List of public status pages

on Sunday, 5 February 2023 | | A comment?

Custom Network Status Pages

Downly is a free and open-source downtime monitor and status website service. Unlike other status page services, it doesn't need a server, relying entirely on GitHub instead:


GitHub Actions serves as the downtime monitor

GitHub Issues provide incident reports

GitHub Pages host the status website

on Saturday, 4 February 2023 | | A comment?

DNS Failover

Supported failover records

The DNS Failover and Monitoring feature is available for both IPv4 A records and IPv6 AAAA records. Each A and AAAA record can be set up individually, making the feature compatible with Round-Robin DNS and GeoDNS configurations.

Available monitoring types

At present, our DNS Failover and Monitoring system supports the following monitoring methods:

ICMP Ping: The system sends 12 ICMP ping checks to the specified IP address, with 4 packets of 64 bytes, 4 packets of 512 bytes, and 4 packets of 1024 bytes.
15% Threshold Ping: The check is marked as "DOWN" if 15% or more of the packets fail.
25% Threshold Ping: The check is marked as "DOWN" if 25% or more of the packets fail.
50% Threshold Ping: The check is marked as "DOWN" if 50% or more of the packets fail.

Web Checks: Requests are sent to the specified IP using either HTTP or HTTPS, with options for customizing hostname, port, and path. A check is marked as down if the request times out, the response code is not 200, or the response text does not match a specified custom string.
HTTP: A request is sent over HTTP, and marked as down if the request times out or the response code is not 200.
HTTPS: A request is sent over HTTPS, and marked as down if the request times out or the response code is not 200.
HTTP with custom string in response: A request is sent over HTTP, and marked as down if the request times out, the response code is not 200, or the response text does not match a specified custom string.
HTTPS with custom string in response: A request is sent over HTTPS, and marked as down if the request times out, the response code is not 200, or the response text does not match a specified custom string.

The system supports the following monitoring types for TCP, UDP, and DNS:

TCP - The system establishes a TCP connection to the designated IP address on the specified port. If the connection fails, the check is marked as DOWN.
UDP - The system tests the designated UDP port on the given IP address. If the connection fails, the check is marked as DOWN.
DNS - The system performs a DNS query for the selected hostname and query type on the specified IP address. If the response does not match the expected result, the check is marked as DOWN.

Monitoring regions

To configure monitoring regions, you have the following options:

Global: The default option that monitors your failover records from all nodes globally.
Europe: Monitors your failover records only from nodes located in Europe.
North America: Monitors your failover records only from nodes located in North America (USA and Canada).
These monitoring regions are useful when running GeoDNS and you want to monitor your nodes from the closest locations.

Handling of downtime

To be declared as "DOWN," the DNS record must be identified as "DOWN" by two separate checks from two different locations (check nodes). If only one node reports it as "DOWN" while others report it as "UP," the DNS record will not be deemed "DOWN."

The "DOWN" event handlers determine what will happen to the monitored DNS record when it is detected as "DOWN." The available options are:

Monitoring only: No changes will be made to the DNS record. You will receive an email notification if the DNS record is detected as "DOWN."
Deactivate the DNS record: If the monitored DNS record is detected as "DOWN," it will be deactivated. This option is useful for Round-Robin and GeoDNS configurations.
Replace with working IP: This option allows you to define up to five backup IPs. If the main DNS record IP is detected as "DOWN," the system will check the backup IPs in order, starting from the first and proceeding to the last. The first IP that is detected as "UP" and working will be set as the DNS record.

Handling of return to live


The DNS record is considered UP if it's detected as such from two separate checks in two different locations. If only one check reports UP but others show DOWN, the DNS record won't be marked as UP.

The UP event handlers determine what happens to the monitored DNS record when its main IP address is detected as UP after being marked as DOWN. Options are:

Monitoring only: The DNS record will continue to be monitored but no changes will be made when it's detected as UP again. Monitoring continues even after the UP detection and notifications will be sent if the check goes UP and DOWN multiple times.
Do not monitor if UP: Once the DNS record is marked as DOWN and the down event handler is processed, monitoring stops. It must be manually reactivated for checks to continue.
Activate main IP if UP: The main IP address will be monitored even if it's marked as DOWN. If it's detected as UP again, it will be reactivated for the DNS record. This option works with both "Deactivate the DNS record" and "Replace with working IP" down events.

Event History

A record of both monitoring checks and actions taken on the DNS record is kept for each DNS Failover and Monitoring check. This history is stored for 30 days and can be viewed in the control panel for each DNS record that has a DNS Failover and Monitoring check activated.

Activating DNS Failover


To activate the DNS Failover and Monitoring check for all supported DNS records, simply click the icon:  

Once activated, the first monitoring check will be carried out within a minute, and the results will be recorded.

If you need to deactivate the DNS Failover and Monitoring check, use the "Deactivate this DNS Failover and Monitoring check" button at any time.

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Disable/enable DNS zones

Downly offers the ability to temporarily deactivate DNS zones that are no longer in use, making it convenient for users who want to switch between multiple configurations for a single DNS zone.

How to Disable/enable DNS zones

To utilize this feature, go to your profile settings and in the "Web settings" section, check the "Disable records and zones" option, then click "Save".

Deactivate/activate records

To turn on this feature, go to your Profile settings and select "Web settings". Check the "Disable records and zones" option and hit "Save". To deactivate a DNS zone, click on the pause icon next to it. This will temporarily make the zone inactive, and the pause icon will be replaced with a play icon. To reactivate, simply click on the play icon. Alternatively, you can use the HTTP API method.

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How to block visitors by country?

By default, a website is accessible globally, but this may not always be desirable. For instance, you may want to restrict access to certain countries if the content is not relevant or manage your website traffic more effectively. An example of this could be hosting a local competition or contest and only allowing visitors from your own country to participate.

To block visitors from specific countries to your website, you need to have a GeoDNS subscription and follow these steps:

Go to your GeoDNS zone.

In the control panel, create a new A record.

In the record settings, specify the following:

Record Type: A

Location: Select the country you want to block visitors from

TTL: 1 Hour

Host:

Points to: 127.0.0.1

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Secondary DNS with hidden master server

The Secondary DNS serves as a backup, combining multiple servers to work together. It acts as a hidden master server, where all DNS zones, records, and settings are managed, and updates are automatically propagated to a public server that handles all DNS traffic. This setup protects the backend hidden server from DDoS attacks and ensures that domain names are served from a fast anycast network, avoiding a slow unicast network connection on the hidden master server affecting the global speed of the domain name.

What is the Hidden Master DNS server?

The Hidden Master setup provides protection for the primary DNS server by concealing its existence. The registrar and NS records do not list the Master DNS server, rendering it inaccessible to potential attackers. In case of issues with the secondary DNS server, the Master DNS server remains unscathed. Additionally, a firewall may be utilized for added security.

How to use Hidden Master with Downly?

To set up a Hidden Master DNS server with Downly, follow these steps:

Create NS records in your Master DNS zone for the Downly name servers listed in the "available name servers" pop-up window.
Ensure that there are no NS records for your Master DNS server in your DNS zone.
Add all other records in your Master DNS zone.
Log in to your profile and create a Slave DNS zone.
Enter the IP address of your Master DNS server in the Slave DNS zone and enable zone transfer and notify on your Master DNS server.
If using BIND, add the suggested configuration in your zone file.
Check the SOA serial on your Master DNS server, and compare it to the SOA serial in your Dashboard.
If the serials match, your DNS zone is synced and you have a Hidden Master DNS configuration.
If your Master DNS server is behind a firewall, allow connections from Downly name server IP addresses.

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What is a Secondary DNS Zone?

The Slave or Backup DNS Zone, also known as Secondary, is a read-only version of the DNS records. Direct additions to the Slave/Backup DNS Zone are not possible as it can only receive updates from the Master Zone of the DNS server. Management of the records in the Slave/Backup Zone is exclusively performed at the master server. This feature is only available for premium customers.

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Master DNS Zone

What is Master (Primary DNS) Zone?

The Master Zone, also referred to as the Primary Zone in a DNS server, serves as the authoritative copy of the DNS database. When changes are made to the database, such as adding a new DNS record, they are made to the Master Zone on the DNS server. Management of the records in the Master Zone can only be performed through our interface.

How to add Master Zone in Downly?

To create a Master Zone, follow these steps:

Log in to your account
Click on the "DNS zones [Add new]" link
Select the "Master zone" option
Enter the domain name (excluding www and http://)
Click the "Create" button
Choose the servers you want to add to your domain registrar or leave them all selected
You'll be directed to the Records page for your domain's DNS zone, where you can add the necessary records.

When creating a Master DNS zone with ClouDNS, you have three options to choose from:

Create with NS records (default) - This option automatically creates the Master DNS zone with NS records for all available name servers, making it the simplest way to set up a Master DNS zone.

Copy records from another zone - If you want to duplicate all the records of another DNS zone into your new one, select this option.

Create without records - Selecting this option will create an empty DNS zone without any NS records. You will need to manually add them later.

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Monitoring Documentation

Access to Monitoring

Monitoring checks are an optional feature with the DNS control panel. Each plan includes one Monitoring check. 

Supported monitoring options

Both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses are supported for monitoring checks. Each check can be configured individually, making the monitoring check suitable for web services, mail services, DNS services, etc.

Monitoring types available with Downly

The following monitoring types are currently supported by our Monitoring checks system:

ICMP Ping - Our system sends 12 ICMP ping checks to the specified IP address, consisting of 4x 64 bytes, 4x 512 bytes, and 4x 1024 bytes.

Ping with 15% threshold - If 15% or more of the packets fail, the check is marked as down.

Ping with 25% threshold - If 25% or more of the packets fail, the check is marked as down.

Ping with 50% threshold - If 50% or more of the packets fail, the check is marked as down.


The Monitoring system supports various Web check types:


HTTP: a request is sent over HTTP. If the request times out or the response code is not 200, the check is marked as DOWN.

HTTPS: a request is sent over HTTPS. If the request times out or the response code is not 200, the check is marked as DOWN.

HTTP with custom string: a request is sent over HTTP. If the request times out, the response code is not 200, or the response text does not match the defined custom string, the check is marked as DOWN.

HTTPS with custom string: a request is sent over HTTPS. If the request times out, the response code is not 200, or the response text does not match the defined custom string, the check is marked as DOWN.

Supported countries

You can use the monitoring countries to configure your monitoring check to be monitored only from a specific country. Here are the options:


Austria - at

Bulgaria - bg

Brazil - br

Canada - ca

Germany - de

Spain - es

Finland - fi

Hong Kong - hk

Hungary - hu

Israel - il

India - in

Italy - it

Japan - jp

South Korea - kr

Mexico - mx

Netherlands - nl

Peru - pe

Poland - pl

Romania - ro

Russian Federation - ru

Singapore - sg

Turkey - tr

Taiwan - tw

United Kingdom - uk

United States - us

South Africa - za

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