Authoritative DNS
DNS hosting publishes the records that connect your domain to websites, mail and online services. Every active domain needs authoritative DNS somewhere, even when registration and hosting use different companies.
Publishes recordsA, MX, TXT and more.
Controls routingDirects each service.
Needs resilienceMore than one nameserver.
The role
Authoritative nameservers hold the zone for a domain. They answer queries such as which IP address serves the website, which mail server receives messages and which TXT records prove ownership or publish email policy.
Where it runs
Domain registration does not require DNS to remain with the registrar. UKC parked domains include managed DNS through the Domain Tools area. A hosted domain may use its UKC hosting server, while an externally managed domain uses the provider named in its nameserver records.
Changing provider
A nameserver change delegates the whole domain, not only the website. Recreate website, mail, verification and subdomain records at the new provider first, then allow resolver caches to expire after the switch.
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