What this check shows
NS records identify the authoritative nameservers responsible for a DNS zone. They are central to provider migrations and delegation troubleshooting.
Comparing recursive answers helps reveal stale delegations, old provider nameservers and zones where authoritative servers do not agree.
When to use it
- DNS provider migrations
- Nameserver delegation changes
- Diagnosing intermittent resolution
- Confirming removal of old nameservers
How to read the result
- The parent-zone delegation and the NS records published inside the child zone should be consistent.
- Every listed nameserver should be reachable and authoritative for the zone.
- Different NS sets may indicate cached delegation data or a configuration mismatch.
Command examples
Use these dig commands when you need to compare DNSRadar with a terminal check or collect evidence for a DNS provider.
dig example.com NS +short
dig +trace example.com NS
dig @a.gtld-servers.net example.com NS +noall +answerQuestions
Why do parent and child NS records matter?
Resolvers learn the delegation from the parent but can also cache NS data from the child zone; mismatches can produce inconsistent behavior.
Do nameserver changes propagate instantly?
No. Parent delegation and recursive caches have TTLs that can keep previous nameservers visible.
Related DNS tools
Check DNS records worldwide across independent public resolvers for A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, NS, SOA, PTR, SRV and CAA answers.
Check DNS propagation worldwide and compare record values, status and latency across independent global DNS resolvers.
Run a global A record lookup to check IPv4 addresses, TTL values and propagation across independent DNS resolvers.
Check AAAA records worldwide to verify IPv6 addresses, propagation, TTL behavior and resolver differences before or after a dual-stack change.
Check CNAME records worldwide, compare canonical targets across public DNS resolvers and detect stale aliases after CDN, SaaS or hosting changes.
Check MX records worldwide, compare mail server hostnames and priorities, and diagnose email delivery or migration issues across global DNS resolvers.