What Do I Do If a Record Set Does Not Take Effect?

Symptom

When you ping a domain name, no IP address is returned. There are many causes why a domain name cannot be resolved.

Troubleshooting

• The causes here are described in order of how likely they are to occur.

  Check these causes one by one until you find the cause of the fault.

  1. Checking the Domain Name Status: If the domain name has expired or is abnormal, it cannot be resolved.
  2. Checking DNS Servers of the Domain Name: If the DNS servers are not those provided by the DNS service, the domain name cannot be resolved.
  3. Checking Record Sets: If the record sets are incorrect, the domain name cannot be resolved.
  4. Checking the DNS Server Changes Within 24 Hours: The local DNS server caches the NS record set configured for the domain name. It may take 48 hours to update the NS record.
  5. Checking the Authoritative DNS Server: If the record sets have not taken effect on the authoritative DNS server, the domain name cannot be resolved. You can run nslookup to check whether the record sets have taken effect.
  6. Submitting a Service Ticket

Checking the Domain Name Status

A domain name is the entry for DNS resolution. You can use the DNS service for resolution only if the status of your purchased domain name is normal. If the domain name is in the serverhold state because the domain name is in arrears or in dispute or the real-name authentication is not completed, the domain name cannot be resolved.

Checking DNS Servers of the Domain Name

The DNS service provides authoritative DNS servers for domain resolution.

If the DNS servers are not those provided by the DNS service, the domain name cannot be resolved.

Checking Record Sets

1. Log in to the DNS console and check the zone status.

   If the status is Disabled, the domain name cannot be resolved.

2. Check whether the record sets are correct and in the Normal state.

   For example, if a subdomain cannot be used for access, a possible cause is that a record set is added for the domain name but no record set is added for the subdomain.

Checking the DNS Server Changes Within 24 Hours

If DNS servers are changed, they will not take effect immediately. Domain name registrars usually set the TTL value in the NS record set to 48 hours. If the local DNS server caches the NS record set, the changes will take effect in 48 hours.

Consult the DNS service providers to check the TTL. Do not delete original record sets until the changes take effect to ensure your service continuity.

Checking the Authoritative DNS Server

Check whether the record sets configured for the domain name have taken effect on the authoritative DNS server. You can run the following command to check whether a record set has taken effect:

nslookup -qt= [Record set type] [Domain name] [Authoritative DNS server]

For example, if the authoritative DNS server is ns1.huaweicloud-dns.cn and the domain name is example.com, run the following command:

nslookup -qt=a example123.com ns1.huaweicloud-dns.cn

If the record sets have taken effect on the authoritative DNS server but no IP address is not returned, a possible cause it that the local DNS server is hijacked. Run either command to check the public recursive DNS: nslookup -qt=[Record set type] [Domain name] 8.8.8.8 or nslookup -qt=[Record set type] [Domain name] 114.114.114.114

If the domain name can be mapped to 8.8.8.8 or 114.114.114.114, change the local DNS server to a public recursive DNS server.

Submitting a Service Ticket

If the website still cannot be accessed, submit a service ticket for help.