DNSimple TTL Settings Reference

This document provides information about the Time-to-Live (TTL) settings available in DNSimple’s record editor. To learn more about TTL, see our article What is Time-to-Live?

TTL Values and defaults

The Time-to-Live (TTL) value for a DNS record determines how long a DNS resolver can cache a record before needing to refresh it from the authoritative name servers.

• Default TTL: The standard TTL for records added to DNSimple is 1 hour (3600 seconds).
• Minimum TTL: Through the web interface, you can select a TTL as low as 1 minute (60 seconds).

TTL recommendations

The TTL value you set can affect both the performance and update speed of your domain.

• When to use a low TTL: You may want to lower a record’s TTL to a short value (e.g., 1 to 5 minutes) when you are preparing for an imminent DNS record change. A lower TTL ensures the change from one address to another occurs quickly and propagates to resolvers across the internet faster, reducing potential downtime.
• When to use a high TTL: During normal, stable operation, we recommend keeping your TTL at the default of 1 hour or more. A higher TTL means DNS resolvers only need to check for a record update once an hour, reducing DNS query traffic and resulting in better performance for your clients.

DNSimple-specific policy

DNSimple reserves the right to review traffic patterns for performance and stability. If a record’s TTL is deemed too low for a given traffic pattern, we may contact you via email first and request that you raise the TTL to a higher value. This is done to improve cache results and maintain the health of our DNS network.

Have more questions?

If you have additional questions or need any assistance with your TTL settings, just contact support, and we’ll be happy to help.