IONOS Firewall - Setting Nameservers using Plesk

IONOS is a mid-market budget hosting provider. Their VPS (Virtual Private Server) and Dedicated Server offerings are reliable and stable for the price bracket. That being said, it can take some tinkering around to get custom nameservers working for new Plesk users.

This handy guide assumes that you have already glued the IP address to your intended domain for the nameservers. IONOS's documentation does not notify you that if you are using a domain registered elsewhere, you also need to open up port 53 on TCP and UDP within the firewall configuration with Cloud Panel > Network > Firewall Policies.

In the image below I have added port 53 for TCP and UDP incoming connections.



After you have done the above in your IONOS Cloud Panel firewall configuration, below is how I got the nameservers working. Here’s a detailed guide on how to use one set of nameservers for all domains in Plesk. You can also follow the guide on the Plesk website: https://www.plesk.com/kb/support/how-to-use-one-set-of-nameservers-for-all-domains-in-plesk/

Step 1: Access Plesk Admin Interface​

• Start by logging into the Plesk control panel. You can do this by entering the URL provided by your hosting provider into your web browser, followed by your username and password.

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Step 2: Navigate to DNS Template Settings​

• Once logged in, look for the "Tools & Settings" option in the left sidebar or the top menu, depending on your Plesk version. Click on it.
• Under the "General Settings" section, find and click on the "DNS Template" link. The DNS Template is where you can define a default set of DNS records, including NS records, that will be applied to all new domains.

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Step 3: Modify the Nameserver (NS) Records​

• Within the DNS Template page, you'll see a list of DNS records. Look for records with the type "NS" – these are your nameserver records.
• Click on an NS record to edit it. If you need to use specific nameservers (e.g., ns1.yourdomain.com and ns2.yourdomain.com), you'll modify these records accordingly.
• In the "Name server" field of each NS record, enter the nameserver you wish to use. Ensure you have separate records for each nameserver if you're using more than one.
• After entering your nameserver details, click "OK" or "Apply" to save the changes.

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Step 4: Apply the DNS Template to Existing Domains​

• The changes you've made to the DNS Template will automatically apply to all newly created domains. However, if you want to apply these settings to existing domains, you will need to do this manually for each domain.
• Go back to the main dashboard, select "Domains," and choose a domain you wish to update. Then navigate to its DNS settings.
• Here, you can manually adjust the DNS records to match the template or use the "Reset to Default" option, which will apply the DNS Template settings to the domain.

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Step 5: Verify Nameserver Delegation​

• After updating your nameserver settings, it's crucial to verify that they are correctly delegated with your domain registrar and that the DNS changes propagate across the internet. This process can take up to 4-12 hours. That mostly depends on the domain name extension. Some newer domain extensions on the market can take 12-24 hours to propagate.
• Use online tools such as https://intodns.com to check the NS records of your domain and ensure they point to your specified nameservers.

If you have additional tips to share, feel free to comment below. Thank you for reading.