How Long Does DNS Take to Propagate?
To start working, name server changes typically take 24 to 48 hours. This period, also known as propagation, is the estimated time it takes for cache records and root name servers across the whole web to be updated with the DNS information of your site.
When the DNS records, or Domain Name System records, are updated in the zone file of your domain name, for those updates to propagate through the Internet, they will need up to 48 hours. Several factors are out of our control and determine the propagation time of the DNS, even though we aim to make updates as speedily as possible.
Some of the factors that determine the propagation time of the DNS are the following:
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The registry of your domain name – If you change your domain name's nameservers, your change request is communicated to the registry within a couple of minutes, and the registry publishes your authoritative nameserver records to their root zone. The zones are usually promptly updated by most registries. For instance, zones for .com domain names are refreshed by VeriSign every three minutes. However, it would be best if you kept in mind that not all of the registries make updates in such a fast manner. Registries often protect root nameservers from overuse by setting up a high TTL (time to live, a sort of expiration date put on a DNS record) of up to 48 or more hours for those nameserver records. Additionally, even though recursive nameservers should not cache the root nameserver records, some ISPs cache the information anyway, and a longer nameserver propagation time comes from this.
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Your Internet Service Provider, also known as ISP – DNS records are cached by your ISP, which rather than retrieving new data from your DNS server, is stored the data locally. This reduces traffic and speeds up Web browsing, which slows down the propagation time. Some ISPs ignore TTL settings, and their cached records are only updated every 2 to 3 days.
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Your TTL Settings – In the zone file of your domain name, you can set up the Time to Live for every DNS record. As we previously mentioned, TTL is the time servers cache the information for your DNS records. Shorter TTL settings can increase the propagation speed. For instance, if a particular record's TTL is set to two hours, the information for that record is stored locally by servers for two hours before retrieving the updated information from your authoritative nameserver. Although, keep in mind that shorter settings can also increase the number of queries and that increased load can slow down your server's processing time.
