How to Use Linked Zones to Manage a Collection of Domains

When you manage a large domain profile, changing the setting for each individual domain can be tedious. Using Linked Zones, you are able to link a collection of domain names together so that they use the same settings. When you deploy a change to a linked zone, all the domains in that zone are also updated.

Only members of an organization who have been given sufficient permissions by the owner will be able to edit the linked zones.

Only domains that use Gandi’s LiveDNS can be linked to a Zone.

Warning

If you change the owner of a domain name, or transfer the domain to another Gandi organization, your domain will unlink from the zone since your domain no longer belongs to the original organization.

Linked Zones vs. Configuration Templates

In addition to Linked Zones we also offer a similar feature: configuration templates. There are some important differences between these two features. Configuration templates act like a template from which you can customize settings for each domain. Linked zones lock your domain settings so that all domains linked to the zone have the exact same settings.

Configuration Templates	Linked Zones
Can be applied by default to all new domain purchases.	Can be applied to new domain names after purchase.
Changes can be made to settings on an individual domain after choosing a template without affecting the template itself.	Domain is locked to the linked zone and changes to individual domains are blocked.
Changes made to a template do not affect domains where the template was once applied.	When saved and deployed, changes are made to all domains linked to that zone.

How to Create a Linked Zone

Before you link domains to a zone, you must first create the zone. This can be done in the Domain Tools section, as follows.

1. After logging in, click on the “Domains” tab in the left navigation menu.

2. Click on the “Domain Tools” tab.

3. Click “Manage” below “Linked Zones.”

4. Select the organization you want to create the zone for.

5. Click “Create Zone”

6. Give the Linked Zone a name describing the domains that will be included.

7. Verify that the organization listed is correct.

8. Add the DNS records that will be used for all domains in the zone. Or, select “Default” to use Gandi’s default DNS records. You can change these settings later.

9. Click “Create.”

How to Link a Domain to a Linked Zone

You can link several domains at using the following steps. You can also use these same steps to unlink domains from a group.

1. After logging in, click on “Domains” in the left navigation menu.

2. If you are not already in Advanced View, click on “Advanced View” in the title bar of the domain list to switch to Advanced View.

3. Optional: you can further narrow your list of domains using search filters. If you have more than one organization, you may want to set a filter to display only domains owned by the organization where you plan to create the zone.

4. Click the check box next to each domain you want to link. Or, click the empty box in the title bar to select all visible domains.

5. Choose Configure in the menu that appears at the bottom of your screen, then select “Link to a Zone”

6. Select the zone.

7. Click “Link and Deploy” to link the domain and change that domain’s settings to match those of the linked zone.

8. On the following page you can choose “Deploy” to apply the zone’s settings to the domain names right away, or you can choose “Deploy Later” if you want to make further edits to the zone before applying the zone settings to the new domains.

Note

if a domain is already linked to a zone, you can link and deploy the domain to another one, but be aware that no warning will be raised, and we will apply your change.

Warning

If you change the owner of a domain name, or transfer the domain to another Gandi organization, your domain will unlink from the zone since your domain no longer belongs to the original organization.

How to Deploy a Linked Zone

When you create or edit a linked zone you have the option of deploying the settings to the linked domains immediately, or saving the current changes without deploying them. This makes it easier for you to edit your linked zone over time while waiting to deploy the zone changes until the changes are completely ready.

To deploy a zone you can:

• Select the “Deploy” option when you link domains to your zone.

• Select the “Deploy” option when you edit the zone’s settings.

• Deploy from the linked zones menu.

To deploy from the linked zones menu, follow these steps:

1. After logging in, click on the “Domains” tab in the left navigation menu.

2. Click on the “Domain Tools” tab.

3. Click “Manage” below “Linked Zones.”

4. Select the organization that contains the zone you want to update.

5. Click the icon with three vertical dots next to the zone you want to update.

6. Select “Deploy.”

How to Edit a Linked Zone

When you edit the settings for a linked zone and then deploy the changes, all domains within that zone will be updated to match. To edit the existing changes on an existing zone, follow these steps:

1. After logging in, click on the “Domains” tab in the left navigation menu.

2. Click on the “Domain Tools” tab.

3. Click “Manage” below “Linked Zones.”

4. Select the organization that contains the zone you want to update.

5. Click the icon with three vertical dots next to the zone you want to update.

6. Select “Edit.”

7. Make any changes you want to the linked zone.

8. When finished click “Save” to save the changes without deploying them. Click “Save and Deploy” to immediately deploy the changes to all linked zones.