server of the primary domain.

4. Retain the NS records of the primary domain on the website of the original DNS service provider for at least 48 hours after the DNS server is changed.

You can configure a subdomain by adding a DNS record. When adding the DNS record, enter a domain name prefix as the hostname, and enter your server IP address as the record value. Assume that a primary domain is example.com and a second-level domain www.example.com needs to be set. You can specifywww as the hostname. If you need to set a third-level domain a.www.example.com, you can specifya.www as the hostname. For more information, see Configure a DNS record for a subdomain.

Yes, Alibaba Cloud DNS supports DNS resolution in the following scenarios:

• Scenario 1: The primary domain is hosted by a third-party DNS service and the subdomains are hosted by Alibaba Cloud DNS.

• Scenario 2: Both the primary domain and subdomain are hosted by Alibaba Cloud DNS but are managed by different accounts.

• Scenario 3: Both the primary domain and the subdomain are hosted by Alibaba Cloud DNS and belong to the same account.

For more information, see Manage subdomains.

Yes, you can use Alibaba Cloud DNS to host subdomains if the primary domain is hosted by a third-party DNS service provider. For more information about how to add a subdomain, see the steps in The primary domain is hosted by a third-party DNS service and the subdomains are hosted by Alibaba Cloud DNS section in the Manage subdomains topic.

After you add a subdomain, Alibaba Cloud DNS assigns DNS servers to the subdomain. These operations are performed asynchronously. We recommend that you wait a few minutes and refresh the page. Then, go to the DNS Settings page of the subdomain and view the names of DNS servers assigned by Alibaba Cloud DNS in the upper part of the page.

Check whether the DNS records of the subdomain were added to primary domain.

• If the DNS records were not added to primary domain: It is reasonable that the number of DNS records of a subdomain in the Alibaba Cloud DNS is displayed as zero. You need to add a DNS record for this subdomain.

• If the DNS records were added to primary domain: After you add a subdomain, DNS records of the primary domain that match this subdomain are synchronized to this subdomain. These operations are performed asynchronously. We recommend that you wait a few minutes and refresh the page.

This is because Alibaba Cloud DNS does not find the DNS server information of the subdomain. This state may appear because no DNS server is configured for the subdomain. In this case, you can go to the DNS Settings page of the subdomain and obtain the names of DNS servers assigned by Alibaba Cloud DNS. Then, add two NS records for the primary domain to point the subdomain to each DNS server assigned by Alibaba Cloud DNS.