The NS, or Name Server records of a domain name, indicate which servers handle the Domain Name System (DNS) records for it. Setting the name servers of a specific hosting provider for your domain address is the most effective way to forward it to their system and all its sub-records will 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 on, if you would like to change any one of these records, you'll be able to do it using their system. To put it differently, the NS records of a domain point out the DNS servers that are authoritative for it, so when you attempt to open a web address, the DNS servers are contacted to retrieve the DNS records of the Internet domain you are trying to reach. That way the web site you will see will be retrieved from the proper location. The name servers normally have a prefix “ns” or “dns” and every single domain name has at least 2 NS records. There's no practical difference between the two prefixes, so what kind a web hosting provider will use depends solely on their preference.