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What is a DNS Record?Types of DNS Records

This article aims to provide comprehensive information about DNS, the advantages and types of records, and the use of DNS records. Stay with Ded9. Server to learn more about DNS.

The domain name system is called DNS or Domain Name System for short. To access the site on the Internet, you need to know the IP address of the web server, which is not easy to remember; Therefore, a domain name is considered for each IP address. There are more than 30 types of DNS records available, some of which are used by site administrators; Among the most used ones are CHAME, NS, MX, TXT, and A.

In the previous articles about the site’s domain, we provided explanations in this field that can familiarize you more fully with this topic.

DNS definition

The domain name system is called DNS or Domain Name System for short. To access the site on the Internet, you need to know the IP address of the web server, which is not easy to remember; Therefore, for each IP address, a domain name is considered.

Dedicated DNS

Dedicated DNS records allow a domain name to be presented arbitrarily to the server. The Whois example uses the proprietary DNS information instead of the domain owner.

Cloud DNS

Cloud servers are active on the Internet, and in the Internet, cloud servers may be implemented in large and small networks. Below are some of the reasons they use cloud servers:

  • We are increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of software and hardware resources.
  • Ability to update and troubleshoot services without leaving access
  • Strengthen hardware power and increase bandwidth.
  • The possibility of optimal cost management based on the cloud hosting model
  • Greater physical security as a result of a large number of network devices
  • Improving site performance against attacks
  • Increase access

Reference Record (RR)

A reference record (RR) is a description in the form of a list that identifies a particular source of information; The basic unit of DNS service is a reference record. The fields of this record are generally used as follows:

  • Name TTL class data type
  • Name: hostname
  • TTL: Timing based on seconds. At the same time, it is time to cache DNS records.
  • Class means Internet protocol, whose value is considered IN.
  • Data: The data of a record is the information required to create a special type of record that includes different parts.

Zone file

The zone file contains all domain reference records. This file is a special section and an executable space in the DNS structure. A zone file with a given name contains all subdirectories of the same domain. As in the phone book, we know that all contact numbers corresponding to names that begin with a specific and fixed letter are located on the corresponding page of the same letter.

Advantages (DNS)

DNS is used for the following reasons:

  • Super fast
  • Guaranteed confidentiality
  • Limiting the use of inappropriate websites by young people under parental supervision
  • Uses of DNS records

DNS records are an essential aspect of Internet architecture. Addressing numbers may be linked through DNS records, similar to how telephone numbers are linked in a phone book. Since each device or host connecting to the Internet has its unique IP address, this address may be tracked using the Domain Name System (DNS) to eliminate the need to maintain a series of IP numbers.
Different types of Domain Name System (DNS) records.

There are more than 30 types of DNS records, some of which webmasters use.

MX Record

Exchanger Mail (message and email exchange) is known as MX, used to identify and send/receive email over the Internet.

When buying a virtual server and hosting, the default option of MX records is usually used. A user may use this record to decouple the email server from the website hosting.

TXT Record

This record is used to access texts outside the domain; With the help of this record, you can add any text to the DNS record. For example, if you want to use Google Webmaster Tools, one way to prove that you own a domain is to add a TXT record that contains a random string provided by Google.

CNAME Record

Many companies use CNAME records to create an alias for themselves so that all their traffic is sent only to the IP address of the original site.

A Record

Using this type of record, you can connect the administrative IP address of a domain to a domain; In other words, it is used to connect the IP to the subdomain, and through this record, requests related to the subdomain are returned to the entered IP.

NS Record

This record determines in which domain the servers containing our information are located.

Reverse DNS records or ptr records relate to an IP and its associated domain address. This record does the exact opposite of the A record. With the help of the appropriate connection that this record creates between the IP address and the domain; Requests cannot be randomly sent to other servers.
LOC Record

This record specifies the geographic location associated with the domain name.
DNAME Record

The domain and all its subdomains are collectively referred to as a “DNAME Record”. This record is the opposite of a CNAME record, which is an alias for just one domain name.

Frequently asked questions

What is a domain?

Domain names are used to remember physical IP addresses on the Internet. This is the name that comes after @ in email addresses and after www in website addresses, which is known as a domain name. In web addresses, the domain name domain.com is connected to the IP address 198.102.434.8, for example, Google.com and wikipedia.org are two well-known examples of domain names. Use a domain name instead of a numeric IP address to identify and access a website on the Internet. This makes it much easier to remember and write the URL. When you buy a domain name, you get a unique identifier and identity for your website so that customers can quickly find you among many other domains.

Conclusion

As the name suggests, DNS is a web directory that organizes domains and is like a phone book where each contact number with a given name is associated with a specific person; DNS also means web address for physical IP addresses with a series of unmemorable numbers.

DNS servers create a DNS record to provide important information about a domain name or hostname, including the current IP address of that service provider. One of the most common types of DNS records is the CNAME record, which contains the hostname and its associated IPv4 address.