DNS Monitoring using Zone Transfer (AXFR)

You can easily use AXFR transfers from configured name servers to monitor DNS records. This involves enabling AXFR transfer to the server that has Watch My Domains SED installed and then providing the AXFR server address to Watch My Domains SED.

Enable AXFR Transfer at DNS Provider

Most DNS servers require that AXFR transfers happen only to approved servers. This means that your DNS provider will require you to specify the IP address from which AXFR requests will be issued, which in our case is the IP address of the server where Watch My Domains SED is installed.

Login to your DNS provider and follow their steps to enable AXFR transfer. Here are some examples.

• DNS Made Easy: Allow Zone Transfers from Managed DNS with an ACL
• EasyDNS: External Zone Transfers
• Dyn: Using External (Secondary) Nameservers

Note: Watch My Domains SED currently supports only transfers and not notifications.

Setup AXFR Server address in SED

Watch My Domains SED v4 has a column name called axfr_ip that is used by the DNS monitoring module to decide if AXFR is supported. You just need to input the name server IP of your DNS provider that will be used for zone transfer as this column. You will get this IP when you configure AXFR at your DNS Provider.

Use the Details tab in the lower pane to edit the AXFR addresses or enable the display of AXFR column in data table and then edit.

Use the bulk edit option in SED to input the same IP address for multiple domains.

Automatic Support in DNS Made Easy

If you use DNS Made Easy (DNSME) and have imported the domain data from DNSME, the AXFR details will be automatically filled. You can also re-import domain data from DNSME if you have made changes at DNSME and want to fill the IP addresses in SED again.