The NS, or Name Server records of a domain name, show which servers manage the Domain Name System (DNS) records for it. Setting the name servers of a specific host company 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), etcetera, so, in case you wish to edit some of these records, you'll be able to do it via their system. Put simply, the NS records of a domain 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 Internet domain you want to reach. This way the website you will see will be retrieved from the right location. The name servers normally have a prefix “ns” or “dns” and each and every domain has at least two NS records. There is no sensible difference between the two prefixes, so which one a website hosting provider is going to use depends only on their preference.