Secondary nameserver service
An off-site secondary source of top-level domain name information for organisations on the Janet Network.
For enquiries contact:
Changes to the secondary nameserver service from October 2021
As part of our programme to develop and strengthen our DNS services, we will be making changes to the back-end infrastructure from October 2021 onwards.
Subscribers to this service will receive full details by email. Please read all the information to understand what you need to do to ensure continuity of service.
If the contact details or domain registrant have changed, let us know by emailing domains@jisc.ac.uk.
If you have any other questions email help@jisc.ac.uk.
About the secondary nameserver service
This service supports your primary nameservers.
We recommend that you run your primary nameserver within your organisation, and use a secondary nameserver off-site to increase the resilience of your DNS.
Get started
To register for the secondary nameserver service or change your contact details email the service desk.
Key features
- Available at no additional cost to organisations connected to the Janet Network
- 24/7 availability
- Centrally managed service with lower overheads
- Reliable and resilient
- Servers split across the Janet Network around the UK providing increased resilience and protection for your data
- Supports both IPv4 and IPv6.
Eligibility
If you are a organisation on the Janet Network, the secondary nameserver service is available to you at no additional cost.
To use the service, your primary nameserver must permit zone transfers to the nominated secondary nameserver(s).
In addition, you should ensure that your firewall permits UDP and TCP traffic between the primary nameserver and the Janet secondary nameserver on port 53.
Registration and support
Technical requirements information is available on the secondary nameserver service page of the community site, where you can also find details of your responsibilities relating to this service.
Many organisations connected to the Janet Network have reciprocal arrangements with each other regarding the provision of off-site secondary nameservers. If this is not suitable for your organisation, then we can provide this service for you. Please email the service desk to discuss your requirements in more detail.
Service level description
Security
Please ensure your organisation understands and adheres to the security policy.
Service description
This service acts as an off-site secondary source of top level domain name information for an organisation.
We recommend that all organisations should have at least two secondary nameservers off-site, as good practice.
Charges
This service is centrally funded.
Hours of service
The service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year. The associated administration service is available during the business day.
The business day is defined as Monday to Friday. It excludes 24-31 December, all English public holidays and also the Tuesday following the August public holiday.
Target availability
The target availability is 99.95% during the hours of service defined above, measured monthly over a 12 month period, excluding service-affecting maintenance.
Service-affecting maintenance is capped at 0.5% and is normally carried out with at least two weeks' notice.
Fault management
Faults with the service may be reported via the service desk on 0300 300 2212 or via help@jisc.ac.uk.
For full details please visit the fault reporting page.
Resilience
The service comprises a number of servers located at various points on the network for resilience; organisations are assigned one server far away from them which provides resilience to their on-site nameserver.
Your responsibilities
You are responsible, prior to using the service, for:
- Configuring its primary nameserver (if it runs one) to permit zone transfers to the nominated secondary nameservers
- Ensuring that your firewall permits UDP and TCP traffic between the primary nameserver (if it runs one) and the Janet secondary nameserver on port 53
- Configuring its primary nameserver (if it runs one) to use one of the Janet secondary nameservers.
Request for service
You can request this service via the service desk on 0300 300 2212 or via help@jisc.ac.uk
Service delivery time
A secondary nameserver will be allocated and the names and IP addresses of the allocated nameserver will be provided to the organisation within five business days of receipt of all necessary information.
Terms and conditions
Please ensure your organisation understands and adheres to the terms and conditions
Reviews/reporting
Access your organisations' reports via your regional dashboard.
Escalation
If you are experiencing an issue with the service, and wish to escalate the issue contact us via the service desk on 0300 300 2212 or via help@jisc.ac.uk.
Technical section
This service supports both IPv4 and IPv6
For more details visit the secondary nameserver service pages on the community site.
This service is included within the scope of our ISO9001 certificate.