A name server is a program in the Domain Name System (DNS), the naming service of the Internet. It stores the records of one or more domains and answers questions about them.
History of Name servers
Creator: Paul Mockapetris (RFC 1034 and RFC 1035, 1987). Year: 1987.
A name server keeps DNS information. The owner keeps the records of a domain in a zone file. The server then answers questions about those records. RFC 1034 explains this role. It describes the domain database as a set of zones. Zones are spread among the name servers that serve them.
The core specifications are RFC 1034 and RFC 1035. Both carry the date November 1987. Paul Mockapetris wrote both. RFC 1035 says it obsoletes RFCs 882, 883 and 973. RFC stands for Request for Comments. It is a numbered series of Internet standards. The author lists ISI as his affiliation. ISI is the Information Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California.
RFC 1034 defines an authority. A name server is an authority for the parts of the name space it knows completely. Clients can rely on its answers for those parts. Other servers only pass on referrals.
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) lists the root servers. The root servers serve the DNS root zone. That zone is the top level of the domain name tree. They are configured as 13 named authorities. The names run from a.root-servers.net to m.root-servers.net. Operators include Verisign, the University of Southern California and the University of Maryland.
In March 2024, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) published RFC 9499. It is titled DNS Terminology. It replaces RFC 8499. The document defines DNS terms used across IETF work. Two of those terms are authoritative and recursive resolver. The authors are P. Hoffman and K. Fujiwara.
Changelog and latest update
In March 2005, the IETF published RFC 4033, titled DNS Security Introduction and Requirements. It is a Standards Track document. It started the work on DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC). DNSSEC adds digital signatures to DNS answers. A resolver can then check that an answer came from the zone owner. This helps block forged answers. The RFC title names the topic as an introduction and its requirements.
In November 2021, the IETF published RFC 9156. It is titled DNS Query Name Minimisation to Improve Privacy. It obsoletes RFC 7816. The RFC abstract calls the method QNAME minimisation. A resolver sends each upstream name server only the part of a name that the server needs. This limits what other servers learn about a user's request.
Latest update: RFC 9499, DNS Terminology, 2024-03
RFC 9499 is the most recent DNS terms update confirmed for this page. The IETF published it in March 2024. It obsoletes RFC 8499, the older terms document. It defines terms such as authoritative and recursive resolver. The rest of the DNS community uses these terms. The authors are P. Hoffman and K. Fujiwara.
Usage examples
Name servers answer every DNS lookup. Administrators list them with NS records. NS stands for name server, and an NS record names a server that answers for a zone. The first example asks the default resolver for those names. The other examples show how the names appear in a zone file and on a host.
$ dig +short NS wikipedia.org
ns0.wikimedia.org.
ns1.wikimedia.org.
ns2.wikimedia.org.This command asks the resolver for the NS records of wikipedia.org. The +short option prints only the answers. The three names show which servers answer for the domain. Run the same command on any domain to see who runs its DNS.
$ dig +short . NS
# 13 names, a.root-servers.net through
# m.root-servers.net, in no set orderA single dot asks for the root zone. The answer is the list of root name servers. These 13 names are the top of every DNS lookup. The list changes very rarely, so resolvers keep it in a hints file.
$ORIGIN example.com.
@ IN NS ns1.example.com.
@ IN NS ns2.example.com.
ns1 IN A 192.0.2.10
ns2 IN A 192.0.2.11IN means Internet class. Each NS line names a server for the zone. The A lines give the IPv4 address of each name server, because the names sit inside the zone itself. These address lines are called glue records.
# /etc/resolv.conf
nameserver 1.1.1.1
nameserver 9.9.9.9
options timeout:2This file lists the recursive name servers that a Linux host asks for answers. The resolver tries each entry in order. The timeout option sets a wait of two seconds before it tries the next entry.
References
These sources are outside Websnoogie and were checked on 2026-10-12.
RFC 1034: Domain Names, Concepts and Facilities
IETF RFC Editor
Defines the domain name space, zones and name servers. Section 4 explains that name servers hold the domain database. It also explains authorities. Published November 1987 by Paul Mockapetris of ISI.
RFC 1035: Domain Names, Implementation and Specification
IETF RFC Editor
Describes the message formats and resource records used between name servers and resolvers, including NS and A records. It obsoletes RFCs 882, 883 and 973. Published November 1987 by the same author.
RFC 9499: DNS Terminology
IETF RFC Editor
Defines the DNS terms used across IETF documents, such as authoritative and recursive resolver. Published March 2024. It obsoletes RFC 8499. The authors are P. Hoffman and K. Fujiwara.
Root Servers
IANA
Lists the 13 named authorities that serve the DNS root zone, with their IPv4 and IPv6 addresses and operators. Operators shown include Verisign, the University of Southern California, Cogent Communications and the University of Maryland.
RFC 4033: DNS Security Introduction and Requirements
IETF RFC Editor
Introduces DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) and the requirements they meet. DNSSEC adds digital signatures to DNS data, so a resolver can check where the data came from. Published March 2005.
RFC 9156: DNS Query Name Minimisation to Improve Privacy
IETF RFC Editor
Describes QNAME minimisation, a method that lets a resolver send each upstream name server only the labels it needs. Published November 2021. It obsoletes RFC 7816.
Point your domain where it belongs
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