DNS Analysis Tool

Enter a domain → A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, and TXT records when our resolver returns them.

Domain

Records

Run a lookup to see records.

DNS and uptime — why lookups belong in incident triage

Users type your domain; DNS tells their browser and API clients which IP addresses and mail servers to use. When DNS is wrong, slow, or mid-propagation, your application can be healthy while everyone sees connection errors. DNS failures are reliability incidents — not a separate “network team only” topic.

This tool queries common record types from our server. Free, no signup. Honest limit: one resolver path, not a global DNS audit platform.

Record types we look up

  • A / AAAA — IPv4 and IPv6 addresses for the host.
  • CNAME — alias to another hostname (typical with CDNs and SaaS landing pages).
  • MX — mail routing; wrong MX breaks email deliverability while web still loads.
  • NS — authoritative nameservers; unexpected NS after hijack or typo is a red flag.
  • TXT — SPF, DKIM, domain verification, ACME challenges.

Worked example 1 — migration stale A record

You moved origin from 198.51.100.10 to 203.0.113.50 but A still shows old IP globally.

Customers hitting old IP see errors. Fix: lower TTL before cutover; verify with this tool from external view; purge CDN if cached.

Worked example 2 — apex CNAME limitation

Attempted CNAME at root example.com — some providers forbid it (RFC convention).

Use ALIAS/ANAME records or redirect www → apex instead of broken apex CNAME.

Worked example 3 — cert issuance blocked

Let's Encrypt DNS-01 needs TXT at _acme-challenge.example.com.

Missing TXT → renewals fail in 90 days → SSL outage. Check TXT during automation setup, not on expiry eve.

Common failure patterns

  • Stale A/AAAA after server migration or load balancer change.
  • TTL too high — propagation takes hours when you need minutes.
  • Split-horizon DNS — internal DNS differs from public (this tool sees public).
  • Registrar vs hosting DNS confusion — NS still point at old provider.

When NOT to use this tool alone

  • DNSSEC chain validation — need dedicated tools.
  • Authoritative zone file audit across 40 subsidiaries.
  • Real-user DNS performance (DoH latency) — need RUM or multiple vantage probes.

TTL and cutover playbook

Before migration: lower TTL to 300 seconds 24–48 hours ahead. After change: verify with this tool, wait one old TTL period, verify again. Document both checks in change ticket.

Split-horizon warning

Corporate laptops on VPN may resolve internal DNS views. This tool shows what many public users see — if results differ from your office dig, trust the public view for customer impact.

Deep dive: email deliverability and DNS

MX misconfiguration during website migration is common: team changes A records, forgets MX still pointing at old provider. Website works; invoices and password resets vanish. Include MX in every domain change checklist alongside A/AAAA.

SPF TXT records have lookup limits (10 DNS lookups). Over-nesting includes breaks mail silently. Use SPF flattening services or simplify includes when approaching limits — specialist topic beyond this lookup tool but surfaced when you inspect TXT here.

Cutover runbook outline (DNS migration)

  1. Export current A/AAAA/CNAME/MX/TXT with this tool — baseline screenshot
  2. Lower TTL 24–48h ahead
  3. Apply new records at authoritative provider
  4. Wait old TTL; re-run lookup — compare to expected values
  5. Run availability + SSL on new targets
  6. Monitor support channels for straggler resolver caches

Keep baseline exports in change tickets. During rollback debates, “what did we change?” answered with diff beats memory.

TTL propagation methodology

When you change a DNS record with TTL = T seconds, resolvers that cached the old value may serve it until the cache expires — worst case roughly T from last lookup, often up to 2T during cutovers if timing aligns badly. Before migration: lower TTL to 300 seconds 24–48 hours ahead. After change: wait at least old TTL, then re-run this tool. Propagation percent is not binary globally — some resolvers update in 2 minutes, stragglers take 45 minutes with TTL 3600.

rough_max_stale_minutes ≈ previous_TTL_seconds / 60

cutover_verification_window = old_TTL + new_TTL + manual buffer (often 15 min)

Common mistakes in DNS incident triage

  • Editing DNS at registrar while NS still point elsewhere. Changes never go live — verify NS first.
  • Checking only from office VPN. Split-horizon internal view hides public stale A record.
  • Forgetting MX when changing web host. Site loads; email bounces for 72 hours unnoticed.
  • Apex CNAME on unsupported provider. Silent failure or unexpected ALIAS behavior.
  • Removing ACME TXT too early. Renewal fails 60 days later — check TXT during cert automation setup.
  • Assuming one lookup equals global truth. This tool shows one resolver path, not every continent.

Worked example — cutover verification with timestamps

Change: A record app.example.com from 198.51.100.10 → 203.0.113.50 at 14:00 UTC. Previous TTL: 3600s.

14:05 UTC — this tool still shows 198.51.100.10 (cached).

15:10 UTC — shows 203.0.113.50 (expected after ~1h).

15:12 UTC — Availability on new IP: 200 in 156 ms.

Support tickets citing “cannot connect” dropped from 23/hr to 2/hr by 16:00 UTC — stragglers on old TTL.

Honest limits

Public resolver path from our infrastructure only. No DNSSEC chain validation, no authoritative zone transfer audit, no historical DNS change log. Cannot see your internal Active Directory DNS. Use for external triage during migrations — not enterprise DNS governance.

Email and deliverability records (often forgotten)

During domain transfers, verify MX, SPF TXT, and DKIM CNAME/TXT together. A successful web cutover with broken SPF may not surface for days until marketing sends a campaign and bounce rate hits 18%. Include TXT inspection in every domain migration ticket — this tool surfaces records quickly for baseline screenshots attached to change requests.

CAA records restrict which CAs may issue certs for your domain. Adding CAA without including your current CA blocks renewal at day 30 panic. Before tightening CAA, export current issuer from SSL Checker and allow that CA in CAA.

Dual-stack (IPv4/IPv6) migration notes

Adding AAAA without testing IPv6 path may strand users whose networks prefer v6 while v6 routing is broken. After adding AAAA, run availability check and confirm both families if your monitoring supports it. This DNS tool shows A and AAAA together — mismatch (A points new origin, AAAA still old) causes intermittent “works for me” reports that are nightmare to debug without family-specific tests.

Registrar vs authoritative provider confusion

Many teams buy domain at registrar A but host DNS at Cloudflare or Route53. NS records must point at authoritative provider — editing A record at registrar while NS delegate elsewhere produces “we changed DNS but nothing happened” during incidents. This tool’s NS section is the first check when changes do not stick: if NS still show old provider, update delegation before A record edits matter globally.

Subdomain takeover awareness

CNAME pointing to decommissioned SaaS (old marketing landing page, expired Heroku app) enables subdomain takeover — attacker claims dangling target. During DNS review, flag CNAME targets you no longer control. Removing orphan CNAME beats incident response after takeover. TXT records for domain verification left after vendor offboarding can also signal cleanup debt worth auditing quarterly.

Internal wiki baseline snapshots

Before any DNS change window, paste this tool’s output into change ticket as “before” snapshot. After TTL window, paste “after” and diff mentally or with text diff. Disputes during rollback (“which IP was prod?”) resolve in minutes when baselines exist — not from on-call memory at 3 a.m.

Linking DNS triage to money impact

DNS mispoint during cutover causes full customer outage until TTL expires — log minutes and run Downtime Cost even when root cause is “DNS typo,” not application bug. Reliability reviews should treat DNS changes with same rigor as database migrations.

Related tools

Availability Checker · SSL Checker · REST API Checker · Free Tools.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do DNS records matter for website reliability?

DNS maps names to infrastructure. Errors or propagation delays cause outages that look like application failures.

Which DNS record types does this tool query?

A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, and TXT when our resolver returns them.

Is this authoritative DNS lookup?

Results come from our server's resolver path — not every global vantage point.

Why do my DNS results differ from dig on my laptop?

Caching, resolver choice, and TTL timing cause differences. Check authoritative NS during cutovers.

Can DNS issues cause email outages without affecting the website?

Yes. Wrong MX breaks mail while A records still serve the site.

What is a common TXT record use in reliability work?

Domain verification, SPF/DKIM, and ACME DNS-01 challenge tokens for certificates.

Does this tool diagnose DNSSEC failures?

No dedicated DNSSEC validation. Use specialized tools if signatures are in scope.

What should I check after DNS looks correct?

Run Availability, SSL, and API checks on resulting hostnames.