Common Types of DNS Records

• Although there are more than 90 different types of DNS records, most of us work with just a few of them regularly. Here are a few of the most common:
• A Record (Address Record): This is the primary DNS record. It is a domain naming to an Ipv4 (eg 192.0.2.1). This is what makes a user’s browser communicate with a site’s server.
• AAAA Record: like an A record, but maps a domain to an IPv6 address. With the depletion of IPv4 addresses, usage of IPv6 is being more widely implemented.
• CNAME Record (Canonical Name) : Alias a domain name to another. For instance, when you have a CNAME record like www. example. com can point to example. com. It's helpful for subdomains.
• MX Record (Mail Exchanger): This record indicates the mail servers that are responsible for receiving email for a domain. It informs a mail client where to direct email.
• TXT Record (Text Record): This is a record type where a domain administrator can enter any freeform text data. It's frequently used for tasks like domain verification, SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), which work to prevent email spam.
• NS Record (Nameserver): This record specifies the authoritative name servers for a domain. These servers contain the primary copies of all the DNS records for the domain.
• PTR Record (Pointer): Reverse DNS Lookup, matches an IP address to a host/domain name.

How to Find DNS Records

Finding DNS Records There are a number of tools available for discovering DNS entries out there on the Internet and on your computer's command line.

Online DNS Lookup Tools

You can find free DNS lookup tools on a number of websites. All you do is to type in a domain name, and the utility will ask the different DNS servers to display a domain’s records. You generally have an option of which type of record you would like to look at, or see all of them at once.

They are useful when wanting to quickly check domain’s records from anywhere or for checking how DNS changes propagate on the Internet.

Command-Line Tools

For more complex or technical lookups, you can use command-line tools, included with virtually all operating systems.

On Windows: Run the nslookup command in the Command Prompt. As such, you can identify an A record for a domain as follows: nslookup example. com. You can request a record type with -type=recordtype.

For macOS and Linux: The dig command in terminal. For example, dig example. com will display the A record but dig MX example. com will reveal to you the mail records.

These are especially helpful when troubleshooting DNS issues as you are able to specify the server to query and even bypass your local DNS cache.

DNS Records Explained This video, DNS Records Explained will help you understand how DNS works. Common Types of DNS Records

There are more than 90 types of DNS records, however few are the ones that are used significantly. These are some of the most popular:

A Record (Address Record) Yours is the most basic DNS record. It resolves a domain name to an IPv4 address (e.g. 192.0.2.1). This is how a user’s web browser communicates with a website server.

AAAA Record: Same as A record but points the domain to an IPv6 address. IPv6 continues to gain traction, as IPv4 addresses run dry.

CNAME Record (Canonical Name): A CNAME record is used to create an alias for a domain. an A record, point to the same IP) For example, a CNAME for www. example. com can point to example. com. This comes in handy for sub domains.

MX (Mail Exchanger): This record guides email to mail servers that accept email for a domain. It’s an instruction for a mail client on where email goes.

What Is A TXT Record (Text Record) The TXT (text) record is used to store text information. It’s commonly used for domain verification, SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) to know that the sender is actually who they say they are and to avoid spam email.

NS Record (Nameserver): This record indicates the authoritative name servers for a domain. The servers contain the authoritative version of every domain's DNS entries.

PTR Record (Pointer): The pointer record is notably used for reverse DNS lookups and inverse queries, in which an IP address is used to find the matching domain name.

How to Find DNS Records

There are many ways to find DNS records, online and using the command line on your computer.

Online DNS Lookup Tools

There are plenty of sites around that provide DNS lookup for free. You just type in a domain name and the tool queries all available DNS servers and displays every record. You usually can choose which type of record you’d like to see, or view them all at once.

These are useful for a quick check of domain records from anywhere, and for looking to see how DNS changes are degenerating the internet.

Command-Line Tools

For a more serious or programmatic lookup, command-line tools are available with most operating systems.

For Windows: Run the nslookup command in Command Prompt. for instance, to look up the A record for a domain, you input nslookup example. com. You can specialize a record type with -type=recordtype.

For macOS and Linux: Utilize the dig command in the Terminal. For example, dig example. com will show you the A record on the other hand dig MX example. com and let me look at the mail records for you.

Here are some ways that come handy when troubleshooting DNS issues, as you can specify the DNS server to use for querying, so you can overcome your locally configured DNS cache.

DNS Records Explained This next, slightly longer video “DNS Records Explained” provides a visual and auditory examination of many different types of DNS records and what they are used for.