# Cloud DNS

IONOS Cloud DNS lets you publish [<mark style="color:blue;">Domain Name System (DNS)</mark>](https://docs.ionos.com/cloud/support/general-information/glossary-of-terms#domain-name-system-dns) primary zones of your domains and subdomains on public name servers.

Cloud DNS is structured into two primary categories: **Public Zones** and **Reverse DNS**.

Public Zones are further classified into **Primary Zones** and **Secondary Zones**, based on their role and configuration within the DNS infrastructure. If you manage a primary zone outside the IONOS Cloud infrastructure—on a self-hosted BIND server or another provider—you can now set up a secondary zone within IONOS Cloud DNS. The configuration allows your IONOS Cloud secondary zone to pull automatically and sync records from the external primary through the standard [<mark style="color:blue;">Authoritative Zone Transfer (AXFR)</mark>](https://docs.ionos.com/cloud/support/general-information/glossary-of-terms#authoritative-zone-transfer-axfr) protocol. Likewise, you can configure it the other way around, letting an external secondary pull from a primary hosted in IONOS Cloud. It ensures high availability and seamless integration across hybrid DNS setups.

Cloud DNS also supports the creation and management of [<mark style="color:blue;">Pointer (PTR) records</mark>](https://docs.ionos.com/cloud/support/general-information/glossary-of-terms#ptr-record) for both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, facilitating [<mark style="color:blue;">reverse DNS (rDNS)</mark>](https://docs.ionos.com/cloud/support/general-information/glossary-of-terms#reverse-dns-rdns) lookups.

With the [<mark style="color:blue;">DCD</mark>](https://docs.ionos.com/sections-test/guides/set-up-ionos-cloud/data-center-designer) and the [<mark style="color:blue;">Cloud DNS API</mark>](https://api.ionos.com/docs/dns/v1), you can manage the primary and secondary zones, associated zone records, and PTR records.

The following operations can be performed only through the API:

* import and export primary zone files
* enable DNSSEC keys for primary zones

## Product Overview

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Cloud DNS Overview</strong></mark></td><td>Learn about its features, benefits, and functionality.</td><td><a href="cloud-dns/overview">overview</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

## Quick Links

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Use Cases</strong></mark></td><td>Explore the key use cases for implementing Cloud DNS.</td><td><a href="cloud-dns/usecases">usecases</a></td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>DCD How-Tos</strong></mark></td><td>Learn how to create and manage primary and secondary zones or reverse DNS through the DCD.</td><td><a href="cloud-dns/dcd-how-tos">dcd-how-tos</a></td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>API How-Tos</strong></mark></td><td>Learn how to create and manage primary and secondary zones or reverse DNS through the API.</td><td><a href="cloud-dns/api-how-tos">api-how-tos</a></td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Tutorials</strong></mark></td><td>Step-by-step instructions for deploying Cloud DNS workflows.</td><td><a href="https://docs.ionos.com/cloud/tutorials/network-services/cloud-dns">https://docs.ionos.com/cloud/tutorials/network-services/cloud-dns</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

## Developer Tools

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>IONOS Cloud - DNS API</strong></mark></td><td>Access the REST API documentation for Cloud DNS.</td><td><a href="https://api.ionos.com/docs/dns/v1">https://api.ionos.com/docs/dns/v1</a></td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Cloud DNS SDKs</strong></mark></td><td>Interact with the Cloud DNS API using SDKs.</td><td><a href="https://docs.ionos.com/reference/software-development-kits/cloud-dns-sdks">https://docs.ionos.com/reference/software-development-kits/cloud-dns-sdks</a></td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Config Management Tools</strong></mark></td><td>Explore configuration management tools compatible with Cloud DNS.</td><td><a href="https://docs.ionos.com/reference/config-management-tools/config-management-tools">https://docs.ionos.com/reference/config-management-tools/config-management-tools</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

## Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>FAQ</strong></mark></td><td>Get answers to the most commonly encountered questions about Cloud DNS.</td><td><a href="cloud-dns/cloud-dns-faq">cloud-dns-faq</a></td></tr></tbody></table>