tana-dns

authoritative dns server for the tana.network zone. handles subdomain routing for deployed contracts and custom domain resolution.

overview

when you deploy a website to tana, it gets a subdomain at {contractId}.tana.network. tana-dns answers these dns queries for these subdomains, pointing them to the edge servers that execute the smart contract code.

for users who want prettier urls, tana-dns also supports custom domains. point your domain's nameservers to tana, and we'll route traffic to your contract.

how it works

dns queries arrive over udp. tana-dns checks if the query is for something we know about:

query: anything.tana.network
  -> return edge server IPs (instant, no lookup needed)

query: custom-domain.com
  -> check with tana-api if this domain is registered
  -> if yes, return edge server IPs
  -> if no, return NXDOMAIN

the key insight: 99% of queries are for *.tana.network subdomains, which require zero database lookups. custom domain queries hit the api, but those are rare and cacheable.

custom domains

users register custom domains through the dashboard:

1. add domain in dashboard (generates verification token)
2. add dns records at your registrar pointing to tana nameservers
3. verify ownership (we check for the token)
4. domain is live