DNS lookup
Query every common record type for a domain — A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, TXT, SOA and CAA — with the TTL each record carries.
What each record does
- A / AAAA — the IPv4 and IPv6 addresses the domain points to. More than one usually means load balancing or a CDN.
- CNAME — an alias pointing at another name. A domain with a CNAME cannot also carry other records at the same name.
- MX — where email for the domain is delivered, lowest priority number first. No MX record means no inbound email.
- NS — the nameservers authoritative for the zone. If these are wrong, nothing else works.
- TXT — free text, in practice SPF, DMARC, domain verification tokens and DKIM keys.
- SOA — the zone's "start of authority": primary nameserver, admin contact and the serial number that changes when the zone is edited.
- CAA — which certificate authorities are permitted to issue certificates for the domain.
TTL and why your change has not appeared
Every record has a time to live, in seconds, telling resolvers how long they may cache it. A record with a TTL of 86400 can persist for a full day after you change it. If you know a DNS change is coming, drop the TTL to 300 a day beforehand, make the change, then raise it again — that turns a day of uncertainty into five minutes.
Propagation is a myth, caching is not
DNS does not slowly spread across the world. Authoritative nameservers update instantly; what you are waiting for is other people's resolvers to expire their cached copy. That is why a change can be live for you and invisible to a colleague on a different ISP.
FAQ
Why do I see different results from another DNS tool?
Different resolvers hold different cached copies, and CDNs deliberately return different addresses depending on where the query came from. Both answers can be correct at once.
How long should DNS changes take?
As long as the old record's TTL, plus however long the slowest resolver in the path decides to hold it. Most changes are visible everywhere within an hour when the TTL was low.
Do I need both SPF and DMARC in TXT records?
Yes, if you send email. SPF says which servers may send for you; DMARC tells receivers what to do when a message fails. Our email health check tests both.
Related reading
Other tools
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Ping test
Round-trip latency and packet loss.
SSL certificate checker
Expiry, issuer, chain and hostname match.
HTTP header & security check
Every response header, graded for security.
Open port checker
Which TCP ports answer from the outside.
WHOIS lookup
Registrar, age, expiry and nameservers.
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