--- title: DNS records | Learning Center description: DNS records are instructions that live in authoritative DNS servers providing information about a domain including its IP address. image: https://www.cloudflare.com/preview.png --- ## DNS records DNS records are instructions that live in authoritative DNS servers providing information about a domain including its IP address. ###### Learning objectives After reading this article you will be able to: * Explain what a DNS record is * Identify common DNS record types (A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT) * Understand when to use each record type Related content On this page ## What is a DNS record? [DNS](/learning/dns/what-is-dns/) records (aka zone files) are instructions that live in authoritative [DNS servers](/learning/dns/dns-server-types/) and provide information about a domain including what [IP address](/learning/dns/glossary/what-is-my-ip-address/) is associated with that domain and how to handle requests for that domain. These records consist of a series of text files written in what is known as DNS syntax. DNS syntax is just a string of characters used as commands that tell the DNS server what to do. All DNS records also have a ‘[TTL](/learning/cdn/glossary/time-to-live-ttl/)’, which stands for time-to-live, and indicates how often a DNS server will refresh that record. You can think of a set of DNS records like a business listing on Yelp. That listing will give you a bunch of useful information about a business such as their location, hours, services offered, etc. All domains are required to have at least a few essential DNS records for a user to be able to access their website using a [domain name](/learning/dns/glossary/what-is-a-domain-name/), and there are several optional records that serve additional purposes. Report 2024 IDC Marketscape for Edge Delivery Services [Get the report](/lp/idc-marketscape-for-worldwide-commercial-edge-delivery-services-2024/) ## What are the most common types of DNS record? * **A record** \- The record that holds the IP address of a domain. [Learn more about the A record.](/learning/dns/dns-records/dns-a-record/) * **AAAA record** \- The record that contains the IPv6 address for a domain (as opposed to A records, which list the IPv4 address). [Learn more about the AAAA record.](/learning/dns/dns-records/dns-aaaa-record/) * **CNAME record** \- Forwards one domain or subdomain to another domain, does NOT provide an IP address. [Learn more about the CNAME record.](/learning/dns/dns-records/dns-cname-record/) * **MX record** \- Directs mail to an email server. [Learn more about the MX record.](/learning/dns/dns-records/dns-mx-record/) * **TXT record** \- Lets an admin store text notes in the record. These records are often used for email security. [Learn more about the TXT record.](/learning/dns/dns-records/dns-txt-record/) * **NS record** \- Stores the name server for a DNS entry. [Learn more about the NS record.](/learning/dns/dns-records/dns-ns-record/) * **SOA record** \- Stores admin information about a domain. [Learn more about the SOA record.](/learning/dns/dns-records/dns-soa-record/) * **SRV record** \- Specifies a port for specific services. [Learn more about the SRV record.](/learning/dns/dns-records/dns-srv-record/) * **PTR record** \- Provides a domain name in reverse-lookups. [Learn more about the PTR record.](/learning/dns/dns-records/dns-ptr-record/) Sign Up Free DNS included with any Cloudflare plan [Start for free](/lp/pg-all-plans-dns/) ## What are some of the less commonly used DNS records? * **AFSDB record** \- This record is used for clients of the Andrew File System (AFS) developed by Carnegie Melon. The AFSDB record functions to find other AFS cells. * **APL record** \- The ‘address prefix list’ is an experiment record that specifies lists of address ranges. * **CAA record** \- This is the ‘certification authority authorization’ record, it allows domain owners state which certificate authorities can issue certificates for that domain. If no CAA record exists, then anyone can issue a certificate for the domain. These records are also inherited by subdomains. * **DNSKEY record** \- The ‘[DNS Key Record](/learning/dns/dns-records/dnskey-ds-records/)’ contains a [public key](/learning/ssl/how-does-public-key-encryption-work/) used to verify [Domain Name System Security Extension (DNSSEC)](/learning/dns/dns-security/) signatures. * **CDNSKEY record** \- This is a child copy of the DNSKEY record, meant to be transferred to a parent. * **CERT record** \- The ‘certificate record’ stores public key certificates. * **DCHID record** \- The ‘DHCP Identifier’ stores info for the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), a standardized network protocol used on IP networks. * **DNAME record** \- The ‘delegation name’ record creates a domain alias, just like CNAME, but this alias will redirect all subdomains as well. For instance if the owner of ‘example.com’ bought the domain ‘website.net’ and gave it a DNAME record that points to ‘example.com’, then that pointer would also extend to ‘blog.website.net’ and any other subdomains. * **HIP record** \- This record uses ‘Host identity protocol’, a way to separate the roles of an IP address; this record is used most often in mobile computing. * **IPSECKEY record** \- The ‘IPSEC key’ record works with the [Internet Protocol Security (IPSEC)](/learning/network-layer/what-is-ipsec/), an end-to-end security protocol framework and part of the Internet Protocol Suite [(TCP/IP)](/learning/ddos/glossary/tcp-ip/). * **LOC record** \- The ‘location’ record contains geographical information for a domain in the form of longitude and latitude coordinates. * **NAPTR record** \- The ‘name authority pointer’ record can be combined with an [SRV record](/learning/dns/dns-records/dns-srv-record/) to dynamically create URI’s to point to based on a regular expression. * **NSEC record** \- The ‘next secure record’ is part of DNSSEC, and it’s used to prove that a requested DNS resource record does not exist. * **RRSIG record** \- The ‘resource record signature’ is a record to store digital signatures used to authenticate records in accordance with DNSSEC. * **RP record** \- This is the ‘responsible person’ record and it stores the email address of the person responsible for the domain. * **SSHFP record** \- This record stores the ‘SSH public key fingerprints’; SSH stands for Secure Shell and it’s a cryptographic networking protocol for secure communication over an unsecure network. Cloudflare DNS is an authoritative DNS service that offers the fastest response time and advanced security. Cloudflare DNS supports a wide variety of DNS records, plus additional services like easy [DMARC](/learning/dns/dns-records/dns-dmarc-record/), [DKIM](/learning/dns/dns-records/dns-dkim-record/), and [SPF](/learning/dns/dns-records/dns-spf-record/) configuration. Cloudflare also offers [1.1.1.1](/learning/dns/what-is-1.1.1.1/), a free DNS resolver that is fast and private. Learn about Cloudflare's [authoritative DNS service](/dns/), or about [managing DNS records in Cloudflare](https://support.cloudflare.com/hc/en-us/articles/360019093151-Managing-DNS-records-in-Cloudflare). ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","name":"Cloudflare","url":"https://www.cloudflare.com","logo":"https://www.cloudflare.com/logo.svg","sameAs":["https://github.com/cloudflare","https://www.linkedin.com/company/cloudflare","https://x.com/cloudflare"]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebSite","name":"Cloudflare","url":"https://www.cloudflare.com","inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://www.cloudflare.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebPage","name":"DNS records | Learning Center","description":"DNS records are instructions that live in authoritative DNS servers providing information about a domain including its IP address.","url":"https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/dns/dns-records/","inLanguage":"en"} ```