Setting A Records for Private Name Servers
Through its involvement in the management of the root DNS servers on the net, Verisign has pushed out a change so that if private name servers are set at a registrar, then the DNS server must have a matching A record, or the site will not resolve. The way around this is simply adding an A record to the DNS zone for each name server.
Creating the A Records for Private Name Servers
To create A records for private name servers, follow the instructions below:
1. Log into WHM.
2. Navigate to the DNS Functions section.
3. Click the Edit DNS Zone option.
4. Select the primary domain that is listed in your HostGator welcome email.
5. Click the Edit button and wait for the page to load.
6. Check your New Account Info email for the correct name server IPs. This is exactly the information you need for the record name and address.
a. ns1.example.com (123.123.123.123)
b. ns2.example.com (50.50.50.78)
1. You will be able to see the DNS zone file. Scroll down to the section marked Add New Entries Below this Line.
2. In the first blank, type ns1.
3. Skip the box with 14400, and go to the drop-down box.
4. In the drop-down box, select A. A new box will appear to the right.
5. Type in the IP address for the NS1 private name server listed in your welcome email.
6. In the second blank, type ns2.
7. Skip the box with 14400, and go to the drop-down box.
8. In the drop-down box, select A.
9. Type in the IP address for the NS2 private name server listed in your welcome email.
10. Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page and click the Save button.
When you get to the last step, your A record entries should look similar to the following:
Be sure also to fix your DNS Glue to ensure that your site will resolve.
Troubleshooting and Confirming Settings
If your sites are not resolving after adding the A records, please ensure that the private name servers are registered.
To test if your private name servers are registered correctly, you can ping each name. The examples below show how both registered and non-registered name servers appear when pinged.
Example: Ping Test for a Non-Registered Name Server
The example listed below illustrates how the ping will look for a non-registered private name server.
C:>ping ns1.mydomain.com
Ping request could not find host ns1.mydomain.com. Please check the name and try again.Example: Ping Test for a Registered Name Server
The example provided below illustrates how the ping will look for a properly registered private name server.
C:>ping ns1.hostgator.com
Pinging ns1.hostgator.com [67.18.54.2] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 67.18.54.2: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=56
Reply from 67.18.54.2: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=56
Reply from 67.18.54.2: bytes=32 time=8ms TTL=56
Reply from 67.18.54.2: bytes=32 time=7ms TTL=56
Ping statistics for 67.18.54.2:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 6ms, Maximum = 8ms, Average = 6ms
C:>
