Hi all
I'm thinking about moving the mail server for a domain I own from the standard one provided by my ISP, to a dedicated server (using mythicbeasts).

The MX record for this domain was originally set up by a friend in the ISP/hosting world with whom I've lost touch. I think it has moved around a bit over the years as well. So I have no login details for the domain server (currently mail.truespeed.com FWIW)

Having half-thought through the mail server migration process, I presume at some point I have to arrange for the MX record to be updated (or the DNS server to be changed?). Can anyone advice on the hoops might I have to go through to get this done without having a login?

Thanks for any thoughts
jon N

Am Tue, 30 Nov 2021 03:57:45 -0800 (PST)
schrieb jkn <jkn_gg@nicorp.f9.co.uk>:

> Hi all
> I'm thinking about moving the mail server for a domain I own from
> the standard one provided by my ISP, to a dedicated server (using
> mythicbeasts).
>
> The MX record for this domain was originally set up by a friend in
> the ISP/hosting world with whom I've lost touch. I think it has moved
> around a bit over the years as well. So I have no login details for
> the domain server (currently mail.truespeed.com FWIW)
>
> Having half-thought through the mail server migration process, I
> presume at some point I have to arrange for the MX record to be
> updated (or the DNS server to be changed?). Can anyone advice on the
> hoops might I have to go through to get this done without having a
> login?
You have a domain, for e.g. example.com. Please post your domain name
here.
In the authoritative servers of com. your zone is delegated to your DNS
servers by NS records (e.g. to ns.example.com). It also has the A and
AAAA records for the domain names of your DNS server (also called glue
records). If you are the owner of that domain, you can change the
delegation to the servers you want. Then you can set the MX record the
way you like.

If you have access to the authoritative DNS servers for your zone, just
change the zone files.
MX is only for sending mail to your domain. Be aware that maybe SPF is
used in form of a special TXT record. This is relevant if you use your
domain name to send mails to others. You also need to update the SPF by
changing the specific TXT record for SPF.

On Tue, 30 Nov 2021 03:57:45 -0800, jkn wrote:

> Hi all
> I'm thinking about moving the mail server for a domain I own from
> the standard one provided by my ISP, to a dedicated server (using
> mythicbeasts).
>
> The MX record for this domain was originally set up by a friend in the
> ISP/hosting world with whom I've lost touch. I think it has moved around
> a bit over the years as well. So I have no login details for the domain
> server (currently mail.truespeed.com FWIW)
>
> Having half-thought through the mail server migration process, I presume
> at some point I have to arrange for the MX record to be updated (or the
> DNS server to be changed?). Can anyone advice on the hoops might I have
> to go through to get this done without having a login?
>
> Thanks for any thoughts jon N

I assume that you can confirm/prove that you own the domain?

If it was registered by someone else on your behalf you may have trouble
confirming that you are the real owner.

WHOIS should tell you who the registered owner is and hopefully which
organisation is managing the domain.

Obviously nobody would want random modification of MX records without
stringent security checks.

Cheers

Dave R

--
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--
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https://www.avast.com/antivirus

Marco Moock <mo01@posteo.de> wrote:
> You have a domain, for e.g. example.com. Please post your domain name
> here.
> In the authoritative servers of com. your zone is delegated to your DNS
> servers by NS records (e.g. to ns.example.com). It also has the A and
> AAAA records for the domain names of your DNS server (also called glue
> records). If you are the owner of that domain, you can change the
> delegation to the servers you want. Then you can set the MX record the
> way you like.

In other words, start with the people you pay for the domain.
Typically domain registrars also offer a DNS hosting service, and in their
control panel will likely be an option 'use our DNS server' or 'use third
party DNS server'. Switching to their DNS server is often free, and you can
then set things up from there.

If the domain currently has other things on it that you want to keep (a
webserver, for example), I'd start by taking a copy of the DNS records for
the domain. Your current DNS host may not allow a bulk download of the DNS
but you can run individual queries here:
https://dnschecker.org/all-dns-records-of-domain.php

Run through the different query types and make a note of the results. Be
sure to do this for any subdomains you might have (example.com,
www.example.com, mail.example.com, etc)

You can then regenerate the setup on your new DNS server.

Note this only works if whoever hosts your services (web, email, etc)
doesn't have any fancy load balancing stuff, ie there's exactly one server
that hosts each service and it doesn't change from hour to hour.
If that's not the case your web/mail/etc host will have their own DNS server
to implement that, and you'd be better telling your DNS host to use that.

If this sounds complicated, you can also just transfer your domain to
whoever hosts your web/email/etc and they will keep it all under one roof.

Theo

On Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at 3:00:38 PM UTC, Theo wrote:
> Marco Moock <mo...@posteo.de> wrote:
> > You have a domain, for e.g. example.com. Please post your domain name
> > here.
> > In the authoritative servers of com. your zone is delegated to your DNS
> > servers by NS records (e.g. to ns.example.com). It also has the A and
> > AAAA records for the domain names of your DNS server (also called glue
> > records). If you are the owner of that domain, you can change the
> > delegation to the servers you want. Then you can set the MX record the
> > way you like.
> In other words, start with the people you pay for the domain.
> Typically domain registrars also offer a DNS hosting service, and in their
> control panel will likely be an option 'use our DNS server' or 'use third
> party DNS server'. Switching to their DNS server is often free, and you can
> then set things up from there.
>
> If the domain currently has other things on it that you want to keep (a
> webserver, for example), I'd start by taking a copy of the DNS records for
> the domain. Your current DNS host may not allow a bulk download of the DNS
> but you can run individual queries here:
> https://dnschecker.org/all-dns-records-of-domain.php
>
> Run through the different query types and make a note of the results. Be
> sure to do this for any subdomains you might have (example.com,
> www.example.com, mail.example.com, etc)
>
> You can then regenerate the setup on your new DNS server.
>
> Note this only works if whoever hosts your services (web, email, etc)
> doesn't have any fancy load balancing stuff, ie there's exactly one server
> that hosts each service and it doesn't change from hour to hour.
> If that's not the case your web/mail/etc host will have their own DNS server
> to implement that, and you'd be better telling your DNS host to use that.
>
> If this sounds complicated, you can also just transfer your domain to
> whoever hosts your web/email/etc and they will keep it all under one roof.
>
Hi Theo, Marco
Thanks, that's useful. I guess I was expecting that 'transferring in' to a DNS
server was not going to be possible without getting permission from the 'relinquishing'
server ... but you can do the same with IPSTAGs fairly easily IIRC, so I
may have been worrying about very little.

That's a useful list of steps to remember, Theo - I knew most of that but it's
good to have it all written down.

Probably my Christmas holiday activity!

Thanks again
Jon N

On Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at 1:39:41 PM UTC, David wrote:
> On Tue, 30 Nov 2021 03:57:45 -0800, jkn wrote:
>
> > Hi all
> > I'm thinking about moving the mail server for a domain I own from
> > the standard one provided by my ISP, to a dedicated server (using
> > mythicbeasts).
> >
> > The MX record for this domain was originally set up by a friend in the
> > ISP/hosting world with whom I've lost touch. I think it has moved around
> > a bit over the years as well. So I have no login details for the domain
> > server (currently mail.truespeed.com FWIW)
> >
> > Having half-thought through the mail server migration process, I presume
> > at some point I have to arrange for the MX record to be updated (or the
> > DNS server to be changed?). Can anyone advice on the hoops might I have
> > to go through to get this done without having a login?
> >
> > Thanks for any thoughts jon N
> I assume that you can confirm/prove that you own the domain?
>
> If it was registered by someone else on your behalf you may have trouble
> confirming that you are the real owner.
>
> WHOIS should tell you who the registered owner is and hopefully which
> organisation is managing the domain.
>
> Obviously nobody would want random modification of MX records without
> stringent security checks.
>
Hi David
Yeah, I have full control and ownership of the domain itself, phew

J^n

Am Tue, 30 Nov 2021 07:50:40 -0800 (PST)
schrieb jkn <jkn_gg@nicorp.f9.co.uk>:

> Yeah, I have full control and ownership of the domain itself, phew
Then you can run your own DNS server and delegate your zone to them.
Then you can do what you want.

On Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at 3:53:06 PM UTC, Marco Moock wrote:
> Am Tue, 30 Nov 2021 07:50:40 -0800 (PST)
> schrieb jkn <jkn...@nicorp.f9.co.uk>:
> > Yeah, I have full control and ownership of the domain itself, phew
> Then you can run your own DNS server and delegate your zone to them.
> Then you can do what you want.

I want to ... not really do that [run my own DNS server] ;-)

Am Tue, 30 Nov 2021 10:39:36 -0800 (PST)
schrieb jkn <jkn_gg@nicorp.f9.co.uk>:

> I want to ... not really do that [run my own DNS server] ;-)
In my opinion, this is the best solution because you control it. But
you need to figure out what DNS server software (e.g. BIND9) you like
to use and how to configure it. If you don't want that, you can
delegate it to a provider that does that for you, you just need to tell
them the records you want to set.

Marco Moock <mo01@posteo.de> wrote:
> Am Tue, 30 Nov 2021 10:39:36 -0800 (PST)
> schrieb jkn <jkn_gg@nicorp.f9.co.uk>:
>
> > I want to ... not really do that [run my own DNS server] ;-)
> In my opinion, this is the best solution because you control it. But
> you need to figure out what DNS server software (e.g. BIND9) you like
> to use and how to configure it. If you don't want that, you can
> delegate it to a provider that does that for you, you just need to tell
> them the records you want to set.

There isn't really a good reason to run your own DNS servers. Sure you
control it, but ultimately you control your domain so you are always free to
fire your DNS host and move elsewhere if they annoy you.

You'd need at least two DNS servers (primary and secondary, on different
networks ideally) and they want to be on fairly resilient infrastructure
(don't host them at home on your ADSL) because if they stop working your
whole domain becomes inaccessible, and if they're slow then that affects
anyone who wants to access your sites. If you were a business with full
time IT staff I could see the merits (lots of complicated network config you
might wish to manage, eg via scripts) but for the average person with a
simple web site and simple mail hosting there's no compelling reason to DIY,
IMHO.

Since you're going to have to rent server time to host your own servers,
might as well pay someone with a proper DNS hosting service if you need
that, or for basic uses make use of the free one from your domain registrar.

Theo

On Tue, 30 Nov 2021 07:50:40 -0800, jkn wrote:

> On Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at 1:39:41 PM UTC, David wrote:
>> On Tue, 30 Nov 2021 03:57:45 -0800, jkn wrote:
>>
>> > Hi all I'm thinking about moving the mail server for a domain I own
>> > from the standard one provided by my ISP, to a dedicated server
>> > (using mythicbeasts).
>> >
>> > The MX record for this domain was originally set up by a friend in
>> > the ISP/hosting world with whom I've lost touch. I think it has moved
>> > around a bit over the years as well. So I have no login details for
>> > the domain server (currently mail.truespeed.com FWIW)
>> >
>> > Having half-thought through the mail server migration process, I
>> > presume at some point I have to arrange for the MX record to be
>> > updated (or the DNS server to be changed?). Can anyone advice on the
>> > hoops might I have to go through to get this done without having a
>> > login?
>> >
>> > Thanks for any thoughts jon N
>> I assume that you can confirm/prove that you own the domain?
>>
>> If it was registered by someone else on your behalf you may have
>> trouble confirming that you are the real owner.
>>
>> WHOIS should tell you who the registered owner is and hopefully which
>> organisation is managing the domain.
>>
>> Obviously nobody would want random modification of MX records without
>> stringent security checks.
>>
> Hi David
> Yeah, I have full control and ownership of the domain itself, phew
>
> J^n

Then I assume that you can just nominate a provider to host your domain,
including MX records, and they will liaise with the current provider to
take over management of the domain including DNS.

I'm still a bit puzzled over some of the bits about moving the MX record
but I assume that it includes instructing the current provider to cease
publishing the MX record.
You can't really have competing DNS servers both publishing different
details for the same domain.

If that is possible then I can't see why you cant ask the current provider
for the account details and a password reset.
If you can prove who you are and that you own the domain then that should
be possible?

Telling the provider "I own this domain and would like to start actively
maintaining it" can't be that unusual with people going out of business or
moving on.
It may take a while to sort, though.
There are the occasional tales of a business where the domain is managed
from a private email address (and even sometimes paid for with a private
credit card) and the staff member moves on.
There should be a mechanism to sort this out.

Cheers

Dave R

--
AMD FX-6300 in GA-990X-Gaming SLI-CF running Windows 7 Pro x64

--
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

On Wednesday, December 1, 2021 at 11:16:38 AM UTC, Theo wrote:
> Marco Moock <mo...@posteo.de> wrote:
> > Am Tue, 30 Nov 2021 10:39:36 -0800 (PST)
> > schrieb jkn <jkn...@nicorp.f9.co.uk>:
> >
> > > I want to ... not really do that [run my own DNS server] ;-)
> > In my opinion, this is the best solution because you control it. But
> > you need to figure out what DNS server software (e.g. BIND9) you like
> > to use and how to configure it. If you don't want that, you can
> > delegate it to a provider that does that for you, you just need to tell
> > them the records you want to set.
> There isn't really a good reason to run your own DNS servers. Sure you
> control it, but ultimately you control your domain so you are always free to
> fire your DNS host and move elsewhere if they annoy you.
>
> You'd need at least two DNS servers (primary and secondary, on different
> networks ideally) and they want to be on fairly resilient infrastructure
> (don't host them at home on your ADSL) because if they stop working your
> whole domain becomes inaccessible, and if they're slow then that affects
> anyone who wants to access your sites. If you were a business with full
> time IT staff I could see the merits (lots of complicated network config you
> might wish to manage, eg via scripts) but for the average person with a
> simple web site and simple mail hosting there's no compelling reason to DIY,
> IMHO.
>
> Since you're going to have to rent server time to host your own servers,
> might as well pay someone with a proper DNS hosting service if you need
> that, or for basic uses make use of the free one from your domain registrar.
>
> Theo

Hi Theo
Exactly my thoughts, thanks.

J^n