DNS Troubleshooting

Use these checks to confirm a DNS change and resolve common problems.

Check a Record Before Propagation

A ZSoftly name server answers for your zone as soon as you save a record, even before the world sees it. Query it directly to confirm the record is correct:

dig A www.example.com @ns1.zsoftly.ca +short
dig A www.example.com @ns2.zsoftly.ca +short

Both name servers should return the same answer. If the direct query is right but public resolvers are wrong, the record is fine and you are waiting on propagation or a cached old value.

Confirm Delegation

Public resolvers reach your ZCP records after you delegate the domain to ZSoftly. Confirm the public response lists the ZSoftly name servers:

dig NS example.com +short
# ns1.zsoftly.ca.
# ns2.zsoftly.ca.

If this still shows the old name servers, the delegation has not propagated or was not saved at the registrar. See Domains.

Check Worldwide Propagation

Query several public resolvers in different regions. They should all agree:

for r in 1.1.1.1 8.8.8.8 9.9.9.9 208.67.222.222; do
  echo "$r:"; dig A www.example.com @$r +short
done

For a visual world map, use an online checker such as whatsmydns.net and pick the record type.

Common Problems

The Change Has Not Shown Up

Resolvers cache records for the TTL. With the default 14400 (4 hours), a resolver holding the old value waits up to four hours before refreshing it. Lower the TTL to 300 a day or two before a planned change, then raise it again afterward.

CNAME at the Root Does Not Work

A CNAME cannot sit at the apex (@) and cannot share a name with any other record. Use an A or AAAA record for the root. See CNAME records.

Fix MX Record Rejection

An MX record needs a priority in its own field. From the CLI, pass --priority. From the API, send priority as a separate field. See MX records.

TXT Record Looks Wrong

TXT content is a quoted string. On the CLI, wrap it so the shell passes the quotes through, for example '"v=spf1 -all"'. See TXT records.

SRV or LOC Record Fails

SRV and LOC records are not available yet. The other types (A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, CAA, NS) work.

NXDOMAIN Versus No Answer

NXDOMAIN means the name does not exist in the zone. An empty answer with NOERROR means the name exists but has no record of the requested type. Check the requested name and type.

Read the Zone as the Platform Sees It

zcp dns show <slug> prints the domain and every record it holds, including the SOA and NS records ZCP manages. Compare it against what dig returns to find a missing or mistyped record.

zcp dns show examplecom