HostTech DNS Guide

The community.dns collection offers several modules for working with the HostTech DNS service. The modules support both the old WSDL-based API and the new JSON REST based API.

The collection provides six modules for working with HostTech DNS:

It also provides an inventory plugin:

Authentication, Requirements and APIs

HostTech currently has two APIs for working with DNS records: the old WSDL-based API, and the new JSON-based REST API. We recommend using the new JSON REST API if possible.

JSON REST API

To use the JSON REST API, you need to create a API token. You can manage API tokens in the “DNS Editor” in the “API” section. You must provide the token to the hosttech_token option of the modules:

- community.dns.hosttech_dns_record:
    hosttech_token: '{{ token }}'
    ...

In the examples in this guide, we will leave the authentication options away. Please note that you can set them globally with module_defaults (see Module defaults).

WSDL API

To use the WSDL API, you need to set API credentials. These can be found and changed in the “Servercenter” and there in the “Solutions” section under settings for the “DNS Tool”. The username is fixed, but the password can be changed. The credentials must be provided to the hosttech_username and hosttech_password options of the modules.

You also need to install the lxml Python module to work with the WSDL API. This can be done before using the modules:

- name: Make sure lxml is installed
  pip:
    name: lxml

- community.dns.hosttech_dns_record:
    hosttech_username: '{{ username }}'
    hosttech_password: '{{ password }}'
    ...

In the examples in this guide, we will leave the authentication options away. Please note that you can set them globally with module_defaults (see Module defaults).

Using the community.dns.hosttech module defaults group

To avoid having to specify common parameters for all Hosttech DNS modules in every task, you can use the community.dns.hosttech module defaults group:

---
- name: Hosttech DNS
  hosts: localhost
  gather_facts: false
  module_defaults:
    group/community.dns.hosttech
      hosttech_username: '{{ username }}'
      hosttech_password: '{{ password }}'
  tasks:
    - name: Query zone information
      community.dns.hosttech_dns_zone_info:
        zone_name: example.com
      register: result

    - name: Set A records for www.example.com
      community.dns.hosttech_dns_record_set:
        state: present
        zone_name: example.com
        type: A
        prefix: www
        value:
          - 192.168.0.1

Here all two tasks will use the options set for the module defaults group.

Working with DNS zones

The community.dns.hosttech_dns_zone_info module allows to query information on a zone. The zone can be identified both by its name and by its ID (which is an integer):

- name: Query zone information by name
  community.dns.hosttech_dns_zone_info:
    zone_name: example.com
  register: result

- name: Query zone information by ID
  community.dns.hosttech_dns_zone_info:
    zone_id: 42
  register: result

The module returns both the zone name and zone ID, so this module can be used to convert from zone ID to zone name and vice versa:

- ansible.builtin.debug:
    msg: |
        The zone ID: {{ result.zone_id }}
        The zone name: {{ result.zone_name }}

Working with DNS records

Note

By default, TXT record values returned and accepted by the modules and plugins in this collection are unquoted. This means that you do not have to add double quotes ("), and escape double quotes (as \") and backslashes (as \\). All modules and plugins which work with DNS records support the txt_transformation option which allows to configure this behavior.

Querying DNS records and record sets

The community.dns.hosttech_dns_record_set_info module allows to query DNS record sets from the API. It can be used to query a single record set:

- name: Query single record
  community.dns.hosttech_dns_record_set_info:
    zone_name: example.com
    type: A  # IPv4 addresses
    what: single_record  # default value
    # Either specify a record name:
    record: www.example.com
    # Or a record prefix ('' is the zone itself):
    prefix: www
  register: result

- name: Show IPv4 addresses if record exists
  ansible.builtin.debug:
    msg: >
      IPv4s are {{ result.set.value | join(', ') }},
      TTL is {{ result.set.ttl }}
  when: result.set

- name: Show that record is not set
  ansible.builtin.debug:
    msg: There is no A record for www.example.com
  when: not result.set

In all examples in this section, you can replace zone_name=example.com by zone_id=42 with the zone’s integer ID.

You can also query a list of all record sets for a record name or prefix:

- name: Query all records for www.example.com
  community.dns.hosttech_dns_record_set_info:
    zone_name: example.com
    what: all_types_for_record
    # Either specify a record name:
    record: www.example.com
    # Or a record prefix ('' is the zone itself):
    prefix: www
  register: result

- name: Show all records for www.example.com
  ansible.builtin.debug:
    msg: >
      {{ item.type }} record with TTL {{ item.ttl }} has
      values {{ item.value | join(', ') }}
  loop: result.sets

Finally you can query all record sets for a zone:

- name: Query all records for a zone
  community.dns.hosttech_dns_record_set_info:
    zone_name: example.com
    what: all_records
  register: result

- name: Show all records for the example.com zone
  ansible.builtin.debug:
    msg: >
      {{ item.type }} record for {{ item.record }} with
      TTL {{ item.ttl }} has values {{ item.value | join(', ') }}
  loop: result.sets

If you are interested in individual DNS records, and not record sets, you should use the community.dns.hosttech_dns_record_info module. It supports the same limiting options as the community.dns.hosttech_dns_record_set_info module.

Creating and updating DNS single records

If you do not want to add/remove values, but replace values, you will be interested in modifying a record set and not a single record. This is in particular important when working with CNAME and SOA records.

The community.dns.hosttech_dns_record module allows to set, update and remove single DNS records. Setting and updating can be done as follows. Records will be matched by record name and type, and the TTL value will be updated if necessary:

- name: Add an A record with value 1.1.1.1 for www.example.com, resp. make sure the TTL is 300
  community.dns.hosttech_dns_record:
    state: present
    zone_name: example.com
    type: A  # IPv4 addresses
    # Either specify a record name:
    record: www.example.com
    # Or a record prefix ('' is the zone itself):
    prefix: www
    value: 1.1.1.1
    ttl: 300

To delete records, simply use state=absent. Records will be matched by record name and type, and the TTL will be ignored:

- name: Remove A values for www.example.com
  community.dns.hosttech_dns_record:
    state: absent
    zone_name: example.com
    type: A  # IPv4 addresses
    record: www.example.com
    value: 1.1.1.1

Records of the same type for the same record name with other values are ignored.

Creating and updating DNS record sets

The community.dns.hosttech_dns_record_set module allows to set, update and remove DNS record sets. Setting and updating can be done as follows:

- name: Make sure record is set to the given value
  community.dns.hosttech_dns_record_set:
    state: present
    zone_name: example.com
    type: A  # IPv4 addresses
    # Either specify a record name:
    record: www.example.com
    # Or a record prefix ('' is the zone itself):
    prefix: www
    value:
      - 1.1.1.1
      - 8.8.8.8

If you want to assert that a record has a certain value, set on_existing=keep. Using keep_and_warn instead will emit a warning if this happens, and keep_and_fail will make the module fail.

To delete values, you can either overwrite the values with value [], or use state=absent:

- name: Remove A values for www.example.com
  community.dns.hosttech_dns_record_set:
    state: present
    zone_name: example.com
    type: A  # IPv4 addresses
    record: www.example.com
    value: []

- name: Remove TXT values for www.example.com
  community.dns.hosttech_dns_record_set:
    zone_name: example.com
    type: TXT
    prefix: www
    state: absent

- name: Remove specific AAAA values for www.example.com
  community.dns.hosttech_dns_record_set:
    zone_name: example.com
    type: AAAA  # IPv6 addresses
    prefix: www
    state: absent
    on_existing: keep_and_fail
    ttl: 300
    value:
      - '::1'

In the third example, on_existing=keep_and_fail is present and an explicit value and TTL are given. This makes the module remove the current value only if there’s a AAAA record for www.example.com whose current value is ::1 and whose TTL is 300. If another value is set, the module will not make any change, but fail. This can be useful to not accidentally remove values you do not want to change. To issue a warning instead of failing, use on_existing=keep_and_warn, and to simply not do a change without any indication of this situation, use on_existing=keep.

Bulk synchronization of DNS record sets

If you want to set/update multiple records at once, or even make sure that the precise set of records you are providing are present and nothing else, you can use the community.dns.hosttech_dns_record_sets module.

The following example shows up to set/update multiple records at once:

- name: Make sure that multiple records are present
  community.dns.hosttech_dns_record_sets:
    zone_name: example.com
    record_sets:
      - prefix: www
        type: A
        value:
          - 1.1.1.1
          - 8.8.8.8
      - prefix: www
        type: AAAA
        value:
          - '::1'

The next example shows how to make sure that only the given records are available and all other records are deleted. Note that for the record_sets[].type=NS record we used record_sets[].ignore=true, which allows us to skip the value. It tells the module that it should not touch the NS record for example.com.

- name: Make sure that multiple records are present
  community.dns.hosttech_dns_record_sets:
    zone_name: example.com
    prune: true
    record_sets:
      - prefix: www
        type: A
        value:
          - 1.1.1.1
          - 8.8.8.8
      - prefix: www
        type: AAAA
        value:
          - '::1'
      - prefix: ''
        type: NS
        ignore: true