DNS (Domain Name System) records are used to map domain names to specific IP addresses and provide various other information about domain names. Here are some common types of DNS records:
- A (Address) Record:
- Maps a domain name to an IPv4 address. Example:
example.com. IN A 192.0.2.1
- Maps a domain name to an IPv4 address. Example:
- AAAA (IPv6 Address) Record:
- Maps a domain name to an IPv6 address. Example:
example.com. IN AAAA 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334
- Maps a domain name to an IPv6 address. Example:
- CNAME (Canonical Name) Record:
- Maps an alias (subdomain) to the canonical (primary) domain name. Example:
www.example.com. IN CNAME example.com.
- Maps an alias (subdomain) to the canonical (primary) domain name. Example:
- MX (Mail Exchange) Record:
- Specifies mail servers responsible for receiving email messages on behalf of a domain. Example:
example.com. IN MX 10 mail.example.com.
- Specifies mail servers responsible for receiving email messages on behalf of a domain. Example:
- TXT (Text) Record:
- Stores arbitrary text data associated with a domain name, often used for verification, authentication, or documentation purposes. Example:
example.com. IN TXT "v=spf1 mx -all"
- Stores arbitrary text data associated with a domain name, often used for verification, authentication, or documentation purposes. Example:
- PTR (Pointer) Record:
- Maps an IP address to a domain name (reverse DNS lookup). Example:
1.2.3.4.in-addr.arpa. IN PTR example.com.
- Maps an IP address to a domain name (reverse DNS lookup). Example:
- NS (Name Server) Record:
- Specifies authoritative name servers for a domain, delegating control of the domain’s DNS records to these servers. Example:
example.com. IN NS ns1.example.com.
- Specifies authoritative name servers for a domain, delegating control of the domain’s DNS records to these servers. Example:
- SOA (Start of Authority) Record:
- Contains authoritative information about a DNS zone, including the primary name server, email address of the responsible person, and various timing parameters. Example:
example.com. IN SOA ns1.example.com. hostmaster.example.com. 2022032801 3600 900 604800 86400
- Contains authoritative information about a DNS zone, including the primary name server, email address of the responsible person, and various timing parameters. Example:
- SRV (Service) Record:
- Specifies the location of services (e.g., SIP, LDAP) within a domain. Example:
_sip._tcp.example.com. IN SRV 10 60 5060 sipserver.example.com.
- Specifies the location of services (e.g., SIP, LDAP) within a domain. Example:
- CAA (Certification Authority Authorization) Record:
- Specifies which certificate authorities (CAs) are authorized to issue SSL/TLS certificates for a domain. Example:
example.com. IN CAA 0 issue "letsencrypt.org"
- Specifies which certificate authorities (CAs) are authorized to issue SSL/TLS certificates for a domain. Example:
These are some of the most commonly used DNS record types, but there are others as well, each serving specific purposes within the DNS system.
Arturo Gutiérrez Loza Blog 