The administrative records.
NS RECORDS
List the authoritative nameservers for the zone.
They appear in your zone and should match what the registry holds.
WHEN YOU WOULD CHANGE THEM
Delegating a subdomain to different nameservers.
Otherwise, they are maintained automatically and you should leave them alone.
A MISMATCH
If the NS records in your zone differ from what WHOIS shows, something is misconfigured.
The registry's version is what actually directs queries.
THE SOA RECORD
Start of authority. Administrative details: the primary nameserver, a contact address, a serial number, and timing values.
THE SERIAL NUMBER
Increments when the zone changes. Secondary nameservers use it to know when to update.
Managed automatically.
WHEN TO TOUCH THE SOA
Essentially never on shared hosting.
WHAT THEY TELL YOU WHEN DIAGNOSING
The SOA identifies which nameserver is primary for the zone, which is useful when several are involved.
The NS records confirm what the zone believes about itself.
IF THEY LOOK WRONG
Open a ticket rather than editing them.
