The most of internet relies on TCP/IP protocol. In order to reach a service/machine, you need to know its ip address. In its essence, DNS or Domain Name System is a network service which is responsible for resolving a website/service name to its IP address. Azure DNS is a hosting service for DNS domains, providing name resolution using Microsoft Azure infrastructure. It uses Anycast networking, so DNS resolution occurs from closet available DNS server.
In order to start hosting your domain, you need to create a DNS zone. Any DNS record created for a particular domain will be inside a DNS zone for the domain.
To start, login with your credentials in the Azure Portal. Navigate to Hub -> All Services. Search for DNS and then click on DNS zone service.
This will open a new blade for DNS services. Click Add to add a new DNS zone for hosting your domain. Fill in the required details in the DNS zone and click create:
Do note that DNS zone name must be unique for the resource group. The same zone name can be re-used in a different resource group or a different Azure subscription.
Creating a DNS zone creates the following records by default:
- The “Start of Authority” (SOA) record. The SOA is present at the root of every DNS zone.
- The authoritative name server (NS) records. These show which name servers are hosting the zone. Azure DNS uses a pool of name servers, and so different name servers may be assigned to different zones in Azure DNS.
To see records for your DNS zone, go to DNS zones -> Select your existing zone and then select overview. This will list all your existing records in the new blade.
For example, the SOA record for our new zone is:
And NS records are:
To create a DNS record, click +Record Set button in the blade opened. This will open up a new blade. Fill in the required details and type of record and select create:
Delegate your domain to Azure DNS
In order to publish it on Internet, you need to delegate your DNS domain to Azure. Once you create your DNS zone in Azure DNS, you need to set up NS records in the parent zone to make Azure DNS the authoritative source for name resolution for your zone. For domains purchased from a registrar, your registrar will offer the option to set up these NS records. If you are not aware of how to do it at your registrar end, please check with your registrar for same.
Do note that you need to create all 4 NS records as mentioned in your Azure DNS zone, when configuring delegation on registrar’s end. Only then you’ll be eligible for support SLA provided by Microsoft.
Check connectivity at client end
Once you have setup Azure DNS zone, you can check availability for your DNS zone using simple nslookup commands like below:
PS C:\Windows\system32> nslookup Default Server: metavrs-dc01.metavrs.in Address: 10.20.0.3 > server ns1-04.azure-dns.com Default Server: ns1-04.azure-dns.com Address: 40.90.4.4 > set q=all > azure.metavrse.com Server: ns1-04.azure-dns.com Address: 40.90.4.4 azure.metavrse.com nameserver = ns1-04.azure-dns.com azure.metavrse.com nameserver = ns2-04.azure-dns.net azure.metavrse.com nameserver = ns3-04.azure-dns.org azure.metavrse.com nameserver = ns4-04.azure-dns.info azure.metavrse.com primary name server = ns1-04.azure-dns.com responsible mail addr = azuredns-hostmaster.microsoft.com serial = 1 refresh = 3600 (1 hour) retry = 300 (5 mins) expire = 2419200 (28 days) default TTL = 300 (5 mins) > exit
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