You can host your website on a BinaryLane server while using BinaryLane, your domain registrar, another DNS provider or your own servers for DNS. Choose the service that supports the records and management tools you need, and make changes in the system that hosts your domain's authoritative DNS records.

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What do nameservers do?

Authoritative nameservers serve your domain's DNS records, such as the addresses for your website and the mail servers that receive your email. A recursive resolver, often supplied by an internet provider or a public DNS service, looks up these records for users and caches the answers.

These services have different roles and do not have to come from the same company:

  • Domain registrar: manages your domain registration and the nameserver settings that delegate DNS to your chosen provider.
  • DNS provider: hosts the zone containing your DNS records.
  • Website and email hosts: run the services that those records point to.

Moving a website to a BinaryLane server does not by itself require changing nameservers. You can keep your existing DNS provider and update the relevant records there.

Choose where to host your DNS

Choose based on your required features and who will maintain the records, rather than the size of your website or business.

OptionWhat to consider
BinaryLane DNSManage hosted DNS records in mPanel or automate changes with the CLI/API. Check the supported record types and DNSSEC limitation below.
Your domain registrar's DNSIf your registrar offers DNS hosting, check its record types, management tools, support and charges.
Another DNS providerCheck the specific service and plan for requirements such as DNSSEC, automation, traffic routing or reporting, along with pricing and support.
Your own nameserversYou maintain the DNS software, zone data, security and availability. See the self-hosting considerations below.

If your current DNS service meets your needs, you do not need to move it just because your website is hosted elsewhere.

Using BinaryLane nameservers

BinaryLane customers can manage hosted DNS records through mPanel's Domains page, the BinaryLane CLI or the API. Our nameservers are:

  • ns1.binarylane.com.au
  • ns2.binarylane.com.au
  • ns3.binarylane.com.au

Supported record types include A, AAAA, CAA, CNAME, MX, NS, SRV and TXT. See DNS hosting and nameserver details for the reference, or Manage your DNS records with the BinaryLane CLI or API for commands and verification steps.

DNSSEC requirements
BinaryLane does not support DNSSEC. If your domain requires it, use a DNS provider and registrar that support your requirements. Do not register or transfer a domain requiring DNSSEC to BinaryLane. See Does BinaryLane support DNSSEC?

Using WHM/cPanel

You can host a website or email service on a WHM/cPanel server without using that server for authoritative DNS.

  • If you use BinaryLane nameservers: create and maintain the records in BinaryLane using mPanel, the CLI or the API. Use the website and email settings required by your cPanel configuration.
  • If you use your own WHM/cPanel nameservers: configure the DNS service and its zones, then delegate the domain to those nameservers at your registrar. Manage the records through WHM/cPanel.
  • If you use another DNS provider: maintain the records with that provider.
Separate DNS zones are not automatically synchronised
Entering BinaryLane's nameservers in WHM/cPanel does not copy your cPanel records to BinaryLane. Editing a separate cPanel zone will not update BinaryLane's hosted records automatically. Check the records at the authoritative DNS provider, especially after changing website or email settings.

Should you run your own nameservers?

Run your own nameservers only if you need that control and can maintain the service. Hosting a website does not require hosting its DNS yourself.

Plan for redundant nameservers on separate infrastructure, stable IP addresses, secure DNS software, monitoring, updates and recoverable copies of your zone data. Check your registrar's and domain registry's nameserver requirements. If a nameserver hostname is within the domain it serves, such as ns1.example.com serving example.com, arrange the required glue address records with your registrar.

DNS outages can prevent users from finding your website and email services even when those services are running. For cPanel setup details, see cPanel's nameserver configuration guide.

Before changing nameservers

Prepare and verify the destination DNS zone before changing delegation. Changing nameservers does not copy records from your previous provider.

Check DNSSEC before switching
If DNSSEC is enabled, follow your registrar's and DNS providers' migration instructions before changing nameservers. A Delegation Signer (DS) record left at the parent zone that does not match the destination's signing configuration can cause DNS validation failures. Do not switch a DNSSEC-required domain to BinaryLane DNS.
  1. Record your existing nameservers and save a copy of your current DNS records. Check any delegated subdomains and provider-specific features that need separate migration planning.
  2. Prepare the required records at the destination. Include website addresses, MX records, SPF/DKIM/DMARC and other TXT records, CAA and service records, plus any subdomain delegations you use. Use the destination provider's own zone-authority settings rather than copying the old provider's SOA and zone-apex NS records unchanged.
  3. Query the new nameservers directly and compare their answers with the intended records. You can verify BinaryLane DNS before changing delegation. Check more than the website: missing mail or verification records can affect other services.
  4. When the destination is ready and any DNSSEC transition is arranged, open your registrar's nameserver settings and replace the current set with the complete set supplied by the destination provider.
  5. Keep the old DNS service available during the transition. Check the delegation, DNS answers from public resolvers, and website and email behaviour before retiring it.

When will changes be visible?

A saved change, an updated authoritative answer and the answer a user receives are separate checks. Recursive resolvers can continue returning cached records while other users receive newer answers.

BinaryLane hosted DNS records use a fixed time to live (TTL) of 3600 seconds (one hour). This describes caching, not a promise that every saved change will be visible everywhere within one hour. When moving providers, previous record TTLs and cached nameserver delegation also matter.

Allow for a transition when changing nameservers. A commonly quoted planning estimate is 24-48 hours, but it is not a guaranteed completion time. Start checking immediately rather than waiting two days to discover missing records.

Where your existing provider allows it, lowering relevant TTLs in advance can reduce cache retention after a change; previously cached values still need time to expire. BinaryLane's hosted-record TTL is fixed, and lowering an address record's TTL does not lower the parent zone's delegation TTL.

If the new nameservers return incorrect or missing records, correct the destination zone. If they return the expected records but public queries differ, check delegation and caching. If queries fail after a switch, check DNSSEC as well as the nameserver and record settings. Contact support if you are unsure which DNS service is authoritative before making further changes.