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I have a server hosting several domains and a DNS premium account at GoDaddy. I would like one of the domains I own, xxx.co, to become the master nameserver for all the other domains, and to use GoDaddy's as my secondary/slave.

I'm an ignorant on DNS so please forgive my misknowledge.

First I may mention the goal of this operation: I use Virtualmin on my server, and its API which, when adding a domain, creates all the DNS records (in BIND 9.7) according to templates I configured.This includes SPF, and as I have spam problems, my server being often registered as spammer, I think it might contribute to solve the problem, and also avoid any manual work in GoDaddy's interface when taking care of a new domain.

In GoDaddy interface, which manages this domain, I add two hosts called ns1.xxx.co and ns2.xxx.co pointing to my server's IP as described here. Then I configure the zone on my server:

    $ttl 3600s
    @   IN  SOA wpcxxxx.amenworld.com. root.wpcxxxx.amenworld.com. (
                1302825306
                10800
                3600
                604800
                38400 )
    @   IN  NS  wpcxxxx.amenworld.com.
    xxx.co. IN  A   62.193.xxx.xxx
    www.xxx.co. IN  A   62.193.xxx.xxx
    ftp.xxx.co. IN  A   62.193.xxx.xxx
    m.xxx.co.   IN  A   62.193.xxx.xxx
    localhost.xxx.co.   IN  A   127.0.0.1
    xxx.co. IN  TXT "v=spf1 a mx a:xxx.co ip4:62.193.xxx.xxx?all"
    ns1.xxx.co. IN  NS  wpcxxxx.amenworld.com.
    ns2.xxx.co. IN  NS  wpcxxxx.amenworld.com.
    ns1.xxx.co. IN  A   62.193.xxx.xxx
    ns2.xxx.co. IN  A   62.193.xxx.xxx

At this point, I wonder if this domain xxx.co can use its own domain-based nameservers or if it has to stick with the ones from GoDaddy. I tried both.
So I use a second domain example.com, add it on my server through Virtualmin, and I set GoDaddy's as secondary/slave for example.com. Then I want to set ns1.xxx.co and ns2.xxx.co as example's nameservers but instead get this error:

The modifications you requested for the domain XXX.CO have FAILED.
Error: Name server pending addition is not registered: NS1.XXX.CO

Am I right in the first place to wish to achieve this? Will it be usefull for my spam problem? Is there any downside I don't see?

What's happening with this error message? How can I achieve this?
I've followed the steps from here, I have opened my port 953 - was it usefull btw?
Do I have to add ns1.xxx.co and ns2.xxx.co in the hosts file?

1 Answer 1

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OK, first things first: Go to you local book store (or library if it's got a decent selection of technical books) and pick up a copy of DNS & BIND - any edition will be sufficient, though if you're buying one buy the latest. Then read this book cover to cover, or at least read through chapters 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6.

I am absolutely serious about this - If you try to set up DNS without a solid understanding of what's going on you are in for a wold of pain, suffering and mysterious breakage. Spending a day with a good book on DNS will pay for itself the first time you have a problem.


Now to actually answer your questions :-)

Re: the issue of being flagged as spam: Hosting your own DNS may or may not solve the problem of your system being flagged as a spam source -- The question you haven't asked/answered is WHY you are being flagged as a spam source (Is it your IP, the lack of SPF records, a bad reverse-DNS entry, or is your server perhaps misconfigured and really being used to send spam?).
You need to answer that question first, then pursue solutions based on what you discover.

If after investigating the incident problem you still want to host your own DNS (either as part of a solution to the incident problem, or just for the experience) . . .

I'm pretty sure the error you're getting from GoDaddy is their way of saying you're missing glue records -- In plain English "You want us to use ns1.xxx.com as a nameserver for xxx.com, but we have no way of finding that server".

Prior to using a host within in your own zone as an NS you need to create glue records for it. You can do this in GoDaddy's domain manager's "Host" box -- Add a domain host for each NS you want to use, and the system should then let you specify those hosts as the domain's nameservers.


BIG IMPORTANT WARNING
Before you flip the switch check, double-check and triple-check that the servers you're about to set as the authoritative NS are working properly (they resolve all the names they're supposed to resolve, you can query them from a machine off your network, etc.).

Many admins (probably every one who has ever set up DNS) probably has a horror story about screwing up and knocking their domain off the internet for a while -- Don't be a statistic like the rest of us :-)

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  • Thanks a lot for the answer. I went to check the reasons of my spam (yeah, I could have done that before spending 3 days on this), and the problem seems to reside in "misdirected bounces or misdirected autoresponders", and had nothing to do with DNS. I corrected the problem straight away as it was 2 very old and unused addresses flowed with spam and with autoanswer on. I'll try to replicate the SPF records generated by Virtualmin in my Premium DNS templates, and I think I'll abandon my idea of rolling my own DNS server before I know the stuff in-depth. I'll get this book you recommend. Cheers!
    – Nabab
    Apr 15, 2011 at 17:44

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