Use dynamic subdomains with .DE domain name and Custom DNS

The way DNS works is you delegate a domain name (such as http://example.de) to a DNS provider. That DNS provider would then provide DNS that domain. You can then have one or more subdomains delegated to other DNS providers (using NS records) if you so wish.

There are two scenarios you can choose between:

1) Have DynDNS handle all of your DNS for your domain. That means delegating your domain name to the DynDNS Custom nameservers. You create all of your DNS records on DynDNS. This is by far the simplest (and cheapest) solution and what I recommend.

This guide would cover the above scenario: http://www.dyndns.com/support/kb/de_domains_in_custom_dns.html

2) Have the DNS for most of your domain at another DNS provider. For the couple of subdomains that you need Dynamic DNS for, you would purchase DynDNS Custom for each of those subdomains. You then create NS records at your current DNS provider that delegate the subdomain to DynDNS' nameservers. This scenario is more complicated (and expensive).

This guide will cover scenario #2: http://www.dyndns.com/support/kb/using_custom_dns_with_subdomains.html

To do it the way you describe you'd have to purchase 2 separate packages, one for test1.example.de and one for test2.example.de. That's not the most cost effective way of doing things, but it will work.

You would, if you did that, find that all subdomains of the 2 names would work automatically once created in Custom DNS. You will however need either multiple public IP addresses, to use a reverse proxy (like HAProxy) to forward requests to the correct host or to use a different port for each device on the LAN.

Can you explain why it is not possible to purchase http://example.de but only use the subdomains? Would, as you said, much more cost effective.

Because anybody using the Internet Guide DNS service would only see your DNS records held at DynDNS. They wouldn't see the rest of your DNS unless you duplicated the records there.

Regarding the problem with .DE domains mentioned in the how to (http://www.dyndns.com/support/kb/de_domains_in_custom_dns.html), do you think this would affect me?

I don't know - it would depend on how you performed the delegation of those 2 sub-hosts.

You said "Because anybody using the Internet Guide DNS service would only see your DNS records held at DynDNS". Why is this limited to IG users only?

Nobody else would normally be querying the DynDNS DNS servers for a domain which has a WhoIs entry that points to other DNS servers.

Sorry, I still don't see it. DynDNS' recursive DNS service is pretty much logically separated from their authoritative DNS services. I would not expect IG doing something totally different from any other recursive DNS service. Would be interesting to verify your theory with a real existing domain.

I don't know what the actual separation of those platforms is, and how it all hooks together. I'd assume the worst case scenario without anything further to go on (as I've been there before).

Just got a new idea. (Sorry bringing up this topic again.)

You said that it is not good to register http://example.de with DynDns Custom, but only use some subdomains, because people using Internet Guide wouldnt find http://example.de (hosted on an other server) any more. I got that.

My idea is: I register http://example.de with DynDns Custom, but then redirect DNS requests for http://www.example.de and http://example.de to the original server via a NS record. So I would use all my subdomains with my dynamic server, but all the traffic for http://www.example.de and http://example.de would still arrive at the original http://example.de server.

Is this possible or just a completely stupid idea? (It would help to make the entire thing cheaper.)

Thanks for any replies in advance.

I don't think you could make that work, redirecting only higher level domains. DNS is designed to work the other way up, delegating only sub-domains.

Thanks for your help.

Can you explain why it is not possible to purchase http://example.de but only use the subdomains? Would, as you said, much more cost effective.

Regarding the problem with .DE domains mentioned in the how to (http://www.dyndns.com/support/kb/de_domains_in_custom_dns.html), do you think this would affect me?