Why do DNS name server changes take so long?

So you're wondering why you may have to wait up to 72 hours for your name server and DNS record changes to take effect...

The reason is that the nameserver changes that you make are propagated (propagate simply means update in domain name speak) to the DNS servers all over the world, the news of your name server change takes time to reach every global DNS server - hence the delay. (See DNS Propagation)

Not all domains propagate at the same rate, you will find...

• .uk domains require up to 24 hours
• .com, .org, .biz, .info require 24 to 72 hours

Related pages and information

• How to use your domain name with Moonfruit.com
• Parked Domain Services – Infrastructure Upgrades (18th/19th August 2012)
• How to clear/flush the DNS cache?
• How to check that a parked domain name is working
• How to Bulk Update TTL on Plesk for server migration
• More related posts...