DNS monitoring
DNS monitoring across ten record types — catches resolution failures and silent record changes.
DNS monitoring watches the least visible and most critical step of every request: turning your domain name into an IP address. If the name doesn't resolve, your site is unreachable for everyone — even when the server is running perfectly, the database is answering and your HTTP monitor is green. That is exactly why a plain uptime check against the URL isn't enough: it only fails once the DNS problem has already spread. A dedicated DNS monitor queries resolution directly and cleanly separates “the domain is broken” from “the application is broken”.
How it works
UptimeAlien queries the record type you pick on your chosen interval — A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, NS, SOA, SRV, CAA or PTR. If at least one record comes back, the check passes, and the time it took is recorded as the response time. You can also set an expected value: one of the records must then contain it, or the check fails. That way you catch not just outages but a record quietly pointing somewhere else. If the resolver doesn't answer at all or exceeds your timeout, the check fails too — alerting through the same channels as your other monitors.
When to use it
- Ongoing confirmation that your domain resolves at all
- Watching MX records so mail delivery doesn't disappear unnoticed
- Pinning down SPF, DKIM and verification entries in TXT records
- Checking nameserver delegation (NS) after moving to a new DNS provider
- Catching silent record changes and DNS hijacking via an expected value
- Monitoring CAA records so nobody else can have certificates issued for your domain
What you get
Resolution success, DNS response time, uptime ratio and the history of every incident.
Example
acme.com — MX record, must contain aspmx.l.google.com
Why DNS monitoring deserves its own check
DNS outages are among the most expensive failures there are, because they are total: there is no slow page and no error rate creeping upward — the domain is simply gone. At the same time the cause usually sits outside your infrastructure, whether that's an incident at your DNS provider, an expired domain, or a zone file someone edited while cleaning up. And because resolvers cache answers for the length of the TTL, you often learn about the failure late — first from users whose cache has already expired. A DNS monitor on a short interval shortens that blind window considerably.
What a DNS monitor checks — and what it doesn't
UptimeAlien's DNS monitor queries the record type you select and evaluates three things: whether resolution succeeds, how long it takes, and — if you set an expected value — whether the returned record still contains it. That covers both failure modes, the hard outage and the silent change. What it deliberately does not do is a full zone audit: it doesn't diff your entire zone file against a desired state or report records you never asked about. You decide which record matters, and that is what gets watched. If you also want to verify that the resolved address serves the right application, pair the DNS monitor with an HTTP/S or keyword monitor on the same domain.
Setting up DNS monitoring
Create a new monitor of type DNS, enter the hostname without a protocol — acme.com rather than https://acme.com — and pick an interval and timeout. Production domains warrant a short interval, since a DNS outage hits every user at once. Then attach your alert channels: whoever is on call overnight gets push or Telegram, while the team follows along in Slack or Discord. The free tier is enough to keep a handful of domains monitored permanently — no credit card required.
Frequently asked questions
What is DNS monitoring?
DNS monitoring checks at fixed intervals whether a domain name still resolves correctly to an IP address. If resolution fails or takes too long, you get an alert — typically before users report anything, because their resolvers are still serving the old answer from cache.
Which DNS records does UptimeAlien monitor?
Ten types: A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, NS, SOA, SRV, CAA and PTR. You pick the type per monitor; with nothing selected, A is queried. To watch several record types on the same domain, create one monitor per type.
Does the monitor also detect when a record was changed?
Yes, as long as you set an expected value. The monitor then checks not only that the record resolves but that one of the returned entries contains your value — so if someone adds a different MX server or your SPF entry disappears, the check fires. Without an expected value it only verifies resolvability.
How often is DNS resolution checked?
You set the check interval per monitor; which intervals are available depends on your plan. For production domains we recommend the shortest interval available, since a DNS outage affects every user immediately.
Why is my HTTP monitor green while DNS is broken?
Because cached DNS answers keep being used. As long as a resolver's cache is still valid, the check reaches the server normally. A separate DNS monitor measures resolution directly and surfaces the problem earlier.
Does DNS monitoring detect slow DNS responses?
Yes. Every check records how long resolution took as a response time, so you can see gradual degradation over the history. On top of that, slow-response alerts let you set a threshold above which a monitor counts as “degraded”.
How much does DNS monitoring cost?
DNS monitors are included in the free tier — no credit card. How many monitors you can run in parallel and which intervals are available depends on your plan.