DNS lookup — check any domain's DNS records
An nslookup online: see a domain's A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, TXT, SOA and CAA records with their TTLs, straight from Google, Cloudflare or Quad9 DNS, or compare all of them to check whether a change has spread. Free, no sign-up.
What each DNS record type does
Most "my website is not opening" and "my email is not arriving" problems come down to one of these records pointing at the wrong place. Here is what to look for in each.
| Record | What it holds | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| A | The IPv4 address of the server that serves the website. | Both yourbrand.in and www.yourbrand.in should point at your host's server IP. |
| AAAA | The IPv6 address of the same server. | Optional. If present, it must be the same host as the A record, or some visitors see a different site. |
| CNAME | An alias: "this name is the same as that other name". | Common on www and on names for Shopify, Google or CDNs. A name with a CNAME cannot have any other record. |
| MX | The servers that receive email for the domain, with a priority number (lower is tried first). | Must match where your mailboxes live: your hosting, Google Workspace or Zoho. Wrong MX = lost email. |
| NS | The nameservers in charge of the domain's DNS. | For HostKarle hosting: ns1.fastnsdns.com and ns2.fastnsdns.com. |
| TXT | Free text: SPF (who may send your email), DKIM keys, DMARC, Google and Meta verification codes. | Only one SPF record (starting v=spf1) per domain. Two SPF records break both. |
| SOA | The zone's primary nameserver, admin contact, serial number and refresh timers. | The serial goes up after each change, which tells you whether a nameserver has the new version. |
| CAA | Which certificate authorities may issue SSL certificates for the domain. | If CAA records exist, they must allow Let's Encrypt (letsencrypt.org) or the free SSL cannot be issued. |
Connect your domain in three steps, then watch it spread
Bought the domain somewhere else, such as GoDaddy, Hostinger or BigRock? You can keep it there and still use HostKarle hosting. Change two nameservers and we handle every record for you.
Change the nameservers
At your registrar, open the domain's nameserver setting, choose "custom nameservers" and enter ns1.fastnsdns.com and ns2.fastnsdns.com. Remove any others.
Check the NS record here
Look up your domain with type NS and "Compare all resolvers". When all four show the fastnsdns.com servers, the move is done. Usually this takes 1–4 hours, at worst 24–48.
SSL turns on by itself
Once the domain points at our servers, a free Let's Encrypt certificate is issued automatically. Confirm it with the SSL checker.
What "DNS propagation" really is
Nothing is pushed around the internet when you change a record. What happens is that resolvers, the DNS servers your ISP, Google or Cloudflare run, keep a copy of each answer for as long as its TTL allows. Until that copy expires, they keep giving out the old answer. A record with a TTL of 3600 can stay stale for up to an hour; a nameserver change is cached for as long as the registry's own TTL allows: two days for .com, only 15 minutes for .in, plus whatever your old nameservers' records said.
Why it works on your phone but not your laptop
Your phone on mobile data and your laptop on home broadband ask different resolvers, and each one cached the record at a different time. Your computer and browser keep their own small cache too. Comparing resolvers above shows which ones already have the new answer. To clear your own cache on Windows, run ipconfig /flushdns.
Plan a change to avoid downtime
A day before you move a site, lower the TTL of its A record to 300 seconds. Resolvers then refresh every five minutes, and the switch to the new server takes minutes instead of hours. When moving to HostKarle, keep the old hosting active until this tool shows the new nameservers everywhere.
Frequently asked questions
Stuck on a DNS change? Message us on WhatsApp at +91 94343 44325, or open a ticket from your client area, and we will look at it with you.
What is a DNS lookup?
DNS is the internet's address book. A DNS lookup asks a DNS resolver what records a domain has: the A record holds the IPv4 address of the website, AAAA the IPv6 address, MX the mail servers, NS the nameservers that are in charge of the domain, TXT free-text entries used for SPF, DKIM and site verification, CNAME an alias to another name, SOA the zone's technical details and CAA which certificate authorities may issue SSL certificates for it.
Is this the same as nslookup?
It gives the same answers as running nslookup or dig on your own computer, without opening a terminal. Behind the scenes it runs dig on our server against the resolver you pick, so you also see each record's TTL, which nslookup hides by default.
How do I check a CNAME or TXT record?
Type the exact name and pick CNAME or TXT. A CNAME usually lives on a subdomain such as www or shop, so type www.yourbrand.in, not just the bare domain. TXT records for SPF sit on the bare domain; DKIM keys sit on a name like default._domainkey.yourbrand.in; DMARC on _dmarc.yourbrand.in.
I changed my nameservers or DNS records. Why do I still see the old ones?
Resolvers keep each answer for as long as its TTL says, so an old record can linger until the TTL runs out. A nameserver change also has to be published by the registry of the extension (.in, .com), and resolvers cache the old nameservers for up to 24–48 hours. Choose "Compare all resolvers" above: when Google, Cloudflare, Quad9 and our server all show the new value, the change has reached most of the internet.
What should my nameservers be for HostKarle hosting?
Point the domain to ns1.fastnsdns.com and ns2.fastnsdns.com at the company where you registered it. If you bought the domain from HostKarle, we set them for you. Once they show up here, your website, email and free SSL start working on HostKarle within a few hours.
What does NXDOMAIN or SERVFAIL mean?
NXDOMAIN means the name does not exist: it is mistyped, not registered, has expired, or the subdomain was never created. SERVFAIL means the resolver could not get any answer, usually because the domain's nameservers are down or not set up for the domain, or because DNSSEC is broken. A WHOIS lookup shows whether the domain is registered and which nameservers the registry has.
Is the DNS lookup free?
Yes, with no sign-up. To stop automated scraping, each visitor can run about 40 lookups in any 10 minutes (looking up all record types or comparing resolvers counts as two).
Hosting from ₹99 a month, with free SSL on every plan.
Point your domain to ns1/ns2.fastnsdns.com and we take care of the DNS records, email and certificate. DirectAdmin panel, free migration, the same price at renewal.