DNS Record Types Explained

DNS Record Types

DNS records are instructions stored on authoritative name servers that tell the internet how to handle requests for a domain. Each record type serves a specific purpose.

Address Records

A Record

Maps a domain to an IPv4 address. The most fundamental DNS record.

example.com.    300    IN    A    93.184.216.34

AAAA Record

Maps a domain to an IPv6 address (pronounced "quad-A").

example.com.    300    IN    AAAA    2606:2800:220:1:248:1893:25c8:1946

Mail Records

MX Record

Specifies which mail servers receive email for the domain. The priority value (lower = higher priority) determines the order servers are tried.

example.com.    3600    IN    MX    10 mail1.example.com.
example.com.    3600    IN    MX    20 mail2.example.com.

Name Server Records

NS Record

Identifies the authoritative name servers for the domain.

example.com.    86400    IN    NS    ns1.example.com.
example.com.    86400    IN    NS    ns2.example.com.

SOA Record

The Start of Authority record contains administrative information about the zone: primary name server, admin email, serial number, and refresh intervals.

example.com.    86400    IN    SOA    ns1.example.com. admin.example.com. (
                                     2024010101  ; serial
                                     3600        ; refresh
                                     900         ; retry
                                     1209600     ; expire
                                     86400 )     ; minimum TTL

Alias and Text Records

CNAME Record

Creates an alias from one domain to another. Cannot coexist with other record types for the same name.

www.example.com.    300    IN    CNAME    example.com.

TXT Record

Holds arbitrary text data. Commonly used for email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and domain verification.

example.com.    300    IN    TXT    "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all"

Other Important Records

PTR Record

The reverse of an A record — maps an IP address to a hostname. Used for reverse DNS lookups.

34.216.184.93.in-addr.arpa.    IN    PTR    example.com.

SRV Record

Specifies the host and port for a specific service (e.g., SIP, XMPP).

_sip._tcp.example.com.    IN    SRV    10 60 5060 sip.example.com.

Quick Reference