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How to set the name servers for a domain at OpenSRS

This article demonstrates how to update the name servers for a domain registered at OpenSRS.

Setting the name servers for an OpenSRS domain

When you change a domain's name server settings, you must specify at a minimum a primary name server and a secondary name server.  This ensures that there is at least one alternate server available to provide DNS information about your site if one of the servers is unavailable.

The correct name servers for your domain depend on the type of account you have, and which A2 Hosting server hosts your account. You can view the name server information for your account on the A2 Hosting Customer Portal at https://my.a2hosting.com.

To set the name servers for a domain registered at OpenSRS, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to OpenSRS.
  2. Click Name Servers, and then scroll down the page.
  3. In the Primary text box, type the primary name server for your account.
    To obtain your account's primary name server, log in to the A2 Hosting Customer Portal at https://my.a2hosting.com.
  4. In the Secondary text box, type the secondary name server for your account.
    To obtain your account's secondary name server, log in to the A2 Hosting Customer Portal at https://my.a2hosting.com.
  5. Click Save Configuration.

When you change a domain's name server settings, it generally takes 24 to 48 hours until the changes take full effect. This delay, known as DNS propagation delay, occurs with all hosts and is beyond our control. Therefore, until your domain fully resolves you cannot do the following:

  • Visit your web site by going to the URL http://www.example.com, where example.com represents your domain name. In the meantime, however, you can view your web site using shared URLs or a custom hosts file. For information about how to do this, please see this article.
  • Access your e-mail accounts. POP3, IMAP, SMTP, and webmail will not work until DNS propagation is complete.
  • Setting the name servers for a domain

    If you already own a domain that you purchased from a different registrar or hosting company, you can change the domain’s name server settings to point to A2 Hosting. Learn how here.

  • Accessing your web site before DNS propagation is complete

    When you update your domain’s name server settings, you must wait until DNS propagation is complete to start using your domain name. In the meantime, however, there are other ways you can view your web site, and this article shows you how.