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IP Addresses:   Domain Name    IP Address
    example.si     193.39.153.24
    example.si     89.272.252.77
    www.example.si     193.39.153.24
    www.example.si     89.272.252.77

This is our round robin DNS. Same domain in two different IP. Everything ok, works fine but we have small problem. Now first (primary) server is in ip 193.39.153.24 so all domains start resolving with 193.39.153.24 but we want that primary dns server ip is 89.272.252.77

Is this possible?

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  • thx i changed to example.si
    – senzacionale
    Aug 19, 2010 at 8:51
  • With round-robin, both IP addresses will be returned, so there isn't really any primary server in that regard. Is your goal to have a single server, and have a second server only come into play if the first is down?
    – Paul Kroon
    Aug 19, 2010 at 10:42
  • i want backup server if first is down yes. Is round robin right decision for that?
    – senzacionale
    Aug 19, 2010 at 14:12
  • here's a writeup I did for a similar question: serverfault.com/questions/55780/…
    – Greeblesnort
    Aug 20, 2010 at 4:24

4 Answers 4

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if your looking to have a "fail-over" system set-up, so if your primary site crashes and is unavailable the secondary is then available Round Robin is not an answer for you, as I looked at doing this a while ago and it generated nothing but problems and headaches.

what you need to-do is use a Load Balancer, there's plenty of solutions out there for this job, hardware appliances, software etc. the solution I chose was to implement a Linux server running a load balancer called Crossroads (XR).

basically it monitors both our sites and the minute it detects our primary site is off-line it redirects clients to the alternative (secondary site).

the only downside really is a basic knowledge of Linux including its security and how to ensure your server stays safe.

hope this helps.

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With round robin DNS there is no primary server. The used address will alternate between the two, giving vaguely even load with a large number of requests.

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  • hmm why then i am 99% of time connected to 193 and just 1% to 89
    – senzacionale
    Aug 19, 2010 at 11:10
  • 1
    Browsers cache the dns result and treat it slightly differently. It will try the first ip and then if that is unavailable try the 2nd. This is by design to stick an individual browser to an ip, it will only switch server when the cache is refreshed and it gets the other ip at the top of it's list. So for individuals it will not tend to be balanced.
    – JamesRyan
    Aug 19, 2010 at 11:45
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Why not give your DNS servers new names? Like:

ns1.yourdomain.si A 89.212.252.73
ns2.yourdomain.si A 193.37.152.24

PS .si is Slovenia

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  • we don't have NS server just IP server. Yes .si is Slovenia :) But problem is that 193 is before 89 so 193 is alwys first.
    – senzacionale
    Aug 19, 2010 at 8:53
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First thing to note is that life will be a lot more painless if you specify home-specific DNS entries for different physical nodes - it makes supporting the system much easier. Curerntly, if 193.39.153.24 fails, then any requests to www.example.si should still succeeed.

According to RFC1123, the order in which records are specified should reflect the order in which they are sent to the client - and the client should try them in that order - however this has been superceded by RFC 1794. Certainly, for as long as I am aware, bind (and possibly other DNS servers) return equivalent records in a random order (unless explicitly told not to in bind 9.2.3 or later). For anything other than MX records, there is not "primary".

If, using nslookup, your DNS server is consistently returning records in the same order, then its time to have a long hard look at your DNS server config.

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