Nameserver assignments

Every account in IBM® NS1 Connect® is automatically assigned a group or pool of nameservers. When you create a zone in NS1 Connect, you select one or more DNS networks to which you want to publish it. All zones that are created in the same network within your account have the same pool of nameservers.

It's important to identify the specific nameservers that are assigned to your zone so you can update the nameserver delegation or NS record, at the domain registrar (for primary zones), the primary DNS provider (for secondary zones), or the parent zone (for subdelegations).

The NS1 Connect nameservers to which a zone is assigned depend on the networks on which it is published. The shared NS1 Connect Managed DNS network (network 0) uses several nameserver pools or groups of nameservers. Nameservers in this network include dns[1-4].p[01-10].nsone.net. Upon publishing a zone to the Managed DNS network, an NS record is automatically generated containing a list of its assigned nameservers.

For example, if your zone is assigned to pool 6 (as in p06), then that NS record contains the following answers, one for each nameserver in the pool:

  • dns1.p06.nsone.net
  • dns2.p06.nsone.net
  • dns3.p06.nsone.net
  • dns4.p06.nsone.net

Note: While not recommended unless instructed by IBM support, you can override the assigned nameservers by editing the NS record to point to a different NS1 Connect nameserver pool (pools 01-10) in the Managed DNS network. This action is possible because all Managed DNS nameservers (excluding the ones for dedicated namespaces) answer any NS1 Connect zone that is published to the shared Managed DNS network.

Zones that are published to other NS1 Connect networks, such as a dedicated namespace within the Managed network, an NS1 Connect Dedicated DNS network, or Managed DNS for China network, are assigned different nameservers specific to those networks.

When you identify the assigned nameservers, you must update the nameserver delegation for the domain to initiate traffic flow through NS1 Connect nameservers. If you do not update the nameserver delegation, the DNS resolver cannot locate the NS1 Connect nameservers.

  • If the NS1 Connect zone is a primary zone, you must update the nameserver delegation at the domain registrar to match the NS record on the NS1 Connect zone.
  • If the NS1 Connect zone is a secondary zone, you must update the NS record within the primary zone to include (but not replace) NS1 Connect nameservers in the list.
  • Refer to Subdelegations and child zones for details on where and how to update the nameserver delegation based on your configuration.