DNS (Domain Name System) records play a crucial role in translating human-friendly domain names, such as shop.domain.com, into corresponding IP addresses. These records, found within your domain’s DNS zone, include the following types:
A Records A Records point a hostname to an IP address, allowing you to associate your domain name with a web host or create subdomains that directly link to an IP address. This core DNS functionality is represented by A Records, typically appearing as follows:
example.com A 112.33.444.55
AAAA Records Similar to A Records, AAAA Records also associate domain names with IP addresses. However, AAAA Records specifically point to IPv6 addresses, which are formatted as follows:
example.com AAAA 3ffe:1900:4545:3:200:f8ff:fe21:67cf
CNAME Alias CNAME records, or Canonical Name records, establish aliases by pointing domain names to other domain names rather than specific IP addresses. For instance, you can redirect example1.com to newexample.com using a CNAME record:
example1.com CNAME newexample.com
While CNAME records can effectively redirect traffic from one domain to another while maintaining the same URL, it’s important to note that they function differently from URL redirects.
MX Record MX Records, or mail exchange records, determine the email delivery destination for a domain or subdomain. A domain can have one or more MX records, typically configured as follows:
domain.com MX 10 mail.domain.com mail.domain.com A 112.33.444.55
In this example, emails sent to john@domain.com will be routed to the email server with the IP address 112.33.444.55. This server receives and distributes emails for the user “john.”
PTR Record The PTR record is the reverse counterpart of an A record. While an A record maps a domain name to an IP address, a PTR record resolves the IP address to a domain or hostname, facilitating reverse DNS queries. PTR records are often utilized for security and anti-spam purposes. However, they are usually managed by your hosting provider and are not part of your domain’s zone file.
TXT Records TXT records store text-based information that can be retrieved when needed. They are commonly used for Sender Policy Framework (SPF), DomainKeys (DK), and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM). Historically, TXT records also contained human-readable details about servers, networks, data centers, and accounting information.
domain.com TXT “google-site-verification=_CHFV1wTDZ3-CgmNNBnPkhJrvKwN_uCGps”
SRV Records SRV records, or Services Resource Records, associate a service with a hostname. Applications requiring service discovery initiate queries for relevant SRV records that describe the service. Here’s an example:
_sip._tcp.domain.com. 3600 IN SRV 10 40 5060 test.domain.com. _sip._tcp.domain.com. 3600 IN SRV 10 30 5060 test2.domain.com.
In this case, “_sip” represents the service’s symbolic name, while “_tcp” denotes the transport protocol. The SRV record’s content specifies a priority of 10 for both records. Additionally, the weight values of 40 and 30 can be used to prioritize certain servers over others. The final two values indicate the port and hostname to connect to access the service.
Gain a thorough understanding of DNS records and their significance in effective domain management. Explore A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, PTR, TXT, and SRV records at Flyhost.me, your reliable hosting partner.
