DNS basics: what records are and what they do

DNS is the internet's address book. It turns a name like example.com into the address of a server. You control it with records.

Common record types

• A: points a name to an IPv4 address.
• AAAA: points a name to an IPv6 address.
• CNAME: makes one name an alias of another name.
• MX: says which servers receive email for the domain.
• TXT: holds text, often used to prove ownership or for email security.
• NS: says which name servers are in charge of the domain.

An example

Type   Name   Value
A      @      203.0.113.10
CNAME  www    example.com
MX     @      mail.example.com (priority 10)

Changes take time

DNS changes can take from a few minutes to 48 hours to spread. This is called propagation. If a change hasn't appeared yet, wait before changing it again.

1. Add or edit the record.
2. Save it.
3. Wait, then check with a DNS lookup tool.