I'm having trouble with DNS configuration for a domain and do not know how to trace it properly. From trying to troubleshoot with nslookup, it seems as though the authoritative NS are never being contacted. But when I check the whois for the domain, they are correctly listed.
I've tried to enable the debug output for nslookup, but that does not particularly help. The Autority Records are listed as empty.
Is there a "trace" mode that I can use to see the full queries? I'd like to see the full steps that an nslookup is making. Ie: query against current NS server, NS server contact registrar for listed autoritative NS, then query against Authoritative NS.
I'm not entirely sure where my configuration hiccup is. I believe that the NS servers listed at the registrar are CNAMEs. Are NS listed in the registrar allowed to be CNAME records, or must they be A records?
Other questions on SF indicate that a CNAME as your NS record is invalid: serverfault.com/questions/222641/
And the dig utility on Linux provides a +trace option.