1:00 AM
Paul B
How many of you out there have registered your domain names through GoDaddy? I have too. In fact, all my domains are registered through GoDaddy. They are the biggest registrar out there. Why is it then that their built-in default DNS sucks so bad? Ok, maybe it doesn't suck per se. It is reliable, and it does give you basic DNS functionality like A-Records and CNAME Records etc. It doesn't however let you set custom time to live, or setup redirects at the DNS level.
If you want something like that, more often than not you have to pay for a premium DNS service through someone like Dyn, DNS Made Easy, or EasyDNS. Some of those can get fairly costly. I was using Dyn for a long time with my domain name pdbauer.com which right now doesn't do anything. I kept it on Dyn though because I could setup redirects with it. I would then point stuff like puntu.bauer-power.net over to puntu.pdbauer.com using a CNAME record in my GoDaddy DNS. puntu.pdbauer.com would redirect to my blog post about Bauer-Puntu Linux. It worked, but it wasn't efficient, and it cost me about $25 per year.
While looking for a better DNS service for my company, I came across a really cool free DNS host that gave me everything I was using with Dyn, but is completely free for up to 10 domains! It's called PointHQ and here are some of their features:
- Manage as many domains as you want (within reason, of course) from one friendly and easy to use interface
- Add unlimited A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, SRV or TXT records to your zones/domains.
- Setup permanant HTTP redirects directly from the web interface.
- Use our easy to use SPF record setup wizard/tool.
- Easily add MX & SRV records for Google® mail & talk.
- Distributed nameservers across the UK and United States.
- Group your domains into manageable chunks and change domain TTL.
- A full API is available so you can integrate DNS management directly into your own apps and systems.
Now I no longer need to setup redirects using my Dyn account, and I can setup redirects directly using my free PointHQ DNS account! Hell, I can probably even let pdbauer.com lapse now, which will save me a few extra bucks per year that could be better used at the strip club...errr... I mean on booze....errr... I mean on something nice for my wife.
What DNS service do you use? Is it free? What features does it have that you like? Maybe you hate it, and are looking to switch. Let us know why in the comments!
del.icio.us tags: free, dns, host, redirect, custom, ttl, api
Related articles, courtesy of Zemanta:
- I think the Internet hates my DNS server's new IP address.
- CNAME on a domain root does work, and it isn't evil
- PointHQ: Super Easy DNS Hosting
