Domain Name System (DNS)

The Domain Name System is a decentralized protocol that translates human-readable domain names into IP addresses.

DNS record types

Record type	Description
A	Maps a domain name to an IP address.
CNAME	Maps a domain name to another domain name.
MX	Returns the mail servers for the domain.
TXT	Associates arbitrary text with a domain name. Used for domain verification, authorization, etc.
SRV	Maps a domain name to a specific service or protocol, eg. a Kerberos server.
NS	Specifies the authoritative DNS servers for a particular domain.
SOA	Start of Authority record. Stores important information about the domain.

Record type

Description

Maps a domain name to an IP address.

CNAME

Maps a domain name to another domain name.

Returns the mail servers for the domain.

TXT

Associates arbitrary text with a domain name. Used for domain verification, authorization, etc.

SRV

Maps a domain name to a specific service or protocol, eg. a Kerberos server.

Specifies the authoritative DNS servers for a particular domain.

SOA

Start of Authority record. Stores important information about the domain.