Domains

What Is Domains?

The Domains tab is the screen on which the domain names (zones) for which the selected DNS service serves as authoritative are managed. A single DNS service can host more than one domain name that are configured independently of each other at the same time.

Every domain name carries its own DNS records, operating mode, record management form and security/transfer settings (DNSSEC, SOA, slave servers) independently. Thanks to this independence, on the same service one domain name can work in the Standalone mode, another in the Datacenter mode and another in the Disaster Recovery mode; that is, a single service presents more than one zone that have different topologies from a single point.

One Service, Many Zones

Multiple domain names

One DNS service hosts many domain names (zones) together

Independent Mode

Per domain name

Every domain name works separately in the Standalone, Disaster Recovery or Datacenter mode

Local / Express

Record management

The records manually (Local) or with AXFR (Express); it can be mixed on a data center basis

DNSSEC

Signed answer

Protection against DNS spoofing with DNSSEC on a domain name basis

Zone Transfer

SOA & Slave

The SOA serial format and AXFR + NOTIFY to the slave servers are set per domain name

Domain Name Dashboard

Dashboard

Every domain name has its own dashboard that shows its query, record type and record breakdowns

Operating Modes

Every domain name is configured with an operating mode (Default Mode) that determines how its records will be resolved. The mode assigned to the domain name is applied to all the DNS records of that domain name every time the domain name is saved. The records are kept in data center groups in every mode; the mode determines which group and which records will be selected while the answer is given.

Mode	Data Center Groups	Behavior
Standalone	Single (local)	A single data center group; a flexible configuration from a simple authoritative DNS to a conditional resolution bound to a health scenario and to load handover with fail-safe records.
Disaster Recovery	Two (Main DC + DR DC)	Automatic active-passive switching between the main and the backup data center.
Datacenter	One or more (DC № 1, DC № 2 …)	Routing based on sorting between more than one data center.

Standalone

The domain name works with a single data center group (the local data center); separate main/backup data center groups are not defined. The answers are produced from the records in this group.

Standalone is not only for a simple DNS publication. The condition for every record to be included in the answer can be bound to a health scenario: if the scenario is active, the record takes part in the answer, and if it is not, it is excluded. In this way, with the fail-safe (backup) records that come into play when the health check of the primary records fails, a failover behavior can be established within a single data center as well.

Disaster Recovery

Exactly two data center groups are defined for the domain name: Main DC (the main one) and DR DC (the backup one); the local data center has to be one of these two groups. In the normal situation the answers return from the records of the Main DC (active-passive working).

The condition for switching to the backup data center is determined separately in every record:

The default condition is Automatic (when no healthy primary records left): when no healthy record remains in the Main DC, it is switched to the backup.
If a health scenario is selected in the record, it is switched to the backup when the scenario becomes active. In this situation, while the Disaster Recovery on no healthy records option is on (the default), no healthy record remaining in the Main DC also triggers the switching.

The condition is recalculated at every evaluation; when the triggering situation disappears, the answers return to the Main DC by themselves.

Datacenter

The domain name opens with the local data center (DC № 1) and as many additional data centers as are needed are added. While the answer is given, the data centers are sorted according to the selected source and the first N data centers (the default is 1) take part in the answer with their records. The default source is All DC records: no sorting is done, the DC № order in the form is used.

For the sorting, the following sources are also selected:

The data center device: the CPU, memory, bandwidth, status or packet loss metrics of the related data center device.
vService: the CPU, memory, bandwidth, request, connection, new session, status or healthy Backend Service number of a specified vService.
The client proximity: the network proximity relative to the client; in this source the first N limit is not applied.

The mode-specific record settings

The settings such as the sorting source in the Datacenter mode, the switching scenario in the Disaster Recovery mode, the balance algorithm and the fail-safe records are configured while the related DNS record is being defined. See Records.

The Record Management Forms

Form	Description
Local	The DNS records are added, edited and deleted manually from the TR7 GTM interface.
Express	The DNS records are pulled automatically from an external DNS server with Zone Transfer (AXFR); the record management is done over the source server. Express can be assigned separately to every data center group of the domain name. See Express Profiles.

Operational Best Practices

The domain name must be entered carefully. The name is locked in the editing form and cannot be changed afterwards; this screen does not prevent the same name from being added a second time either.
The mode must be decided before the records are added. The mode of the domain name is applied to all of the records at every save; when the mode is changed afterwards, the data center groups of the records are re-established according to the new mode.
In Disaster Recovery the role of the local data center must be selected consciously. The local data center has to be the Main DC or the DR DC; which device will answer as the main one and which as the backup one is determined with this selection.
A different data center must be selected in every data center group. The same data center being assigned to two groups or the selection being left empty does not produce a warning in the form.
A profile must be selected when Express is marked. A group in which the EXPRESS box is marked and no profile is selected is saved as Local.
The slave server addresses must be entered correctly. Zone transfer permission is given to these addresses and a NOTIFY is sent at every change.
After DNSSEC is turned on, the DS record must be published in the parent zone. The record is in the window opened from the DNSSEC lock in the list.
The records must be reviewed before deleting. When the domain name is deleted, all of its records, including the automatic SOA record, are deleted together with it.

How to Add?

A new domain name is added through the TR7 web management interface with the steps below:

The Configuration Menu is opened by clicking the TR7 logo at the bottom left.
The GTM → GTM Services → The service name → Domains → Add steps are followed.
A unique name is entered for the domain name.
Default Mode and, according to the mode, the data center groups are selected; if necessary, Slave Server IPs, DNSSEC, Meta Data and SOA Format are set.
The domain name is added by clicking the Add button.

TIP

Reaching the page via quick search

Instead of navigating the menu step by step, the related page is reached directly by using the search bar in the bottom left corner of the screen. The search bar opens with the Alt + T shortcut on Windows and Opt + T on macOS; typing the name of the feature being searched for is then sufficient.

The records are added to the created domain name from the Records tab of the same screen.

Domains Listing Screen

By following the GTM → GTM Services → The service name → Domains path, the list of all the domain names that belong to the DNS service is reached. Domain name adding, editing and deleting operations are performed through this screen.

Domain Names Listing Screen

The table opens with the following columns by default:

Column	Description
Domain Name	The domain name; it is shown without the dot at the end.
Record Management	The record management form in the data center groups of the domain name, in the `local: 1` or `express: 2` form (the form and the number of groups).
DNSSEC	If DNSSEC is on, a green lock, and if it is off, a gray open lock; when it is hovered over, it says Enabled / Disabled. When the open lock is clicked, the DNSSEC info for `<domain name>` window opens (see DNSSEC).

The following column is hidden by default and is added from the column selector:

Column	Description
Default Mode	The operating mode of the domain name: Standalone, Disaster Recovery or Datacenter.

The table is not sorted by default; it is sorted by clicking a column header. The hidden column preference is stored in common with the Records list.

The items in the toolbar are arranged from left to right in the following order; the last two items (Page Information and Page Size) are located in the information strip below the table.

Columns

Which columns are shown in the table is selected; the three columns other than Default Mode are on by default. In the same panel, columns are reordered by dragging and alignment is selected per column; the row height is fitted to the page with the Fit rows to the page button, and the column layout is reset to default with the Reset button. When the width badge next to a manually widened column is clicked, the column returns to the automatic width.

Filter

The Filter button is used to filter the domain names shown in the list. There are two cards in the strip: Default Mode and DNSSEC (Enabled / Disabled). The number in the parentheses next to the card title is the number of values listed in that card; more than one value can be selected together and the selections are displayed as a label in the Title = Value form.

Export

The table is exported as Excel, CSV or PDF by clicking the Export button. In the window that opens, the Filename, Format and Data Source, together with the Columns to be exported, are determined; the remaining fields are displayed according to the format: CSV Separator for CSV, Excel Sheet Name for Excel, and Page Orientation and Page Size for PDF.

Add

By clicking the Add button, the form for creating a new domain name opens in the Add Domain tab.

Edit

By clicking the Edit button, the editing form of the selected domain name opens in the Edit Domain tab. The button becomes enabled only when a single domain name is selected. The editing form is the same as the add form; the Domain Name field is locked, the other fields can be changed and the change is saved without asking for confirmation. After the save, the mode of the domain name is applied to all of its records again.

Delete

When one or more domain names are selected and the Delete button is clicked, the related domain names are deleted. Before deleting, the "Are you sure?" confirmation is asked. The button is passive while there is no selection.

WARNING

All the DNS records of the deleted domain name, including the automatically created SOA record, are deleted together with the domain name and cannot be recovered; a separate log is not written for the records. The operation is written into the user operation record (Domain <name>. is deleted).

Search

Used to search all information in the table.

RegExp Search

Used to search all information in the table with a regular expression (RegExp).

Column Based Search

Used to perform a column-based search on the information in the table; a separate search line opens for every column and next to every box there are the Negate button that reverses the result and its own RegExp key.

Page Information

Contains information about the total number of defined domain names and the number of domain names displayed in the list: Showing N-M of T records and the number of selected domain names (N selected, or Nothing selected when there is no selection).

Page Size

The maximum number of domain names to be displayed on the page is selected. The default is 100; the options are 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and All.

Right-Click Menu

When a row is right-clicked, a menu with the domain name in its title opens. Both operations in the menu apply only to the right-clicked domain name; a selection made in the list does not affect the menu.

Operation	What it does
Edit	Opens the editing form of the domain name in the Edit Domain tab; it is the same as the form opened by the `Edit` button in the toolbar.
Delete	Deletes the right-clicked domain name; the same confirmation question as the deletion in the toolbar is displayed.

Preview of the Selected Domain Name

When a row in the list is clicked, the preview of the domain name opens on the right of the screen; when the selected row is clicked again, the panel closes. In the title there are the domain name (with the dot at the end, e.g. tr7.com.) and the DNS Domain subtitle, and at the top right there are three operations.

Preview of the Selected Domain Name

Operation	What it does
Dashboard	Opens the own dashboard of the domain name (see The Domain Name Dashboard).
Edit	Opens the editing form of the domain name in the Edit Domain tab.
Log	Opens the GTM event records and the user operations that belong to the domain name in a window, without leaving the page.

The panel has two tabs:

Details

Lists the configuration lines of the domain name (the table below).

Log

Lists the operations performed on the domain name and the GTM events that belong to it as a timeline.

The rows in the Details tab are as follows, in order. In a cluster the table is shown with two columns that carry the name of every device; Current SOA Record is written separately for every device.

Row	Description	Visibility condition
DNS Service	The DNS service to which the domain name is bound, with the status circle; the next to it opens the preview of the service and the opens the editing form.	Always
Management Type	The old management type of the domain name.	Only on the domain names created in the previous versions
Default Mode	The operating mode of the domain name.	Always
Record Management / Main DC (`<dc>`) / DR DC (`<dc>`) / DC № n (`<dc>`)	One row for every data center group; the value is Local management or EXPRESS. When the EXPRESS value is hovered over, the quick view of the Express profile opens. The row name changes according to the mode: Record Management in Standalone, Main DC / DR DC in Disaster Recovery, DC № n in Datacenter.	Always
Slave Server IPs	The addresses to which the zone transfer is permitted.	While they are defined
DNSSEC	If it is on, ✔, and if it is off, `-`.	Always
SOA Format	The SOA serial number format.	Always
Current SOA Record	The SOA record of the domain name that is valid on the device.	Always
Meta Data	The defined pairs, in the `key:value` form.	While they are defined

Domain Name Add Form

A new domain name is added to the DNS service by following the GTM → GTM Services → The service name → Domains → Add steps.

Domain Name Add Form

INFO

Domain Name Required

The domain name to be created is entered (e.g. example.com, api.example.com). The dot at the end is added automatically; the names with a wildcard character (*) are not accepted and on an invalid name the Domain "<name>." is not valid warning is given. The domain name is locked in the editing form after it is created.

INFO

Default Mode Default: Standalone

The operating mode of the domain name is selected; the options are, in the screen order, Standalone, Disaster Recovery and Datacenter. According to the selected mode, the data center groups in which the records will be kept are displayed under the field. For the DNS resolution behavior of the modes see Operating Modes.

In every data center group there is an EXPRESS checkbox: when the box is marked and an Express Profiles profile is selected, the records of that group are pulled automatically from the external DNS server with Zone Transfer (AXFR); if it is not marked, the records are managed manually over TR7 GTM (Local). The + icon next to the profile selector opens the form for adding a new Express profile. In this way different data center groups of the same domain name can be Local or Express.