Nameservers and DNS Propagation: What They Are and How to Check

Nameservers (NS) are the servers that hold a domain's DNS records and answer the question "where is this domain". The NS record in the registry tells the whole internet whom to ask.

When they are changed

• When DNS moves to another provider, most often Cloudflare. At Riki Domains this happens automatically if the Cloudflare integration with your key is enabled in the bot's dashboard.
• When moving to hosting with its own nameservers.
• By default the domain uses the service's nameservers, and records are managed in the bot's DNS manager.

DNS propagation

Changes do not appear everywhere instantly: intermediate DNS servers cache answers for the TTL period, usually from minutes to a day. A nameserver change in the registry is visible on average within a few hours; rare providers keep old data for up to two days. Records inside an already working zone update faster.

How to check

Query the record through a third-party DNS checker from several locations. If the new answer is visible anywhere, the change has been accepted and the rest is a matter of time. If nowhere, check that the record was saved at the provider.

A common mistake

Switching the nameservers to Cloudflare without moving the records there first: the domain starts answering from new servers that have no records yet, and the site disappears. Records first, nameservers second.