On-premises DNS upgrade guide

1. Service impact during upgrade

Note:

1. The second-level resolution interruption duration cited in this document is based on Alibaba Cloud’s internal staging environment and is for reference only. Actual impact varies depending on factors such as server performance (CPU, memory) and deployment architecture.

2. If a server runs both the resolution service and the control proxy service, perform two separate upgrades to minimize impact on resolution.

3. Schedule all upgrades involving the resolution service during off-peak hours or through a change management process to reserve a maintenance window.

Recommendation:

1. Before upgrading, set up a staging environment locally. Verify the upgrade process, actual interruption duration, and business impact. After confirming everything, perform the production upgrade.

2. Upgrade considerations

• Remove traffic: Before upgrading, remove the target node from traffic routing (such as BGP withdrawal or Server Load Balancer removal) to ensure it receives no resolution requests.

• Perform during window: Schedule the upgrade during off-peak hours or reserve a maintenance window through the change management process.

• Pre-verify process: Practice the full upgrade process on a staging node. After verification, proceed with the production upgrade.

• Prohibit configuration changes: During the upgrade, do not manually or automatically modify DNS configurations. This prevents configuration loss or service anomalies.

3. New version overview

4. Upgrade version and cycle description

• Scope: This upgrade applies to users who have deployed Self-Built DNS v3.0.0. The target version is v3.0.1.

• Deadline: Complete the upgrade by July 1, 2026. If you do not upgrade by the deadline, you cannot make configuration changes. However, the resolution service for already configured domain names remains unaffected.

• Feature limitations: New version features are only available in v3.0.1. Older versions do not support them.

5. Rollback

Upgrades are performed through the GUI. If the upgrade fails, the system automatically rolls back to the original version (v3.0.0) without manual intervention.

6. Emergency Support

If you encounter issues during the upgrade, join the official DingTalk support group for one-on-one assistance. Group ID: 104160006996

1. Update software installation agent (Does not affect the resolution service)

1. Log on to the server that requires upgrading.

2. Deploy the software installation agent.

   1. Go to the Alibaba Cloud DNS - On-premises DNS console. Click Deploy.

   2. On the Deploy Software Installation Agent page, select the deployment method based on whether the server has public network access.

      Note

      If the server can connect to the Internet: Copy the command starting with curl -fsSL from the pop-up window. This command downloads the agent package online and starts the deployment.

      If the server cannot connect to the Internet: Locally click Download Agent package. Then, use Cloud Assistant, SCP commands, or other methods to upload the installation package to the server's /root directory. Copy the second command and start the deployment.

      Configuration requirements: The agent is installed in the /home/alidns/tui directory by default. You must allow outbound access on port 443 for the server. Supported operating systems include Alibaba Cloud Linux, Anolis 8, Ubuntu 22–24, CentOS 7, and CentOS Stream 9/10.

3. After starting the deployment, the following GUI page appears. Click Start Installation.

   /\_\   __  /\_\
    _  \/\/\ \ /\_\ \/\ \
   /\_\  \ \ \\ \/\ \ /\_\ /\_\ /\_\/\_,\
   \ \[.\_  \_\ \_\ \/\ \/\ \/\ \/\_,
    \ \__/.\_/\____\ \_\ \____\ \ \_\/\____/
     \/__/\/_/\/__/  \/_/\/__,_  \/\_/\/__,_ /\/_/\/_/\/__/
   Alibaba Cloud DNS Installer v1.0.0
   This tool installs the software agent for Alibaba Cloud On-premises DNS.
   After installation, you can use the Alibaba Cloud DNS console
   to further configure the resolution service for On-premises DNS.
   Click 'Start Installation' or press Enter to begin.
                 Start Installation

4. Select the first step, Environment Check.

   Shortcuts: Previous  Next <ctrl-c> Exit
   Deployment steps
   1 Environment Check
   2 Install Agent
   3 endpoint-cloud connection
   Check Item          Requirement               Check Result
   CPU (Architecture)  x86_64                  ✓
   CPU (Cores)         ≥ 2 Cores               ✓
   Memory              ≥ 8 GB                  ✓
   Disk (/home)        ≥ 32 GB                 ✓
   Operating System    centos[7,9,10],alib...  ✓
   SELinux             Disabled                ✓
   Docker              Not third-party         ✓
   Service Ports       Availability            ✓
   Step Description
   To ensure a successful installation, the installer performs a pre-check of the server's CPU, memory, disk, and critical service ports. You can proceed with the installation only if all checks pass. If a check fails, the installation will be aborted. Resolve the issue as prompted and restart the installation.
   Output
   CPU Architecture: x86_64
   CPU Cores: 4
   Available Memory: 16 GB
   Available Disk Space in /home: 50 GB
   Operating System Version: ubuntu22.04
   Skipping SELinux check for Ubuntu.
   docker (27.5.1) is already installed; skipping.
   Service ports are available.
   Environment check passed. Select the next step to install the opAgent.
   Fix Method

5. Select the second step, Install Agent. After the agent installation success message appears, the agent update is complete. Press Ctrl+C to exit the agent deployment program. Return to the Alibaba Cloud DNS console to upgrade the node.

   Note

   This upgrade does not require endpoint-cloud connection. Existing configurations are automatically retained and remain effective.

   Shortcuts: Previous Next <ctrl-c> Exit
   Deployment steps:
   1 Environment Check
   2 Install Agent
   3 endpoint-cloud connection
   Step Description:
   This step installs the agent components, which run as containers. Docker is installed automatically during this process. If a version of Docker not installed by this agent is already present, the installation will stop. You must uninstall the existing Docker before installing the agent.
   Execute Operation:
   (1) Checking installed Docker version
   (2) Starting container ops-nodeexporter
   (3) Starting container ops-opagent
   Output:
   docker (27.5.1) is already installed; skipping.
   Container ops-nodeexporter is already running; skipping.
   Container ops-opagent is already running; skipping.
   Agent installed successfully. If this is a control node, proceed to the next step: endpoint-cloud connection.

# Test command on a Linux server
dig @<server_IP> example.com A
# Test command on Windows
nslookup example.com <server_IP>