Tears of a Systems Administrator

Things that make sys-admins sad inside.

Google Domains Support

I have most of my Domains registered through Google, I was trying to accomplish a simple task, getting some custom nameservers to respond properly to “whois” inquires. This proved really difficult.

Reggie
11:29 PM
Thank you for contacting Google Domains. How may I assist you today?

me
11:30 PM
Hello, I have created glue records for ns1.tfmm.co  and ns2.tfmm.co, and these are working, as my custom nameservers work without issue. However, running a “whois” on either of these returns a “Not Found” error. Is there any way to have these custom nameservers setup so the proper data shows in a whois?

Reggie
11:30 PM
Let me check Russ.
May I have the name of the domain concerned?

me
11:31 PM
tfmm.co
as stated previously.

Reggie
11:32 PM
Please provide me with a Support PIN so I can check the set up.

me
11:32 PM
PINNUMBER

Reggie
11:33 PM
Thank you! Can you give me a minute or two while I check this for you?

me
11:33 PM
sure

Reggie
11:36 PM
I see that the name servers are set on both the Name Servers section and the Registered hosts section.
It just needs to be set on one of them.
Please delete the ones under the Registered hosts section, but plase take note of the IP addresses first.
That way, we can easily put them back if we need them.

me
11:36 PM
If i remove them from the registered hosts, they will no longer work…
do you have any grasp of how DNS actually works?

Reggie
11:37 PM
Yes, I do.

me
11:37 PM
as I’m using custom nameservers that are on the same domain, tfmm.co, the registered hosts must be listed
as it cannot lookup the IPs of the nameservers if it can’t find the nameservers.

Reggie
11:38 PM
They’re already listed under the Name servers section.

me
11:38 PM
right, but there are no IPs defined there
therefore, when it tries to reach those nameservers, it will not know on which IPs they reside

Reggie
11:39 PM
For Registered hosts, what’s to be added there are name servers when a domain’s name servers serve on one of its subdomains.

me
11:39 PM
which is the case here
the domain is tfmm.co
the nameservers are ns1.tfmm.co
and ns2.tfmm.co

Reggie
11:39 PM
Since you’ve pointed the domain to the Name servers using the Name server’s section, the IP addresses should be defined on the name servers end.

me
11:41 PM
which they are
you are not understanding me
The nameservers for tfmm.co are: “ns1.tfmm.co” and “ns2.tfmm.co”. This means that the “Registered hosts” section MUST Contain the IPs of these nameservers for DNS on the domain to work. If I remove these, DNS will not resolve as there is no way to know on which IPs ns1.tfmm.co  and ns2.tfmm.co reside.

Reggie
11:41 PM
Doing a WHOIS search on who.is, I see  NS1.TFMM.CO and NS2.TFMM.CO listed as the name servers of the domain.

me
11:41 PM
correct
but do a whois search on ns1.tfmm.co
and you will see the error to which I was originally referring.

Reggie
11:42 PM
I tried it on who.is and the site is not responding to the request.

me
11:43 PM
are you on a Linux or Mac workstation?
it can be done from command line

Reggie
11:43 PM
That’s because, a WHOIS search is only used for searching information about domain names.

me
11:43 PM
NO IT IS NOT. I work in the web-hosting industry
i deal with this every day
if you do a whois search for another nameserver which I control, it returns proper information
“ns3.REDACTED.COM”

Reggie
11:43 PM
I used a DIG tool and was able to detect ns1.tfmm.co.

me
11:44 PM
DIG is not the same as whois
at all
not even close

Reggie
11:44 PM
Allow me to place you on hold for this for a minute or two. Will that be okay for you?

me
11:45 PM
yes

Reggie
11:45 PM
Because this is the information I got after doing a DIG: ns1.tfmm.co. 3600 IN A 72.52.191.85
The IP address on the DIG tool is the same as the IP addresses listed in the Registered hosts section.

me
11:46 PM
Right, I am not worried about DIG

Reggie
11:46 PM
But please give me a minute or two to seek calrification for this.

me
11:46 PM
I would like WHOIS to respond properly to requests.

Reggie
11:49 PM
Russell,thank you for waiting.
I just spoke with my Senior Specialist and got the confirmation that WHOIS searches are only done ir you’re looking for information about a domain name. Not for searching name servers.

me
11:50 PM
Then your Senior Specialist is also incorrect
I quite literally deal with this on a daily basis
a whois of a nameserver should provide the same basic information as a whois of the domain, with the addition of the Domain registrar info, and any IPs that correspond to the nameserver.

Reggie
11:51 PM
Okay. I tired it on who.is and I think I was able to get some information.

me
11:52 PM
for instance, this is a whois of another nameserver I control: LINK REDACTED
Reggie left group chat.
Reggie joined group chat.

Reggie
11:53 PM
But, there really is no need to define the IP addresses on the Google Domains page because these IP addresses are already defined on the name servers end.

me
11:53 PM
Seriously?
I need to speak to a supervisor please.

Reggie
11:53 PM
I can assure you that your site will still resolve without adding the name servers under the Registered hosts section.

me
11:54 PM
I can assure you it will not.

Reggie
11:55 PM
Okay. I’ll add my supervisor to our conversation.
I’ve added Led to our conversation.
He’s one of our Senior Specialists.
He will take over from here.

me
11:55 PM
Ok.
Led joined group chat.

me
11:56 PM
Ok Led, do you know how DNS works, because if not, I’m going to need your supervisor.

Led
11:56 PM
Oh, yes. Allow me to assist you with your concern, Russell.
Let me read on through your chat conversation with Reggie, Hold on

Led
12:01 AM
Okay, let’s see here.Apologies for the confusion, Russell. Yes, you’ll definitely need to add your name servers under the Registered hosts section and define their respective IP addresses. Also, please use Google Domains’ name servers in order for it to work since you’ll be “registering” those name servers using your domain name as well.

me
12:01 AM
I cannot use Google’s nameservers, as I have a highly custom setup with this domain that Google Domains does not support.
Reggie left group chat.

Led
12:03 AM
I see, Russell. If that’s the case, I suggest to look for a DNS host provider that perhaps have the setup you’re looking for.

me
12:03 AM
Right, I have that
using custom nameservers

Led
12:04 AM
May I know by the way the feature’s that aren’t supported on Google Domains?
As I’d be happy to file those as features requests on your behalf and pass it to our Technical Specialists for evaluation.

me
12:04 AM
I very custom dynamic dns updater that i wrote specifically for one application
it isn’t something i’d expect support for

Led
12:06 AM
Wow, cool!
Okay. So if you’re using the name servers that’s currently provided by your DNS host provider, I suggest to “register” as well the name servers on their end. Since that’s where the resource records of your domain are currently located.
Not on Google Domains. This will not work if you don’t use Google Domains’ respective name servers.

me
12:07 AM
I run my own DNS server cluster for this application. The cluster is located on ns1.tfmm.co  and ns2.tfmm.co
All I want, is for a whois on those 2 nameservers to return the proper information

Led
12:10 AM
Hmm.. Based on this particular DNS checker, most are fine. There’s an error indicating that your name servers are in different subnets though.http://www.intodns.com/tfmm.co
And currently, since you’re using your custom name servers, I highly suggest to perhaps check again the configuration of your name servers. Since that’s were your domain’s resource records are located.
Not on Google Domains.

me
12:10 AM
Right, but if you do a “whois ns1.tfmm.co” from a command line on a Linux or Mac OSX box, you will see the error.

Led
12:11 AM
And may I know the error message you’re referring to?

me
12:11 AM
$ whois ns1.tfmm.co
Not found: ns1.tfmm.co
when a whois on another custom nameserver I have works as expected: LINK REDACTED

Led
12:15 AM
I see, Russell. Well, I can load your domain’s site fine on my end though.As with regard to the WHOIS information you’re referring to, changes on your domain name takes some time to take effect. Has it been 24-48 hours already?

me
12:15 AM
It has been several weeks.

Led
12:16 AM
I see. Well, Russell, to reiterate, you should use Google’s name servers if you wish to register ns1/ns2.tfmm.co and use those.Otherwise, you’ll really need to register those on your DNS host provider or literally from your own server that you run as you’ve mentioned earlier.

me
12:17 AM
I will have to investigate this further at a later date, I need to go.

Led
12:17 AM
Okay, Russell.
Is there anything else I can possibly help you with today?
REALLY? These people work for Google, and don’t understand basic DNS?!?!?!?!

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