Use a DNS trace when you need to see where delegation stops or leads to the wrong provider. A trace follows referrals from the root toward the authoritative zone, helping you distinguish a parent nameserver problem from a record inside the final zone.
IN THIS ARTICLE
01 Run a trace for the actual failing name
On a system with dig and permitted direct DNS access, substitute your hostname and required record type:
dig +trace www.example.com AThe result shows the servers used along the referral path. A name beneath com.ng or a delegated subdomain can involve additional levels. Read the server that supplied each response, not just the first nameserver name printed anywhere in the output.
02 Locate the first unexpected transition
- Confirm that the trace obtains the root referral and reaches the relevant top-level domain.
- Compare the parent referral for your domain with the nameservers you intended to publish.
- Check whether the referred servers answer authoritatively for the domain.
- If the hostname follows a CNAME or lies below another delegation, investigate the target or child zone as well.
- Save the trace with its time and run direct queries against the relevant authoritative servers to confirm the finding.
Why does a trace time out while ordinary browsing works?
A trace makes iterative queries from the machine running the command. A corporate network can allow access to its recursive resolver while blocking direct DNS to external servers. That does not prove that public authoritative DNS is broken. Test from an approved network that permits the required access or give the evidence to support.
Specifying @server with +trace affects the initial root-nameserver query; it does not make that server perform every step of the trace. Do not interpret the option as a test of one recursive resolver's entire cache.
Does a completed trace prove the website should load?
It confirms useful DNS path information, but it does not test the website server, HTTP response or certificate. A trace also displays DNSSEC-related records without establishing complete validation merely by printing them. Follow the result with targeted authoritative queries, validation checks where applicable and an application test.