How to Register Private (Child) Nameservers for Your Domain

Private nameservers, also called child nameservers or vanity nameservers, are nameservers named after your own domain, for example ns1.yourdomain.com and ns2.yourdomain.com. They are mainly used by people who run their own DNS server on a VPS, or who resell hosting and want branded nameservers. This guide explains how they work and how to register them for a domain registered with FimuroHost.

How private nameservers work

There is a chicken-and-egg problem with a nameserver like ns1.yourdomain.com: to find yourdomain.com, the internet must ask ns1.yourdomain.com, but it cannot find that name without already knowing yourdomain.com. The fix is a glue record: the registry stores the IP address of ns1.yourdomain.com directly. Registering a private nameserver creates that glue record.

Registering a private nameserver does not create a DNS server. A server at that IP address must actually run DNS software (for example BIND or PowerDNS, or the DNS service in cPanel/WHM) and hold zones for the domains that use it.

Before you start

You need the domain whose name you want to use, registered with FimuroHost.
You need the IP address of each server that will answer DNS. For a VPS, it is in your welcome email or under Services in the client area.
Use at least two nameservers, ideally on different IP addresses, so DNS keeps working if one server is down. Two names on the same IP work technically, but give no redundancy.

Register the nameservers

Log in to your FimuroHost client area, go to Domains → My Domains, and click the domain (or the Manage button next to it).
Open Private Nameservers.
Under the register option, enter the nameserver prefix, for example ns1 (the domain part is filled in for you), and the server's IP address.
Save. Repeat for ns2.
If your server has an IPv6 address, add it only if the form accepts IPv6; otherwise IPv4 alone is fine.

On the same page you can change a nameserver's IP address (enter the current IP and the new one) or delete a nameserver. You cannot delete a private nameserver while other domains still use it; move those domains first.

Use the new nameservers

Make sure your DNS server has a zone for each domain, including A records for ns1 and ns2 inside the zone for yourdomain.com that match the registered IPs.
Set the domain's nameservers to ns1.yourdomain.com and ns2.yourdomain.com under Nameservers in the client area (or at the registrar of any other domain you want to host).
Wait for DNS to update, up to 24–48 hours.
Test with:
```
dig NS yourdomain.com +short
dig @ns1.yourdomain.com yourdomain.com A +short
                        
                    
```
The second command should return your website's IP. If it times out, the server is not answering DNS on port 53 (check the firewall allows UDP and TCP port 53).

Branded nameservers for FimuroHost Cloud hosting

If your domains use FimuroHost Cloud, WordPress or Windows hosting, use ns1.stackdns.com and ns2.stackdns.com. Pointing private nameservers at those servers' IPs is not supported unless we confirm it for your plan, so ask us first rather than guessing IP addresses.

Common problems

Registration fails. The name must belong to the domain you are managing (you can only create ns1.yourdomain.com under yourdomain.com), and the IP must be a valid public address.
Nameserver change rejected with "nameserver not found". The private nameserver has not been registered yet, or the registry has not finished processing it. Wait a few minutes and try again.
Domain does not resolve. The glue exists, but the server has no zone for the domain, or its firewall blocks DNS.

Need help?

If you want help planning DNS for your VPS, open a support ticket from your client area (choose the Support department and include your domain name), or message us on WhatsApp at 01818160926. We are happy to check your domain for you.

FimuroHost Team

Technical Writer