How to Find Your DNS Server Address

All domains are registered to point at a domain nameserver (DNS) to resolve which IP address a domain name should point to. This lookup is similar to how a phone book works when you look up the name of an individual and find their phone number. If the DNS servers are incorrectly set or pointed to the wrong nameservers, your domain may not load the appropriate web pages.

How do I Find my Current DNS Servers?

You can see what currently set DNS servers for your domains by performing a WHOIS check on the domain.  Here are some tools offered by third parties:

IntoDNS: The Nameservers will be located under a section labeled "NS."

WhoIS: The information will be available immediately at the top of the page.  Be sure to click the refresh button next to "Updated X time ago" to get the most recent information.

WhatsMyDNS: You can check many records here.  The link provided will do Nameservers, which is the dropdown "NS" option.

IANA: Browse through IANA for the registry's direct WHOIS server to query directly from http://www.iana.org/domains/root/db since there are now over 1,500 TLDs other than the popular ones like .com, .net, .org, .co, .us, .gov, .edu, .info, .xyz and .ly. In most cases, a regular WHOIS lookup from one of the websites mentioned above will work fine. However, if you run across a domain name that you cannot find the WHOIS information for, querying the WHOIS server directly may be the best way to find the information you are looking for.

Point Your Nameservers To Hostwinds

If the nameservers look incorrect, double-check that you have changed the domain's records to Set the Correct Nameservers.  If you have the domain hosted with us at Hostwinds, our LiveChat and Technical Support staff will be more than happy to help set the domain nameservers to the ones you need.  If you have the Domain Registered Somewhere Else, we can assist you in finding your nameservers for your domain registrar. However, since registrars may have different ways to change them, you may need to contact their support for assistance.

Once you have made the necessary changes for your domain's nameservers, it will take time for the Internet's root servers to update their caches.  This is called DNS Propagation, and it can sometimes take a while for the updates to propagate.  You can use the DNS Checker tools above to see what the Internet still has as your nameservers.

If you've just changed them, don't worry if they report the old nameservers for up to 48 hours, as this is as long as it can take for them to update.  If 48 hours have passed and there's still no change, do let us know, and we will be happy to investigate.