How can I lower or raise the TTL for my domain?
Introduction
It is possible to raise and lower the TTL (Time To Live) value for your domains hosted at (mt) Media Temple.
TTL is the value that determines how long your current DNS settings are cached with Internet Service Providers. What that means for you: In practice, if your Internet Service Provider has the current IP address for your website cached for 24 hours, it won't bother checking for a DNS update for your domain until that 24 hours has passed even if you made a DNS change for that domain 5 minutes ago.
On the other hand, someone in another city may be using an Internet Service Provider that hasn't made a query for your domain's DNS settings recently. That person will get the new DNS information right away (and thus be shown your new website right away) because the Internet Service Provider did not cache the information previously.
If your site is going to look exactly the same from one server to another, this is probably not a big deal for you. But if you're "launching" a new site, or if you have a live email address at your domain, you may want to first lower your TTL before making any other DNS changes. This can help you avoid a lengthy period where web traffic and email are going to two servers at once.
TIP:
- TTL is given in seconds.
- (mt) Media Temple default TTL is 12 hours, but many other providers will use 24 or 48 hours.
Requirements
Your domain must be using (mt) Media Temple's nameservers:
- NS1.MEDIATEMPLE.NET
- NS2.MEDIATEMPLE.NET
Instructions
Lower the TTL value
- Log into the AccountCenter.
-
From the Overview page or Domains tab, select the domain you want to edit. See Figure 1.
Figure 1. -
Click on the Edit DNZ Zone File icon, see Figure 2.
Figure 2. Click image for a larger view. -
In the right-hand corner, under Options, click on the Lower TTL value button. See Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Raise the TTL value
- Log into the AccountCenter.
-
From the Overview page or Domains tab, select the domain you want to edit. See Figure 4.
Figure 4. -
Click on the Edit DNZ Zone File icon, see Figure 5.
Figure 5. Click image for a larger view. -
In the right-hand corner, under Options, click on the Lower TTL value button. See Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Be sure to wait the full length of time the original TTL. To learn more about DNS, please see: DNS Explained.
NOTE:
If you need the TTL set higher than 12 hours (43200), please open a support request in the AccountCenter and (mt) Media Temple technicians can set the value higher. This is necessary in some countries.