DNS Failover
Shift DNS to a backup when things break.
A DNS record can keep pointing at a server that is no longer responding. Failover monitors your endpoint and changes the record to a backup when a failure is detected.
The problem failover solves
DNS does not know whether the service behind a record is healthy. If your web server, VPN endpoint, or PBX goes down, the record keeps sending people to it. Failover adds the missing health check and reroutes automatically.
How it works
1. Monitor
ZoneEdit checks your primary endpoint on a schedule.
2. Detect
Repeated failures past the threshold mark the endpoint down.
3. Switch
The record is updated to your backup target.
4. Recover
When the primary returns, traffic shifts back.
DNS failover is subject to TTL and resolver caching. Clients holding a cached record will keep using the old address until it expires — it is not instantaneous connection migration. Keep TTLs low on records you protect.
Where it helps
Websites
Fail over to a secondary host or status page.
VPN endpoints
Keep remote access reachable via a backup gateway.
PBX / SIP
Route voice to a standby trunk during an outage.
Small-office services
Add resilience without running a load balancer.
What it costs
Failover is a per-monitored-device add-on, billed in credits.
Test checklist
Configure primary, monitor, and backup
Set the record to protect, the health check, and the backup target.
Simulate a failure
Take the primary offline (or block the check) and confirm the record switches within the expected window.
Confirm recovery
Bring the primary back and verify traffic returns as configured.
Add failover to a critical record
Monitor an endpoint and reroute automatically when it fails.