The NS, or Name Server records of a domain, point out which servers deal with the Domain Name System (DNS) records for it. Setting the name servers of a given hosting provider for your domain address is the simplest way to point it to their system and all its sub-records are going to be handled on their end. This includes A (the IP address of the server/website), MX (mail server), TXT (free text), SRV (services), CNAME (forwarding), and so forth, so, in case you need to edit some of these records, you'll be able to do it by using their system. Put simply, the NS records of a domain address reveal the DNS servers which are authoritative for it, so when you attempt to open a web address, the DNS servers are contacted to get the DNS records of the domain name you are attempting to access. This way the site you'll see is going to be retrieved from the right location. The name servers usually have a prefix “ns” or “dns” and every single domain address has at least two NS records. There is no practical difference between the two prefixes, so which one a web hosting provider is going to use depends solely on their preference.