How to Create and Manage a Public DNS Zone in Azure via the Portal

You All well knew the DNS (Domain Name System) is a cornerstone of the internet. It translates domain names into IP addresses and vice versa. If you’re working with Azure, managing your DNS records within the same ecosystem is a smart move. Azure DNS provides a highly available, scalable, and secure way to handle domain names.

What is Azure DNS?

Azure DNS is a cloud service that allows you to host DNS zones and manage them via API, PowerShell, CLI, or the portal. It provides:

  • Global availability
  • Fault tolerance
  • Integration with Azure services
  • Support for both private and public DNS zones

Step 1: Sign in to the Azure Portal

  1. Go to https://portal.azure.com
  2. Sign in to your account

Step 2: Create a DNS Zone

  1. Click “Create a resource” → Networking → DNS zone
  2. Specify:
    • Subscription
    • Resource Group
    • Zone name (example.com)
  3. Click “Review + create” then “Create”

Step 3: Add an A Record

  1. Open your DNS zone
  2. Click “+ Record set”
  3. Fill in:
    • Name: www
    • Type: A
    • TTL: 3600
    • IP: 10.10.10.10

Step 4: Validate with nslookup

nslookup www.example.com ns1-08.azure-dns.com

Step 5: Delegate Your Domain

  1. Log in to your domain registrar
  2. Replace the current NS records with the ones provided by Azure

Step 6: Delete Resources (Optional)

  1. Go to Resource groups → MyResourceGroup
  2. Click Delete resource group → enter the name to confirm

Tips

  • Use RBAC to restrict access
  • Tag resources for cost analysis
  • Enable diagnostics logging via Azure Monitor

Useful Links