The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical naming system that translates understandable domain names into the numerical identifiers (IP addresses) associated with web hosts. Such translation is called resolving.
DNS Name Resolving
DNS is based on a hierarchical tree structure called the domain namespace. This global namespace contains all possible domain names and is divided into logical parts - domain zones (see the picture below). Domain zone is a part of namespace that contains addresses of particular domains. Addresses are stored in a file on a separate name server authoritative for that zone. Say, when a browser tries to access www.example.com, it gets the site's IP address from a server authoritative for the example.com zone. For more information about how DNS works, refer to the respective documentation (say, Microsoft TechNet).
When you purchase a domain, a registrar gives you the access to the DNS zone responsible for your domain and its subdomains. You can either allow the registrar to manage the zone or delegate the zone to Panel. Panel users mostly delegate their zones, which gives them the ability to manage a zone right from their Panel hosting account and other benefits. To get the details about how to delegate your zone to Panel, refer to the section Panel as a Primary DNS Server.
If you are an advanced user and already have a DNS server that you want to be authoritative for your zone, you can set up Panel to be a secondary DNS server. In this case, Panel just stores the copy of your zone and you do not have the ability to manage it from Control Panel. The Panel DNS server will be used only if your primary name server becomes inaccessible or inoperable. For the information about how to make Panel act as a secondary DNS server, refer to the section Panel as a Secondary DNS Server.
If you decided not to use Panel as a DNS server, all zone management should be performed on a registrar's site. Some registrars provide the support for the remote DNS zone management. If your hosting provider uses this feature, you still be able to modify the DNS zone from Panel regardless your authoritative name server. To get the details about how to switch off Panel DNS server and manage your zone remotely, refer to the section Registrar's DNS Settings in Panel.
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