Delegating a Subdomain Away from UltraDNS

This article explains how to delegate a subdomain to authoritative name servers outside of UltraDNS by creating Name Server (NS) records.

Delegating a subdomain transfers DNS authority for that specific subdomain to another DNS provider or authoritative DNS infrastructure while the parent domain remains managed in UltraDNS.

When to Use This Article

• You manage the parent domain in UltraDNS.
• You need a subdomain to be managed by another DNS provider.
• You need to create NS delegation records for a subdomain.
• You have the authoritative name server hostnames for the delegated subdomain.

Before You Begin

• The parent domain must already exist in UltraDNS.
• You must know the subdomain that will be delegated.
• You must know the authoritative name server hostnames for the delegated subdomain.
• The delegated DNS provider must already be configured to host the subdomain zone.

How Subdomain Delegation Works

A delegated subdomain uses NS records to identify a different set of authoritative name servers for that portion of the namespace.

For example, if example.com is managed in UltraDNS and you delegate dev.example.com, DNS queries for dev.example.com and its child records are directed to the delegated name servers instead of being answered by the parent zone.

Create the Delegation

1. Log in to UltraDNS.
2. Click Domains.
3. Select the parent domain.
4. Scroll to the NS (Nameservers) section.
5. Click Add.
6. Enter the subdomain name in the Zone Delegation field.
7. Enter the authoritative name server hostname in the Name Server field.
8. Enter a TTL value or leave the field blank to use the default value.
9. Click Save.
10. If the delegated zone uses multiple authoritative name servers, repeat the process for each additional name server by selecting Save and Add Another.

Example

To delegate dev.example.com to another DNS provider:

• Zone Delegation: dev
• Name Server: ns1.otherprovider.com
• Name Server: ns2.otherprovider.com

After the NS records are created, DNS resolvers will be directed to the delegated name servers when resolving records under dev.example.com.

Expected Outcome

The subdomain is delegated away from UltraDNS and DNS queries for that subdomain are referred to the configured authoritative name servers.

The parent domain remains managed in UltraDNS while the delegated subdomain is managed by the authoritative DNS service specified in the NS records.

Important Notes

• The apex domain is also known as the root domain. In www.example.com, the apex domain is example.com.
• The Zone Delegation field identifies the subdomain being delegated.
• The Name Server field must contain the authoritative name server hostname for the delegated subdomain.
• Creating the NS delegation in UltraDNS does not create or manage records within the delegated subdomain zone.