Infrastructure & ZoneRFC 1035
NS Record — NS Record (Name Server)
Delegates a DNS zone to use specific authoritative nameservers.
RECORD TYPE
NS
STANDARD RFC
RFC 1035
DEFAULT TTL
86400 seconds (24 hours)
CATEGORY
Infrastructure & Zone
BIND Zone File Syntax Example
example.com. 86400 IN NS ns1.cloudflare.com.
example.com. 86400 IN NS ns2.cloudflare.com.How to Query & Check NS Records
Linux / Mac (dig)
dig +short NS example.comWindows / Generic (nslookup)
nslookup -type=NS example.comPowerShell (Resolve-DnsName)
Resolve-DnsName -Name example.com -Type NSRecommended Best Practices
Always configure at least two geographically separated nameservers for redundancy. Changes to NS records can take 24–48 hours to fully propagate worldwide.
Primary Use Cases:
- •Delegating domain DNS management to Cloudflare, AWS Route 53, or Azure DNS
- •Creating isolated sub-zones for team engineering clusters (`dev.example.com`)
Common Configuration Mistake
Deleting NS records in your DNS zone file, which can cause entire domain resolution to break.
Always verify records using authoritative queries (`dig @1.1.1.1 $NS example.com`) to bypass local ISP caching when debugging propagation delays.
Frequently Asked Questions
DNS NS Record Questions & Answers
Common questions regarding DNS propagation, TTL settings, and zone file syntax.
NS (Name Server) records indicate which authoritative servers hold the official DNS records for a domain. When you register a domain, your registrar delegates resolution by setting NS records pointing to your DNS host (Cloudflare, Route 53, Vercel).