DNS TTL checker
See the TTL of every record of your domain, read from the zone’s own nameserver, and find out how early to lower it before you move to a new server.
What this tool checks
DNSPeek finds the zone your domain belongs to and its nameservers, then asks one of them directly, without recursion, for the A, AAAA, CNAME, MX and TXT records of the domain and the NS and SOA records of the zone. Because the answer comes from the authoritative server, the TTL is the one you configured, not a countdown from someone’s cache. If no nameserver answers, the tool falls back to a public resolver and tells you so.
How to read the result
“Site records TTL” is the highest TTL of the A, AAAA and CNAME records: the records that change when the site moves. At 300 seconds or less, the domain is ready to switch: within five minutes of the change, resolvers ask again and get the new IP. A higher value tells you how long before the switch you need to lower it. The MX TTL matters only if email moves too.
What to check after a migration
After the switch, confirm the new IP has spread with the DNS propagation checker, then raise the TTL again. While you wait for the old TTL to run out, test the new server through a preview link: the migration playbook lists what to check.
Frequently asked questions
What is a DNS TTL?
TTL (time to live) is the number of seconds a resolver may keep a DNS answer before it asks again. With a TTL of 3600, a visitor’s resolver can keep using the old IP for up to an hour after you change the record.
How far ahead should I lower the TTL before a migration?
At least as long as the current TTL. If the TTL is 86400 (one day), lower it to 300 a day or more before the switch, so every cached copy with the long TTL has expired by the time you change the IP.
Why does a public DNS checker show a different TTL?
Resolvers count the TTL down while an answer sits in their cache, so they show the time left, not the configured value. This tool asks the zone’s own nameserver, which returns the TTL you set.
Should I raise the TTL again after the move?
Yes, once the site works on the new server and you no longer expect to roll back. A TTL of 3600 or more reduces DNS queries and keeps the site reachable through short DNS outages.
What is the “missing records cached for” value?
It is the negative-caching TTL from the zone’s SOA record. If someone looks up a name that does not exist yet, resolvers remember that answer for this long, so create new records such as www before anyone asks for them.
Moving a site to a new server?
See the site on the new server before you change DNS: DNSPeek gives you one HTTPS preview link that works on any device and that you can share with your team or client. No hosts file, no VPN.
Create a free preview link