dns

DNS record types explained

Paul Middleton

— 2 min read
DNS record types explained
Photo by Denys Nevozhai / Unsplash

The Domain Name System (DNS) is the underlying system that ensures your Internet traffic (web requests, emails, video calls, etc.) finds its way to the right destination.

As humans, we use easy-to-remember names such as domainsafe.au and google.com. Amongst other important tasks, DNS is the thing that turns these names into the numbers (IP addresses) that Internet-connected systems recognise.

DNS is divided into zones, which are segments of the DNS hierarchy for which a specific organisation or individual is responsible. Each of the domain names you license has a DNS zone, and so does the whole .au zone, the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Australia. The governance of the .au space is managed by auDA (.au Domain Authority), which is the name most people associate with the .au domain space.

However, the technical operation and management of the .au zone file (which includes the DNS records) are handled by the .au registry operator. Since 2018, this role has been performed by Identity Digital (formerly Afilias Australia and Donuts).

Within each DNS zone are various types of records, each serving a specific purpose. Here's a list of the most commonly used DNS record types and their functions:

1. A Record (Address Record)

  • Purpose: Maps a domain name to an IPv4 address.
  • Example: example.com → 192.0.2.1
  • Use: Directs traffic to the server hosting the website.

2. AAAA Record (IPv6 Address Record)

  • Purpose: Maps a domain name to an IPv6 address.
  • Example: example.com → 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334
  • Use: Directs traffic to a server using an IPv6 address.

3. CNAME Record (Canonical Name Record)

  • Purpose: Maps an alias name to a true or canonical domain name.
  • Example: www.example.com → example.com
  • Use: Allows multiple domain names to point to the same server.

4. MX Record (Mail Exchange Record)

  • Purpose: Specifies the mail server responsible for receiving email on behalf of a domain.
  • Example: example.com → mailserver.example.com
  • Use: Routes email to the correct mail servers for a domain.

5. TXT Record (Text Record)

  • Purpose: Used to store arbitrary text data, often for verification or security purposes.
  • Example: v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all
  • Use: Commonly used for SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and other domain verification methods.

6. NS Record (Name Server Record)

  • Purpose: Specifies which DNS servers are authoritative for the domain.
  • Example: example.com → ns1.example.com, ns2.example.com
  • Use: Indicates the servers that respond to DNS queries for that domain.

These records work together to provide a full system for managing web traffic, email, and other services associated with domain names. When incorrectly configured, things break.

If you've been asked to make changes to your DNS settings and you're not sure how, get in touch.

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