Using OpusDNS Nameservers

When you host DNS with OpusDNS, your domains should point to the OpusDNS nameservers. We operate separate nameserver infrastructure for production and sandbox environments.

Production nameservers

Use these nameservers for live domains:

Nameserver	Hostname
Primary	`ns1.opusdns.com`
Secondary	`ns2.opusdns.net`

Set them when registering or transferring a domain:

"nameservers": [
  { "hostname": "ns1.opusdns.com" },
  { "hostname": "ns2.opusdns.net" }
]

Sandbox nameservers

The sandbox environment uses its own nameservers. Domains registered in the sandbox should use these instead:

Nameserver	Hostname
Primary	`ns1.sandbox.opusdns.com`
Secondary	`ns2.sandbox.opusdns.net`

"nameservers": [
  { "hostname": "ns1.sandbox.opusdns.com" },
  { "hostname": "ns2.sandbox.opusdns.net" }
]

Production and sandbox nameservers are not interchangeable. Using production nameservers in the sandbox (or vice versa) will result in DNS resolution failures.

When to set nameservers

You can set nameservers at several points:

During registration — pass nameservers in the POST /v1/domains request. See Register a domain.
During transfer — pass nameservers in the POST /v1/domains/transfer request. See Transfer a domain.
After registration — update nameservers with PATCH /v1/domains/{domain_reference}. See Manage a domain.
In bulk — use domain_create_bulk, domain_transfer_bulk, or domain_update_bulk in the Jobs API.

Nameservers vs. zones

Setting nameservers and creating a DNS zone are independent operations:

`create_zone`	`nameservers` provided	Result
`true`	Yes	Creates a DNS zone and points the domain to the provided nameservers.
`true`	No	Creates a DNS zone only. Nameservers are not changed at the registry.
`false`	Yes	Points the domain to the provided nameservers. No zone is created.
`false`	No	No DNS action.

Setting create_zone: true provisions a zone on OpusDNS infrastructure but does not automatically set nameservers at the registry. Always provide both if you want OpusDNS to handle DNS end-to-end.

Registry-specific attributes

TLD specifications