Yes, absolutely. You can easily use our DNS Failover solution without moving your entire domain to our platform. While it may be preferable to move your domain so all DNS management is in one interface, we understand that this is not always possible.
To use Failover, three steps must be completed:
First, you must configure your Failover Pool, add your device IP addresses and enable monitoring. Here is a DNS Failover Quick-Start video we’ve put together to show you how to complete this step. We highly recommend watching it.
Now you must add your domain and configure your ‘A’ records.
Yes, we know it seems odd that you have to add your domain, but remember, we’ll be resolving DNS for just a few records, so this is required. And no, it won’t create any issues for the rest of your domain.
So go ahead and click on the DOMAINS tab, add your domain as a primary, and then add the ‘A’ records you wish to have failover on. As you add them, instead of specifying an IP address, choose the Failover Pool you just created instead and click Save.
Now that Failover is configured and configured for your ‘A’ records, you’re ready for us to do start resolving DNS for you.
In your existing DNS provider’s interface, delete the ‘A’ record that you want to put Failover on, and then add a new NS record instead, this time setting the name server to one of those we’ve allocated to your account (which you can see on the DOMAINS tab).
Go ahead and add a second identical NS record, but this time pointing to another name server. This creates redundancy.
It’s pretty simple, actually. When someone now queries DNS, they are directed by the root servers to your existing DNS provider. If they are requesting a DNS record that you now have Failover on, your existing DNS provider directs them over to Total Uptime’s DNS servers. Our DNS servers then provide the correct IP address(es) depending on which one(s) our Failover monitors have determined are available at that time. Pretty neat, huh?
If this seems confusing or you need assistance, just let us know! We’re happy to help set this all up for you.
If you want to learn more, check out our article: How Does DNS Failover Work