DNS zone auto added by WHM even when using remote DNS

[Gino Viroli]

Hello,

when I create a new account on WHM for somedomain.com it also automatically adds a full DNS zone for somedomain.com on local server.

Is this DNS zone necessary if I use a remote DNS for somedomain.com?


Let's say I use an external DNS to manage somedomain.com and I also use a remote Mail Exchanger and remote mail accounts, and I take care to set the remote DNS for somedomain.com to point to the account server IP.
In such case do I still need the DNS zone that WHM auto creates?
Or I can simply delete the zone from "DNS Functions > Delete a DNS Zone"?

 

[cPanelMichael]

Hello @Gino Viroli,

The DNS zones in the /var/named/ directory are required, even when the local name server is disabled or isn't utilized. The existence of the zones is needed for certain features (e.g. Transfer Tool, SPF or DKIM record creation).

Thank you.

 

[Gino Viroli]

Hello @Gino Viroli,

The DNS zones in the /var/named/ directory are required, even when the local name server is disabled or isn't utilized. The existence of the zones is needed for certain features (e.g. Transfer Tool, SPF or DKIM record creation).

Thank you.

The SPF is set at DNS level, hence if I use an external DNS, I will have to add a record for the SPF on the external DNS, why would I need the DNS zone for the SPF record on the WHM account too?

 

[cPanelMichael]

The SPF is set at DNS level, hence if I use an external DNS, I will have to add a record for the SPF on the external DNS, why would I need the DNS zone for the SPF record on the WHM account too?

Hello @Gino Viroli,

You don't technically need the DNS zone on the cPanel server when the DNS is handled by a remote server. However, certain features in cPanel & WHM rely on the existence of the zone and will report errors if the zone does not exist locally. Thus, while removing a zone won't cause any issues with the DNS itself, it will cause issues with cPanel & WHM features. I encourage you to open a feature request if you'd like to see an option to disable zone creation completely:

Submit A Feature Request

Thank you.

 

[Gino Viroli]

You don't technically need the DNS zone on the cPanel server when the DNS is handled by a remote server. However, certain features in cPanel & WHM rely on the existence of the zone and will report errors if the zone does not exist locally. Thus, while removing a zone won't cause any issues with the DNS itself, it will cause issues with cPanel & WHM features.

Could you make some examples of these features that won't work?
Because it seems odd to me that some features rely on a DNS that is not the one to use for the domain, because the DNS of the domain is on another server.

I encourage you to open a feature request if you'd like to see an option to disable zone creation completely: Submit A Feature Request

Thanks, but I don't need such a feature, there is already a way to delete the entire DNS zone from "Home »DNS Functions » Delete a DNS Zone"

 

[cPanelMichael]

Could you make some examples of these features that won't work?
Because it seems odd to me that some features rely on a DNS that is not the one to use for the domain, because the DNS of the domain is on another server.

Hello,

cPanel >> Authentication is one such feature. If the zone doesn't exist, an error like this will appear when attempting to create the DKIM record:

DKIM not enabled (Cpanel::DnsUtils::Install::Processor:564: There is no zone file on this system that can contain “default._domainkey.123.tld.”.
Cpanel::DnsUtils::Install::Processor:564: There is no zone file on this system that can contain “default._domainkey.123.tld.”.).

While I do understand you don't need the zone locally, and that creating DNS/SPF records through cPanel will have no effect on the actual DNS records, features like this are sometimes used by customers to get an idea of the specific record they should create at the remote DNS host. Additionally, it ensures the records are configured properly should someone decide to switch over to using the cPanel server to host the DNS.

Thanks, but I don't need such a feature, there is already a way to delete the entire DNS zone from "Home »DNS Functions » Delete a DNS Zone"

The feature would be to allow cPanel & WHM to automatically detect when a zone doesn't exist and to disable features that rely on the deleted zone accordingly.

Thank you.