Adding New Server to DNS Cluster

[pauloray]

I have a WHM/CPanel VPS hosting websites of my clients, I have enabled DNS Clustering and set this to "Synchronize". I also have another VPS running DNS-only and set as "Standalone".

I will be adding another VPS (WHM/CPanel) that will be hosting clients websites as well, and some accounts on the old server will be moved into this new server.

How can I migrate accounts from old server to the new server with very minimal or NO downtime?
Should I add the new Server into this Cluster, if yes, should I set the new Server to "Syncronize" as well?

Thanks in advance.

 

[cPanelMichael]

Yes, you can add the additional cPanel server to the cluster and configure it to "Synchronize Changes" to the DNS-Only server. This will ensure the DNS zone can use the same name servers and have it's zone updated automatically on the cluster after the transfer.

Thank you.

 

[pauloray]

Thanks CpanelMichael.

So, after adding the new Server to the cluster, will there be downtime when moving CPanel Accounts from old server to new server? Like clients email not working due to DNS propagation?

 

[cPanelMichael]

There may be slight downtime due to propagation to the new IP address. This would be the same as when you change the IP address of an account in Web Host Manager.

Thank you.

 

[pauloray]

Right now, I have added ns3 into my domain registrar with IP 3.3.3.3 (new Server's IP).

This is still propagating now. After propagation, should I add ns3 nameserver in my old server (Home » Server Configuration » Basic cPanel & WHM Setup)? Should I also click on "Assign IP Address" and "Add A Entry for this Nameserver" buttons?

Does this also means that old server and new server will have the same nameservers like this:
ns1.domain.com IP= 1.1.1.1 (old server IP)
ns2.domain.com IP= 2.2.2.2 (DNS-only IP)
ns3.domain.com IP= 3.3.3.3 (new server IP)

Thanks.

 

[cPanelMichael]

You should consider using the DNS-Only server for all of your DNS hosting and adding an additional DNS-Only server if you want more redundancy. Using a hosting server as one of the name servers and having hosting servers synchronize changes to one another is not the ideal setup. You can find the recommended cluster configuration at:

cPanel - Cluster Configuration Guide

Thank you.

 

[pauloray]

Thanks a lot CpanelMichael. This clears my confusion now.

 

[pauloray]

Just to make sure I make this correct.

I will add a 2nd DNS-only server, with IP 4.4.4.4. And I will add ns4 with IP 4.4.4.4 into my domain registrar.

So, the nameservers of my old server and new server will be:
ns2.domain.com IP=2.2.2.2 (1st DNS-only server)
ns4.domain.com IP=4.4.4.4 (2nd DNS-only server)

And for Clustering:
1. Old server ("Synchronize Changes")will be clustered to 1st DNS-only server ("Standalone")
2. New server ("Synchronize Changes")will be clustered to 2nd DNS-only server ("Standalone")

Is this the recommended/optimum setup?

Also, since I have full control of the domains hosted in my old server, I will set each domain's nameservers to:
ns1.domain.com IP= 1.1.1.1 (old server IP)
ns2.domain.com IP= 2.2.2.2 (1st DNS-only IP)
ns3.domain.com IP= 3.3.3.3 (new server IP)
ns4.domain.com IP= 4.4.4.4 (2nd DNS-only IP)

With these settings of the domains' nameservers, when I move Cpanel accounts from old server to new server, do you think there's a very minimal downtime or NO downtime at all?

Thanks.

 

[cPanelMichael]

And for Clustering:
1. Old server ("Synchronize Changes")will be clustered to 1st DNS-only server ("Standalone")
2. New server ("Synchronize Changes")will be clustered to 2nd DNS-only server ("Standalone")

You should synchronize the hosting servers to both DNS-Only machines (e.g. Server1 synchronizes to DNS-Only1 and DNS-Only2).

Also, since I have full control of the domains hosted in my old server, I will set each domain's nameservers to:
ns1.domain.com IP= 1.1.1.1 (old server IP)
ns2.domain.com IP= 2.2.2.2 (1st DNS-only IP)
ns3.domain.com IP= 3.3.3.3 (new server IP)
ns4.domain.com IP= 4.4.4.4 (2nd DNS-only IP)

I recommend configuring the domain names to use NS2/NS4 in this case, which are the two name servers associated with your DNS-Only machines.

Thank you.

 

[pauloray]

Thanks CpanelMichael.

So, on my new server's Nameserver settings (Home »Server Configuration »Basic cPanel & WHM Setup), should I use only NS2 and NS4 (DNS-only servers)?

 

[cPanelMichael]

Yes, that way your DNS Zones only use the NS entries for the DNS-Only servers that will be used as your primary name servers.

Thank you.

 

[pauloray]

Gotcha

I think I am good to go now... Thanks a lot for you assistance. Will finish setting up our server now.