Domain and zone management in the DNS management portal

Process for Creating a New Domain

1. Select Domains/All from the menu
2. Select Create New
3. Select the Agency the domain is to be assigned.
   1. For AGENCY SUPER/USER this can only been their associated Agency
4. Enter Prefix
   1. This is the name of the domain without the ‘.govt.nz’ or ‘.parliament.nz’
5. Select the Suffix for ‘.govt.nz’ or ‘.parliament.nz’
6. Domain contact can be entered at this stage
7. Select Save
8. Only the General Information and Business Case tabs are available
9. Select the Business Case tab
10. A MS-Word template is available to download
    1. This template provides guidance on creating the business case for the new domain. DIA requires this information to enable it to make an informed decision on whether to approve the domain.
11. Select Create New Business Case to start entering information
12. Enter supporting information into the form
13. Select Save
14. Once the domain is ready to be submitted to DIA for approval, select the Apply for Approval button
    1. This will Change the Domain Status to Pending Approval and return the user to the Domain List

Moderation Process

Once a domain has been submitted for approval, a Moderator approves or declines the application.

Domain Setup Process

15. The new Domain will be listed in the Not Published list on the home screen.
    1. The domain is also available from the Domains/All menu
16. Five additional tabs are now available to the user
17. For a domain to be published, four items must be completed:
    1. A Name Service must be assigned to the domain
    2. A Registrant, Admin and Technical contact must be assigned to the domain
    3. A new DNZ Zone must be created
    4. At least one DNS Record must be added to the DNZ Zone
18. Select the Name Service tab
19. Select the blue Name Service List button
    1. This will display a list of all available name services
       1. A name service is a collection of name servers
    2. Select the required name service
       1. This will typically be the Liverton Security Name Servers
       2. The Name Service information will be displayed in the NS fields
20. Select Save
    1. The Name Service tab will be shaded green to show that a valid name service has been assigned to the domain.
21. There will be no Current DNS Zone as this is a new domain.
22. Select the Draft tab
23. Select Create New DNS Zone
24. Enter the zone information. Recommended settings are:
    1. SOA EMail:hostmaster.digital.govt.nz.
    2. SOA NegTTL:300
    3. SOA Primary:ns1.digital.govt.nz.
    4. TTL: 3600
       (NB: The SOA Email should NOT include the ‘@’ character)
25. Select Save
    1. A table will appear with the new zone information.
    2. Multiple Draft Zones can be supported
    3. The Draft tab will be shaded orange to show that there is a least one draft zone for the domain
26. Select the Show DNZ record button (icon with an eye)
27. Any associated zone records will be displayed
28. Select Create New DNS Record
29. Enter the required DNS record information
30. Select Save
    1. The DNS Record information will be added to the DNS Records table

Publishing a Zone

31. Once a zone is ready to be published, select the Edit button on the DNS Zone that is to be published.
    1. Check the information is correct
    2. If information is missing (e.g. contact information) then the Validate button will not appear
    3. Select Validate. This will check the data is formatted correctly
    4. If the zone validates correctly a date field and Publish button will be displayed
32. To publish immediately, select the Publish button
33. To publish at some future date time, select the date/time field
    1. A Date/Time picker window will appear.
    2. Select the future date for publishing the domain and select Apply
    3. The date in the Publishing Scheduled On field will change to the selected future date/time.
34. Select the Publish button
    1. The Scheduled tab will be shaded blue to show that there is a least one zone scheduled to be published.
    2. Zones cannot be edited once scheduled for publishing.
35. The scheduled zone will be published when the Publishing Scheduled On date arrives
    1. This will automatically move the zone to the Current tab
    2. Multiple zones can be scheduled for publishing. They will be published in the order of the Publishing Scheduled On dates as each date arrives
    3. The Current tab will be shaded blue to show that there is a current live zone for the domain in the Name Servers
    4. Any previous Current zones will be moved to the Historic tab

Cancelling Zone Publishing

36. Publishing of a Scheduled zone can be cancelled provided the system has not started the process of publishing the zone
    1. Select the blue Scheduled tab
    2. Select the Edit button on the zone
    3. Select the Cancel Publishing button to cancel.
       1. A comment can be entered into the Comments field if required
       2. The Zone Record will be returned to the Draft tab
37. Any Draft or Scheduled zone can be deleted by selecting the Delete button associated with the zone
    1. This delete cannot be undone

Copying a Zone Record

38. Any existing zone record can be copied by selecting the Copy button associated with the zone.

Editing a Zone

To edit a zone, it must be copied as a new draft zone. An existing current or historic zone can be copied as a new draft zone. Once completed, the draft zone can be published immediately or scheduled for a future date. Once the zone has been published the previous current zone is moved to the historic tab.

39. Navigate to the zone that needs to be edited
    1. Select Domains/All and use the search field or go to the page on which the domain is listed
    2. Select the domain
40. Select the Current tab. The current list of DNS Records will be displayed.
41. Press the blue copy icon to copy the DNZ zone
    1. The draft DNS zone and the DNZ records will appear in the Draft tab
    2. The draft tab will display as yellow, indicating that at least one draft zone exists.
42. Select the Edit icon to change a specific DNS record OR select Create New DNS Record to add a new DNZ record.
43. Once completed, to publish the draft zone please refer to the Publishing a Zone section.