DNS Check FAQ

Which DNS record types are supported?
Are DNS records case sensitive?
How often are DNS records checked?
I posted a DNS record update, but when I click "Refresh", DNS Check still shows the record as failing. Why is this?
I want to allow DNS Check to query my private name server. What firewall openings should I make?
Is there an option available for importing matching sets of A and PTR (forward and reverse DNS) records?
I manage reverse DNS records by mapping IP addresses, rather than PTR record names to domain names. Is there any way I can import this data without converting each reverse DNS record to zone file format?
I wish there were a feature that would...
What are the differences between free and paid accounts?
How long can I use a free account?
Do you support checking international domains that use non-ASCII characters?
Does DNS Check have a status page?
I have a question that's not answered here.

Which DNS record types are supported?

The following types of DNS records are supported:

Both IPv4 and IPv6 are supported.

You can see examples of each in the Example DNS Check Page.

Are DNS records case sensitive?

DNS Check has the following case-sensitivity behavior:

Host names (or 'labels'), such as example.com are case-insensitive.
DNS record types, such as 'A', and 'MX' are case sensitive.
Values in TXT and SPF records are case sensitive. All other DNS record types have case-insensitive values.

How often are DNS records checked?

DNS records are initially checked when that they're created. After that, they're automatically rechecked every 5 minutes by default. Paid accounts may also pause checks or opt only to run them once an hour.

You can also recheck a DNS record immediately by clicking its Refresh icon.

I posted a DNS record update, but when I click "Refresh", DNS Check still shows the record as failing. Why is this?

The name servers that DNS Check queries by default cache results for up to 60 seconds. If the problem persists longer than that, your DNS server or service may be caching the old record.

I want to allow DNS Check to query my private name server. What firewall openings should I make?

DNS Check connects to your name server on UDP, and possibly TCP port 53 from one or more of the IP addresses below:

San Francisco

Hostname: sfo2.dnscheck.co
IPv4 address: 143.198.237.244
IPv6 address: 2604:a880:4:1d0::4ef:2000

New York

Hostname: nyc2.dnscheck.co
IPv4 address: 138.197.76.247
IPv6 address: 2604:a880:800:10::bbb:5001

Ireland

Hostname: ireland1.dnscheck.co
IPv4 address: 52.48.61.155
IPv6 address: NA

Is there an option available for importing matching sets of A and PTR (forward and reverse DNS) records?

Yes. There's a shorthand available for this when using the zone file importer. To use the zone file importer, select Import zone file from the DNS record group page. Once there, enter the matching A and PTR (forward and reverse DNS) records using the following format:

ip-address <=> domain

For example, to import a reverse DNS record for "1.2.3.4" that maps to example.com., and an A record for example.com. that maps to "1.2.3.4", enter:

1.2.3.4 <=> example.com.

To import a reverse DNS record for example.com that maps to "2604:a880:800:10::7a1:b001", and a corresponding AAAA record, enter:

2604:a880:800:10::7a1:b001 <=> example.com.

See the "Reverse DNS Shorthand" section of our Reverse DNS (PTR) Records documentation for more information.

I manage reverse DNS records by mapping IP addresses, rather than PTR record names to domain names. Is there any way I can import this data without converting each reverse DNS record to zone file format?

Yes. You have two options available:

Import reverse DNS records individually by selecting Add DNS Record => PTR record from the DNS record group's page. This works for both IPv4 and IPv6 reverse DNS records.
Import PTR records using the zone file importer by selecting Import zone file from the DNS record group page. Once there, enter the reverse DNS records using the following format:
```
ip-address => domain
```
For example, to import a reverse DNS record for "1.2.3.4" that maps to example.com., enter:
```
1.2.3.4 => example.com.
```
To import a reverse DNS record for "2604:a880:800:10::7a1:b001" that maps to example.com., enter:
```
2604:a880:800:10::7a1:b001 => example.com.
```

I wish there were a feature that would...

Please let us know! Use the contact page to send in a feature request, and we'll get back with you.

What are the differences between free and paid accounts?

Free and paid accounts have the following differences:

The number of DNS records that you're able to check. Free accounts can monitor up to 10 DNS records, which is enough for many small businesses. If you would like to monitor more records, upgrading to a paid account allows you to check up to 1,000 DNS records.
With a paid account, you can optionally specify which name server(s) you would like to query. By default, both free and paid accounts query recursive name servers that are maintained by DNS Check.
Paid accounts can be used to check A, AAAA, and CNAME record based DNS load balancers.
Free accounts are limited to a maximum of 30 emailed notifications per month. Paid accounts have no limit.
Free accounts retain 7 days of notification history, while paid accounts retain 90 days of history.

How long can I use a free account?

You're welcome to use a free account as long as you'd like, as long as you log into it at least once a year. Free accounts that haven't been logged into for at least one year get locked. They may be unlocked by logging in and re-verifying your email address.

Paid accounts do not have a login frequency requirement. As long as a subscription is current, the account stays active.

Do you support checking international domains that use non-ASCII characters?

Yes. DNS Check automatically encodes non-ASCII characters for you using Punycode. Or if your international domain name is already Punycode encoded, you can enter it that way.

After an international domain is entered into DNS Check, it's displayed using Punycode encoding. We decided to present domains this way to reduce ambiguity since different Unicode characters can look very similar to one another.