cPanel offers you a couple options of name servers to choose from. You can either log into the WHM and choose between these options or do it from the CLI. Both methods are explained below.
cPanel offerings three different nameservers options. If you want to see the advantages and disadvantages of each you should log into the WHM and view the 'Nameserver Selection' area where these are outlined. As of May 25, 2014 the three options to choose from are Bind, MyDNS, or NSD. Bind is currently the default nameserver installed by cPanel and it's the server we recommend for dedicated server installs. However if your running on a low memory virtual server we prefer NSD as it uses less memory. If you do not need a nameserver on your server we highly recommend that you select the disabled option!
cPanel has provided a script that can be run via the command line that will allow you to choose your nameserver. You need to be logged into the server as root via the console or through SSH.
To get a list of available nameserver types you can simply run the script with no options like so.
root@server1 [/usr/local/cpanel/bin]# /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/setupnameserver
setupnameserver [options] [nameserver type]
Options:
--help Brief help message
--force Rerun configuration routines even if the selected
nameserver type is already configured
--current Show the currently selected nameserver type
Nameserver Types:
bind Suggested. Functions as both authoritative
and caching nameserver.
nsd Lower memory. Functions only as authoritative
nameserver.
mydns Uses MySql as backend. Functions only as authoritative
nameserver.
disabled Disable the local nameserver.
Once you have made a decision you should run the script with any options you want to pass and then the nameserver type. The example below shows how to choose bind as your nameserver
root@server1 [/usr/local/cpanel/bin]# /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/setupnameserver bind Setting name server to bind in /var/cpanel/cpanel.config Halting NSD Disabling NSD in init system Halting MyDNS Disabling MyDNS in init system Uninstalling unused nameservers Calling RPM installer object [20140425.151546] No new RPMS needed for install Checking that BIND is installed Enabling BIND in init system Setting up rndc configuration Named looks down but should be up. Attempting restart... Entropy santity check: /dev/urandom and /dev/random exist Checking in /etc/named.conf to rcs system The rndc key has been fixed successfully! Starting BIND Nameserver conversion complete
In order to do this you must have root access into the WHM. Start by logging into the WHM, on the left hand side scroll down to the 'Service Configuration' section. Next bind the 'Nameserver Selection' link and click it. From there you will see a list of available nameservers. Your current nameserver will be selected by default. Select your new nameserver option and click save. It's as simple as that!