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Use Custom Nameservers

Updated May 05, 2024 ·

Overview​

When you buy a domain, your registrar lets you choose where its DNS is hosted. To use another DNS provider, simply update the nameservers at your registrar to match the new provider’s.

The steps are similar across most registrars. DigitalOcean provides detailed guides for many registrars.

How Often You Can Change​

You can technically change your nameservers as often as you like, but there are practical limits:

  • Propagation time - Changes can take minutes to up to 48 hours to be seen everywhere
  • Possible downtime - Some users may reach the old provider, others the new one, during propagation
  • Registrar delays - Some registrars take a few minutes before pushing changes to the root DNS

For lab work, it’s best to:

  • Change them no more than once per day
  • Use short TTLs (around 300 seconds) so DNS record changes take effect faster

Multiple Providers​

If you switch between providers often, set up everything ahead of time to reduce downtime.

Preparation

  • Add your domain to providers you’ll use (e.g., DigitalOcean, Cloudflare, Route 53)
  • Create the same records (A, CNAME, etc.) in each provider before switching
  • Set TTL to 300 seconds in all providers for faster updates

Switching at Your Registrar

  1. Log in to your registrar (e.g., Namecheap)

  2. Go to Domain List → Manage → Nameservers

  3. Select Custom DNS and enter the target provider’s nameservers:

    • DigitalOcean

      ns1.digitalocean.com
      ns2.digitalocean.com
      ns3.digitalocean.com

    • Cloudflare (unique per domain)

      alice.ns.cloudflare.com
      bob.ns.cloudflare.com

    • Route 53 (unique per hosted zone)

      ns-123.awsdns-45.com
      ns-678.awsdns-90.org
      ns-234.awsdns-56.net
      ns-345.awsdns-78.co.uk

  4. Save changes, propagation begins immediately

Propagation and Downtime​

With TTL set to 300 seconds, changes inside the DNS provider update quickly, but nameserver changes still depend on TLD root servers and can take hours to a day.

To monitor changes:

dig NS yourdomain.com
dig A yourdomain.com

Or use whatsmydns.net.

To reduce downtime:

  • Stage all DNS records in the next provider before switching
  • Temporarily run services on both providers during propagation

For private labs, skip global propagation and update /etc/hosts locally:

203.0.113.10  yourdomain.com

Bypass DNS Delays via hosts file​

Nameserver changes can take up to 48 hours to update worldwide. For private lab testing, you can skip this wait by adding your domain and Docker server’s IP directly to your computer’s /etc/hosts file.

This forces your computer to resolve the domain immediately to your lab server.

  1. Find Your Server’s Public IP

    If it’s a cloud VM (DigitalOcean droplet, AWS EC2, etc.):

    curl ifconfig.me

    or

    dig +short myip.opendns.com @resolver1.opendns.com

    If it’s your home lab with port forwarding, use your router’s WAN IP (check at https://whatismyip.com).

  2. Edit /etc/hosts

    On your local machine (not the server), open /etc/hosts as root:

    sudo vi /etc/hosts

    Add a line mapping your domain to the server’s public IP:

    <your_public_IP>  yourdomain.com

    Example:

    192.0.2.55  example.com

    If you need multiple subdomains:

    192.0.2.55  yourdomain.com
    192.0.2.55  test.yourdomain.com

  3. Save & Test

    After saving the file:

    ping yourdomain.com

    You should see it resolve directly to your server’s IP, even if DNS hasn’t updated globally.

    In your browser, go to:

    http://yourdomain.com

    or for HTTPS labs:

    https://yourdomain.com

Important Notes

  • /etc/hosts only affects your machine, other devices won’t see this mapping.
  • Remove or update these entries later to avoid confusion when switching DNS providers.
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