NS Server: how it works


When you register a domain name you can add NS records with DNS servers addresses. These addresses you will receive from your web hosting provider when buying web hosting. If you have not already done this, you can either skip this step and add later, or you can change DNS servers addresses to those that were provided by the registrar. For example, for test.ua domain NS record may be like these: ns1.test.ua., ns2.test.ua. (be sure to place a fullstop at the end of the nameserver details).


Please note that registration of UA domain is not possible without pre-registered NS records.

For the correct work you need at least two NS records. The first record will refer to the primary DNS server (there will be located the master zone file), the other records will refer to the secondary server with the copies of the DNS records.


It is important that the primary and secondary DNS servers are not on the same physical server, and even better when the servers are distant and are placed in different countries (for example, primary server is in the USA, secondary — in Ukraine). This is necessary to guarantee a reliable work of your website. If the primary server fails, your site will be available to users through the backup records on the secondary server.

For example, a customer registers test.ua. domain. He has a website which is hosted on the USA server, uses Google mail server and his subdomain is hosted on the Holland server.

He gets two NS records for our servers (if the client has no other requests): ns1.skydns.net and ns2.skydns.net during the domain registration.

Records in the domain control panel:

test.ua.        86400        NS    ns1.skydns.net
test.ua.        86400        NS    ns2.skydns.net

 

Each of these entries refers to different NS servers. For example the entry ns1.skydns.net refers to a server in the USA, ns2.skydns.net — on the server in the UK. This location of the servers eliminates the possibility of hacking your DNS records. Even if one server is hacked (which is unlikely), then your website will continue to work.

An advantage is also that DNS records are not located on the same server where the client’s site is. This means that if the client needs to move his website to another web hosting, he will not have to transfer records to the new DNS server, it is enough will modify the IP address in existing DNS records. It is possible to edit the records via control panel (Client Area).


Let’s say that the server is in the USA, where the client’s site is, has 1.1.1.1 IP address, then the server with the subdomain forum.test.ua has 2.2.2.2 IP address, the mail server is registered at Google (all the data you are interested in, you can get from your web hosting provider).

 

For proper work you should configure the DNS records on each DNS server, as follows

  1. A records: 
    test.ua               A     1.1.1.1
www.test.ua           A     1.1.1.1
forum.test.ua         A     2.2.2.2
  2. MX records: the number denotes the priority, the smaller the value, the greater the priority 
    test.ua.        MX     1     ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM.
test.ua.        MX     5     ALT1.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM.
test.ua.        MX     5     ALT2.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM.
test.ua.        MX     10    ASPMX2.GOOGLEMAIL.COM.
test.ua.        MX     10    ASPMX3.GOOGLEMAIL.COM.
test.ua.        MX     10    ASPMX4.GOOGLEMAIL.COM.
test.ua.        MX     10    ASPMX5.GOOGLEMAIL.COM.


This way of resources location is used to increase security. If an attacker hacks into the server where your website is located, you will not lose control over the mail and subdomains, so you will be able to warn your visitors and/or customers that your site had been hacked, but soon it would be restored. To restore your data reliable web hosting providers, as we are, provide backup service.

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