After configuring a DNS zone and the associated records, it is important to test the configuration by sending a few DNS queries prior to pointing your traffic to NS1's name servers.
Warning
If using a Linux or Unix OS machine, you can perform DNS look-ups directly against the NS1 name servers using dig (on Windows, you can use nslookup).
To test a record (i.e. somerecord.example.org) of a given type (i.e. A), execute the following command:
dig @dnsX.pYY.nsone.net somerecord.example.org A
Before executing the above command, replace dnsX.pYY.nsone.net with one of the nameservers listed in the portal within the DNS menu and under the Nameservers tab for the selected zone.
Repeat this for other records you need to test.
$ dig @dns1.p08.nsone.net somerecord.example.org A ; <<>> DiG 9.11.6 <<>> @dns1.p08.nsone.net somerecord.example.org A ; (1 server found) ;; global options: +cmd ;; Got answer: ;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 34333 ;; flags: qr aa rd; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 5, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 1 ;; WARNING: recursion requested but not available ;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION: ; EDNS: version: 0, flags:; udp: 4096 ;; QUESTION SECTION: ;somerecord.example.org. IN A ;; ANSWER SECTION: somerecord.example.org. 3600 IN A 42.118.178.182 somerecord.example.org. 3600 IN A 148.92.244.181 somerecord.example.org. 3600 IN A 93.230.244.187 somerecord.example.org. 3600 IN A 125.221.7.255 somerecord.example.org. 3600 IN A 111.124.237.165 ;; Query time: 2 msec ;; SERVER: 198.51.44.8#53(198.51.44.8) ;; WHEN: Mon Apr 22 15:47:00 UTC 2019 ;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 119
You can also make use of third-party tools like What's My DNS to do more extensive tests—however, please note this service can occasionally represent testing locations falsely.
For extensive validation or load testing, please contact support@ns1.com for recommendations.