DNS zones

About DNS zones#

A DNS zone is a container for all the DNS records of a domain. When you add a domain to Edge DNS, you’re creating a zone that holds all the records (A, CNAME, MX, etc.) that define how traffic is routed to your domain.

Example zone structure:

Zone: example.com
├── A     @   → 185.x.x.x
├── CNAME www → example.com
├── MX    @   → mail.example.com (priority 10)
└── TXT   @   → "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all"

Zone lifecycle#

• Pending: the zone has been created but its nameservers are not yet verified. You can add records, but the zone won’t serve DNS queries until the nameservers are updated.
• Active: nameservers are verified and the zone is live. Edge DNS is serving queries for your domain from our global anycast network.
• Suspended: the zone has been suspended due to a policy violation or billing issue. DNS queries return SERVFAIL until the issue is resolved.

Creating a zone#

1. Navigate to DNS. Open the DNS section from the main navigation.
2. Click Add Zone. This starts the zone creation wizard.
3. Enter your domain. Enter the root domain (e.g. example.com). Do not include www or other subdomains.
4. Update nameservers. Copy your unique nameservers and update them at your domain registrar.
5. Verify and activate. Click Verify Nameservers once you’ve updated your registrar. Your zone becomes active immediately on verification.

SOA record#

Every zone has a Start of Authority (SOA) record that defines key zone parameters. Edge DNS manages this automatically:

Zone settings#

Each zone has configurable settings, accessible from the zone’s Settings tab:

Deleting a zone#

To delete a zone:

1. Navigate to the zone you want to delete.
2. Click the ⋯ menu.
3. Select Delete Zone.
4. Confirm the deletion.

After deletion, remember to set your domain’s nameservers back to your registrar’s defaults or another DNS provider.

API reference#

Manage zones programmatically via the DNS API:

Creating a zone:

POST /api/dns/zones
{
  "domain": "example.com"
}