Managed DNS services any good ones out there?
 

I'm looking for a managed dns service like:
zoneedit.com
ultradns.com

Are there any other dns services that people know of, and more importantly have first hand experiences with their systems?

Thanks
</ I M X >

I used everydns.com a while ago. It's not flashy but it's run by a couple of ultra geeks that make sure things are stable and speedy. It's free as well.

why do you need it?

Good question.

dyndns.org... $30 donation for lifetime use.

I used to use easydns.com but they are a tad pricey.

I use zoneedit now and they are fine but there support isnt really fast - 2 to 3 days to answer and email. Never really had an issue that has taken a domain down.

Well if you need to move hosts quickly then you are in control and it should only take a few hours maximum for the domain to switch and most users will see the switch in a few minutes.

Few other things like their failover service to switch services if they DNS server cant get to your site makes it useful as well.

Why?
1.) You are in control of your name at all times.
2.) Failover support for "unscheduled" downtime.
3.) I'm interested in using several hosts for one key domain, where uptime will be a factor.
4.) Vanity nameserver.

Those are my reasons, I'm sure other people have other reasons.

Check out http://www.ultradns.com, they have tons of information on the benefits of using managed dns service.

powerpipe.com
your own dns for few dollars.

I meant to say http://www.everydns.net not .com.

I think www.directnic.com has DNS service for $5/year

sorry..... I must be dumb or something... I still don't understand.

1.) I'm never not in control of my domains. I can change any detail of them in an instant.
2.) If you have a good host/server, (and I mean GOOD... not some bullshit making claims they can't keep) this shouldn't be an issue at all.
3.) See #2
4.) From what I understand, these dns *services* make you select one of their nameservers to use, correct? How is that a vanity nameserver.... unless you happen to like one that they happen to have.

Sorry..... I just don't understand how this is beneficial. I wouldn't trust my domains to some $2 dollar (or worse... free) dns service, hoping that they get it right. I think I'd buy dns software and run dns myself before I took that step.

but nevertheless..... good luck in your quest. :winkwink:

The absolut best is www.ultradns.com

KD

No problem, I understand your view.

People have differnet philosophies on how the host their sites, and which features the need for various projects. In this case, the benefits of an appropriately selected managed dns service will fit my needs.

It is a matter of finding the right service.

Thanks all for your help.

Make that the absolut [sic] most over-priced option, along the lines of (the late) Galaxy-Net ISP hosting solutions.

I just did an inquiry to UltraDNS that resulted in a flurry of e-mail and telephone conversations and (what was supposed to be) an on-line tour/demo of their services (that failed to function).

I told them that I had two domains on an active dedicated box, with a third still on a virtual host to be moved to dedicated within the month. I also had a second dedbox that was to be used as a rsync mirror and I needed a "fail-over DNS setup" (where the dominent box is monitored and within minutes of it's failure, the secondary box picks up the slack). Also, I told them I had app. 3,000 uniques/day within these three domains but anticipated a ten-fold increase in two months due to an upcoming advertising campaign. And that I had 17 other domain names that I would be bringing on-line over the course of the next year.

One of their first questions was "What do you have budgeted for this?", to which I replied $200 a month. So, the rep tells me that she might could "cut a deal" for me! WOOWEE!!!

Without any breakdown of costs (other than the basic charges of $60/225K DNS inquiries with $0.38/1K overage and $155/700K @ $0.36/1K over) I'm told that she thought she could get me the 225K package, 10 "records" (whatever that means) for each domain, managed DNS service and the fail-over plugin for an even $200/month.

OK, fine- "How do I sign up?"

She says an e-mail contract will be on it's way, just fill it out and fax it back to her within the day and I'm set with this Special Deal she's going to arrange for me. I get the contract and look it over- once, twice and yet again. In the meantime, she calls to say that she hasn't received the fax back from me yet and I put it off until tomorrow, claiming that inclement weather here prevented me from going to the fax server at my mail drop. (NOTE TO READER: everything I told this rep, without exception, is true fact and I had made the initial inquiry with an honest intent in obtaining their services!).

But, and here is the kicker, the contract she sent to me was only for TWO domains (not the three I had specifically told her I would be needing this service for, since the domain on the virtual server is ready to move within a week). And, each additional domain that I added to the original contract would have cost me ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS MORE A MONTH!!! And that would be at the 8,000 DNS queries daily level, once I went to 30,000 uniques a day, another $95.00/month would be tacked on.

So much for having a sales rep keep you within a $200/month budget...

fiveyes--
Damn..
So who did you end up going with?

Looking into ZoneEdit, but it'll be a few days before I commit (that first go-round has made me a bit wary!)

Can't help but think that I can find a dns fail-over solution that won't end up costing me more than 7 times the cost of the two dedicated machines involved. God forbid I'd ever think of adding a third box, eh. :Graucho

It was asked before, "Why would anyone consider such a service?" Well, here's my reasoning:

I have two dedicated boxes, using different ISP's and located half a continent away from each other. The chance of both failing at the same time is very slim.

With (say) 20 active domains, the idea is to run 10 on each box, statically splitting the bandwidth between the two.

Both boxes run a rsync daemon and each have overlapping hourly crontabs, so the boxes' web doc trees are being mirrored 48 times a day. This takes care of both site updates as well as message forums being reflected.

On top of this is the fail-over DNS service, that montiors both boxes. If either goes down, the 10 domains on the affected box are automatically routed to the other box, which then begins handling requests for all 20 of the domains. I am also contacted at that time to let me know that the system is limping on one box.

As soon as I can bring the other box back up, the fail-over server begins splitting the traffic as before.

Now, let's say the box went down because of hard disk failure, requiring a disk swap and complete restore (which actually happened to me last month and resulted in a bit over half a week downtime). I just bring it back to original specs by replacing the configuration files with copies for that machine, rsync the current web docs over from the running box (which is a LOT faster than using ftp to upload one's sites from a local machine!) and THEN the fail-over server begins its magic again.

All of this is transparent to the surfer and results in no more than 5 minutes of down time for any server failure- excepting that slim possibility of both boxes going down at the same time. An even greater degree of safety can be had with additional boxes in the configuration and dynamic load balancing is possible as well.

nice bookmarking as we speak

fiveyes--
Anymore information about ZoneEdit?

Stargateinc.com offers dns service for free with the domain names. No need to pay extra for dns service. $14.95 for two domain names. Not bad but slow on updating dns.

Register.com is a bit more expensive but I was able to resolve my domain in a few hours. Not a few days like Stargate