Available on every Dynamic DNS plan. How many items you can monitor depends on the plan.
1. What This Feature Does
Monitoring marks the hostnames and address records whose availability you want tracked. You switch it on per item:
- on a Dynamic DNS hostname, with the Monitoring switch on its row;
- on an A or AAAA record in a Managed DNS domain, with the Monitor switch on its row.
The Uptime card on the dashboard Overview summarises the availability readings recorded for your items over the last 24 hours, and how many are down right now.
Monitoring does not send alerts, emails or notifications.
2. When You Should Use It
- You want the Overview to show the availability of the servers behind your hostnames and records.
- You want to filter your Dynamic DNS list down to the hostnames you care about most, with Monitored only.
3. When You Should Not Use It
- You need to be told when something goes down. Monitoring does not notify you.
- Records other than A and AAAA. Only address records can be monitored; CNAME, MX, TXT and the rest cannot.
4. Prerequisites
- A CertaDNS account. Any Dynamic DNS plan, including Free, can monitor items up to its limit.
- For hostnames: a Dynamic DNS hostname under DNS > Dynamic DNS.
- For records: a Managed DNS domain with an A or AAAA record. See DNS Records.
5. How It Works (Brief)
Each monitored item can hold a latest reading — whether it was up, how long it took to respond, and when — and a daily summary. The Uptime card and the uptime API report those readings. Switching monitoring on or off changes only which items are marked; it does not change DNS.
6. How to Use It
Monitor a Dynamic DNS hostname
- Go to DNS > Dynamic DNS.
- In the Monitoring column, click Off on the hostname. It changes to On and a confirmation appears: Monitoring enabled.
- Click On to switch it off again.
Monitor a record in a Managed DNS domain
- Go to DNS > Managed DNS and open the domain.
- In the Monitor column of an A or AAAA record, click Off. It changes to On.
Show only monitored hostnames
On the Dynamic DNS page, choose Monitored only in the filter list.
Read the Uptime card
Open Overview. The Uptime card is the fourth card in the top row.
From the API
With an API key, the uptime figures and the hostname switch are available. Record monitoring is switched from the dashboard only.
| Request | Does |
|---|---|
GET /api/uptime/dashboard | The figures behind the Uptime card |
GET /api/uptime/status/realtime | The latest reading for each Dynamic DNS hostname with an address, and each monitored record |
GET /api/uptime/domain/{id} | Readings for one Dynamic DNS hostname |
GET /api/uptime/stats/weekly | Daily summaries for your Dynamic DNS hostnames over the last 7 days |
POST /api/uptime/domain/{id}/monitor | Switch monitoring on a hostname; body {"enable": true} or false |
7. Inputs and Settings
| Setting | Values |
|---|---|
| Monitoring (Dynamic DNS hostname) | On / Off. Off by default. |
| Monitor (A or AAAA record) | On / Off. Off by default. |
There are no check intervals, thresholds or alert settings to configure.
8. Outputs and Results
The Uptime card shows one of:
| Card shows | Meaning |
|---|---|
| A percentage, Last 24 hours · N monitored | The share of items whose latest reading was up |
| N down right now (in red) | Items whose latest reading was down |
| Not monitored yet — Turn on monitoring for a hostname to track uptime | Nothing on the account is counted |
| No readings yet | Items are counted but there is no figure to show |
| Could not load uptime | The figures could not be fetched; reload the page |
9. How to Interpret Results
- The count includes every Dynamic DNS hostname that has an IP address, whether or not its Monitoring switch is on, plus the A and AAAA records you have switched on.
- The percentage is 100% until a reading says otherwise. An item with no reading counts as neither up nor down, so 100% does not by itself mean an item has been reached.
- N down right now is the figure to act on: check the server behind the hostname or record, and that its address is current.
10. Common Issues and Explanations
"Monitoring limit reached. … plan allows … monitored items"
You have switched monitoring on for as many hostnames and records as your plan allows. Switch it off on items you no longer need, or move to a larger Dynamic DNS plan.
"Monitoring is only available for A and AAAA records"
Only address records can be monitored.
The Uptime card shows a count although I have not switched anything on
The card counts every Dynamic DNS hostname that has an IP address. See section 9.
No Monitor switch on a record
The record is not an A or AAAA record, or it is a record CertaDNS manages (shown as System or locked for Email Authentication).
11. Limits and Constraints
| Dynamic DNS plan | Monitored items |
|---|---|
| Free | 5 |
| Pro | 100 |
| Elite | 500 |
- The limit counts Dynamic DNS hostnames and Managed DNS records together.
- Records: A and AAAA only.
- No alerts or notifications.
12. Related Features
- Dynamic DNS — the hostnames you can monitor.
- DNS Records — the A and AAAA records you can monitor.
- DNS Analytics — whether your domains are being looked up.
13. Updates and Behavior Changes
- 30 September 2026. This article was rewritten to match the current dashboard. Monitoring is switched on from the Dynamic DNS list and, for A and AAAA records, from a Managed DNS domain's record editor; there is no separate uptime page. The limits are 5, 100 and 500 items on Free, Pro and Elite, counted across hostnames and records. Earlier versions described check intervals, response-time history and alerting, which this article no longer describes.