An NS (name server) record states which servers are authoritative for a zone. Resolvers follow NS records down the DNS hierarchy, from the root to the top-level domain to your domain, to find who holds the real answers.
Why it matters
NS records decide who controls your DNS. The set at your registrar (the delegation held by the parent zone such as .com) is what the world actually uses, and it must match the NS records inside your zone. If the nameservers are unreachable or misconfigured, every service on the domain fails together: web, email and everything else.
Example
$ dig +short example.com NS
ns1.dnshost.example.
ns2.dnshost.example.Use at least two nameservers, ideally on separate networks. If a nameserver lives inside the domain it serves (for example ns1.example.com), the parent zone also needs glue records, the IP addresses of those servers.
Common mistakes
- Changing DNS provider without copying every record first, then switching NS at the registrar.
- Leaving the parent delegation and in-zone NS records out of sync (lame delegation).
- Listing only one nameserver, or two that sit behind the same single point of failure.
- Pointing an NS record at a CNAME, which is not allowed.
Related
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