DNSSEC and Your Domain Portfolio: A Practical Implementation Guide

You've decided to enable DNSSEC. Not just on one domain - across your portfolio. Here's how to do it systematically without breaking anything.

This guide is practical, not theoretical. Real steps, real considerations, real gotchas.

Phase 1: Assessment and Planning

Inventory Your Domains

Before enabling anything, know what you have:

Create a spreadsheet with:

• Domain name
• Registrar
• DNS provider
• Current DNSSEC status
• Business criticality (high/medium/low)
• Traffic/revenue impact if down

Why this matters:

• Identifies dependencies
• Prioritizes rollout order
• Exposes registrar/DNS provider fragmentation
• Documents current state for rollback

Assess Provider Capabilities

Not all providers support DNSSEC equally:

Check your DNS provider:

• Does it support DNSSEC signing?
• Is it automatic or manual?
• What algorithms are supported?
• How is key rotation handled?
• What's the process for DS record generation?

Check your registrar:

• Does it support DS record publication?
• Automatic (via provider) or manual entry?
• What DS digest types are accepted?
• Any known issues or limitations?

Common combinations:

DNS Provider	Registrar	Implementation
Cloudflare	Cloudflare	One-click (automatic DS)
Cloudflare	GoDaddy	Manual DS entry
Route 53	AWS	Console-based, manual DS
Route 53	Namecheap	Manual DS entry
GoDaddy	GoDaddy	Semi-automatic

Choose Your Approach

Option A: Consolidate then enable

Move all domains to providers that support managed DNSSEC, then enable.

Pros: Simplest long-term management Cons: Migration project before DNSSEC project Timeline: Longer

Option B: Enable where possible

Enable DNSSEC on domains where current providers support it well.

Pros: Faster initial progress Cons: Inconsistent management Timeline: Shorter

Option C: Phased hybrid

Enable on easy domains first, migrate and enable others in phases.

Pros: Balanced approach Cons: More complex project management Timeline: Medium

Define Success Criteria

What does "DNSSEC enabled" mean for you?

• Zone is signed
• DS record published at registrar
• Chain of trust validates (DNSViz)
• Monitoring in place
• Runbooks documented
• Team trained

Phase 2: Preparation

Set Up Monitoring First

Before enabling DNSSEC, establish monitoring:

Why first:

• Validates current state
• Baseline for comparison
• Detects problems immediately
• Reduces risk

What to monitor:

• DNS resolution success
• DNSSEC validation (for enabled domains)
• Signature expiration
• Chain of trust status

Create Runbooks

Document procedures before you need them:

Enable DNSSEC runbook:

• Steps for your specific providers
• Screenshots/commands
• Verification steps
• Expected timelines

Rollback runbook:

• How to disable DNSSEC
• DS record removal process
• Expected recovery time

Incident response runbook:

• Symptoms of DNSSEC failure
• Diagnostic steps
• Escalation contacts
• Communication templates

Test on Non-Critical Domain

Pick a low-stakes domain for first implementation:

Good test candidates:

• Development/staging domain
• Low-traffic internal domain
• Domain you could survive losing temporarily

What to validate:

• Your understanding of the process
• Provider behavior
• Timeline expectations
• Monitoring effectiveness

Phase 3: Rollout

Prioritization Strategy

Roll out in order of risk tolerance:

Group 1: Lowest risk

• Test/development domains
• Internal tools
• Low-traffic properties

Group 2: Medium risk

• Secondary business domains
• Marketing properties
• Regional sites

Group 3: Highest value (but you've practiced)

• Primary business domain
• Revenue-critical properties
• Customer-facing applications

Per-Domain Implementation

For each domain:

Step 1: Pre-Checks

[ ] Current DNS is healthy
[ ] Registrar access confirmed
[ ] DNS provider access confirmed
[ ] Monitoring baseline established
[ ] Rollback plan ready

Step 2: Enable Signing

For managed DNS (Cloudflare, Route 53, etc.):

1. Navigate to DNS settings
2. Find DNSSEC option
3. Enable signing
4. Wait for zone to be signed (usually seconds to minutes)
5. Verify zone has DNSKEY and RRSIG records

Verification:

# Check for DNSKEY
dig DNSKEY yourdomain.com

# Check for RRSIG
dig +dnssec yourdomain.com

Step 3: Publish DS Record

If registrar is same as DNS provider (e.g., Cloudflare for both):

• Often automatic
• Verify DS appears at parent zone

If registrar is different:

1. Get DS record from DNS provider
2. Log into registrar
3. Navigate to DNSSEC settings
4. Enter DS record details
5. Save and wait for propagation

DS record format:

Key tag: 12345
Algorithm: 13 (ECDSAP256SHA256)
Digest type: 2 (SHA-256)
Digest: A1B2C3D4E5F6...

Step 4: Wait for Propagation

DS records propagate through the TLD:

• .com: Up to 24 hours (usually faster)
• .org: Similar
• Other TLDs: Varies

Don't proceed until propagated.

Step 5: Validate

Using dig:

dig +dnssec yourdomain.com

# Should see AD (Authenticated Data) flag if your resolver validates

Using delv:

delv yourdomain.com

# Shows validation chain, or errors

Using DNSViz:

1. Go to dnsviz.net
2. Enter your domain
3. Run analysis
4. Verify green checkmarks throughout chain

Step 6: Enable Monitoring

For this domain:

• Add to DNSSEC monitoring
• Set up signature expiration alerts
• Configure validation checks
• Test alert delivery

Step 7: Document

Record:

• Date enabled
• Provider configuration used
• DS record details
• Any issues encountered
• Monitoring status

Batch Operations

For efficiency with many domains:

Parallel signing:

• Enable signing on multiple domains simultaneously
• They're independent at this stage

Serial DS publication:

• Publish DS records one at a time
• Verify each before proceeding
• Easier to catch/fix issues

Why not fully parallel:

• One problem can mask another
• Debugging is harder with multiple variables
• Risk of cascading issues

Phase 4: Ongoing Management

Key Rotation Schedule

Plan your rotation strategy:

ZSK rotation (every 1-3 months):

• Most providers automate this
• Verify automation is working
• Monitor for successful rotations

KSK rotation (every 1-2 years):

• Requires DS record update
• More coordination needed
• Schedule in advance
• Consider during low-traffic periods

Monitoring Checklist

Daily (automated):

• Validation tests passing
• Signatures not expiring soon
• No alert backlog

Weekly:

• Review monitoring dashboard
• Check for any warnings
• Verify signing automation status

Monthly:

• DNSViz full analysis
• Key rotation schedule review
• Documentation currency

Quarterly:

• Audit all domains for DNSSEC status
• Review and update runbooks
• Test rollback procedure (on test domain)

Change Management

When making DNS changes:

Before change:

• Verify DNSSEC is healthy
• Understand impact on signing
• Plan for re-signing if needed

During change:

• Make DNS changes
• Verify zone is re-signed (usually automatic)
• Check validation still works

After change:

• Validate from multiple locations
• Confirm monitoring shows healthy
• Document the change

Common Ongoing Issues

Signature not refreshing:

• Check signing automation
• Verify provider status
• Manual re-sign if needed

DS/DNSKEY mismatch after provider change:

• Generate new DS from new DNSKEY
• Update at registrar
• Wait for propagation
• Remove old DS

Validation failures after algorithm change:

• Ensure new algorithm supported by resolvers
• Consider dual-signing during transition
• Monitor for resolver compatibility

Phase 5: Scaling and Maintenance

Automation for Large Portfolios

With many domains, automate:

Monitoring:

• Centralized DNSSEC health dashboard
• Automated signature expiration checks
• Alert aggregation

Reporting:

• Weekly DNSSEC status report
• Upcoming rotation schedule
• Any domains with issues

Documentation:

• Auto-generate domain inventory
• Track DNSSEC status per domain
• Audit trail for changes

Team Training

Ensure your team can handle DNSSEC:

All operators should know:

• Basic DNSSEC concepts
• How to check if DNSSEC is working
• Who to escalate to

Primary operators should know:

• Full enable/disable procedures
• Troubleshooting techniques
• Key rotation process

Specialists should know:

• Deep debugging
• Complex scenarios
• Provider-specific details

Continuous Improvement

After initial rollout:

Quarterly review:

• What incidents occurred?
• What could be automated?
• What documentation is missing?

Annual review:

• Is current approach working?
• Should we consolidate providers?
• Are there new best practices?

The Checklist

Pre-Implementation

• Domain inventory complete
• Provider capabilities assessed
• Rollout strategy chosen
• Monitoring infrastructure ready
• Runbooks created
• Test domain identified

Per-Domain Enablement

• Pre-checks complete
• Signing enabled
• Zone has DNSKEY/RRSIG
• DS record published
• Propagation complete
• Validation confirmed (DNSViz)
• Monitoring active
• Documentation updated

Ongoing Operations

• Daily automated checks running
• Weekly dashboard review scheduled
• Monthly audit scheduled
• Key rotation schedule documented
• Team training complete

The Bottom Line

DNSSEC across multiple domains is a project, not a task. It requires:

• Planning: Know your domains, providers, and approach
• Preparation: Monitoring and runbooks before enablement
• Careful rollout: One domain at a time, verify each
• Ongoing attention: Monitoring, rotation, maintenance

Done right, you get cryptographic protection for your DNS. Done wrong, you get outages.

Take your time. Verify each step. The security benefit is only realized if DNSSEC stays healthy over time.

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Recommended Reading

• DNSSEC Explained - Foundation concepts
• Monitoring DNSSEC - Ongoing operations
• Common Misconfigurations - What to avoid