DNS Glue Records Missing
Glue records are A/AAAA records provided by the parent zone (registrar) that resolve the IP addresses of nameservers that are within the domain they serve. For example, if example.com uses ns1.example.com as a nameserver, a resolver needs the IP of ns1.example.com to query it—but that IP is stored in the zone hosted on ns1.example.com. Glue records break this circular dependency.
Symptoms
- Domain completely fails to resolve from all locations
- DNS queries result in infinite referral loops
- dig shows referral to nameservers that cannot be resolved
- Domain works with external nameservers but fails with in-domain nameservers
Common Causes
- Glue records not created at the registrar for in-domain nameservers
- Glue record IP addresses outdated after server migration
- Registrar interface doesn't clearly separate NS records from glue records
- Domain transferred to new registrar without re-creating glue records
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting
- 1
Check NS records
Identify if the domain uses in-domain nameservers (e.g., ns1.yourdomain.com).
Use NS Record Lookup → - 2
Check WHOIS for glue records
WHOIS output often shows glue records alongside nameserver delegation.
Use WHOIS Lookup → - 3
Verify nameserver resolution
Try to resolve the nameserver hostnames independently to check if glue is working.
Use DNS Lookup → - 4
Add glue records at registrar
Create A/AAAA glue records at your registrar for each in-domain nameserver with the correct IP addresses.
Recommended Diagnostic Tools
Monitor DNS Infrastructure
Track nameserver availability and detect delegation issues.