A nameserver is a server that answers DNS queries. The authoritative nameservers for your domain hold its DNS records (A, MX, TXT and so on) and give definitive answers about it.
At your registrar you specify which nameservers are authoritative, for example ns1.yourdnshost.com and ns2.yourdnshost.com. The registry publishes these as NS records in the TLD zone so resolvers know where to ask. Changing nameservers moves control of all DNS records to the new provider, so copy your existing records first.
If your nameservers are inside your own domain (such as ns1.example.com), the registry also needs “glue records” containing their IP addresses to avoid a circular lookup.
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Related terms
- A record
- An A record is a DNS record that maps a domain or subdomain to an IPv4 address, telling browsers which server hosts the site.
- CNAME record
- A CNAME record makes one hostname an alias of another, such as www.example.com pointing to example.com or to a hosting provider's hostname.
- MX record
- An MX record tells the internet which mail servers accept email for your domain, with priority numbers deciding the order they are tried.
- TXT record
- A TXT record stores text in DNS, widely used for domain ownership verification and email authentication like SPF, DKIM and DMARC.