How do I find the authoritative name-server for a domain name?

Question

How can I find the origins of conflicting DNS records?

Answer 1

You'll want the SOA (Start of Authority) record for a given domain name, and this is how you accomplish it using the universally available nslookup command line tool:

command line> nslookup
> set querytype=soa
> stackoverflow.com
Server:         217.30.180.230
Address:        217.30.180.230#53

Non-authoritative answer:
stackoverflow.com
        origin = ns51.domaincontrol.com # ("primary name server" on Windows)
        mail addr = dns.jomax.net       # ("responsible mail addr" on Windows)
        serial = 2008041300
        refresh = 28800
        retry = 7200
        expire = 604800
        minimum = 86400
Authoritative answers can be found from:
stackoverflow.com       nameserver = ns52.domaincontrol.com.
stackoverflow.com       nameserver = ns51.domaincontrol.com.

The origin (or primary name server on Windows) line tells you that ns51.domaincontrol is the main name server for stackoverflow.com.

At the end of output all authoritative servers, including backup servers for the given domain, are listed.