# DNS Record Types Explained

i asked you , where do you live , probably you gave me address of your house now i ask u agian where do u live now you will give me adress of your room . for a computer house adress is IP adress and room adress is port adress . how much do u expect a port a computer have , its more than 65000 port , yes you heard right. now how does a browser know what website exist . eveytime it open without error to tell u that at sane tine may person are also fetchonh the same browser

# DNS ( Domain Name System )

in simple term , DNS is phonebook of internet. human access information through domain names and eb browser interact through ip adress , dns translate domain name into ip adress so broswer can fetch information .

we do seriously need dns beacuse human are bad at remembering number and computer dont understand names , DNs exist ti solve this mismatch

for one liner we an say DNS telll us whom to talk next

# DNS Hierarchy

think it as asking for direction you start from root ( main guide ) , it points you to TLD ( like a city ) , tld direct you to exact domain ( street ) and finally the domain takes you to specific host ( house )

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1768991322497/88424e30-b5ec-4dcd-a0a0-6e6c5f1115f8.png align="center")

# DNS Record type

DNS record type are labeled that decide whether a domain shold point to an ip adress , an email server , another domain or somethinh else

## types of dns record →

1. NS record
    
2. A record
    
3. AAAA reocrd
    
4. Cname record
    
5. MX record
    
6. TXT record
    

## 1.NS Record

it tell us if u want information about this domain , ask this serve

in real life

name - Dushyant

phone no. → 9131XXXXX

now imagine if you dont know Dushyant number, but you know who has his number (his collegue) just like i know a guy who know a guy

ns record works the same way :

domain name → Dushyant

name server → colllegue or class mate who know dushyant’s number

IP adress → actualphone number

### example

for a domain `example.com`

ns record may look like `ns1.cloudflare.com`

### Purpose

1. Fixes: Who controls the domain’s DNS
    
2. Connects: Domain → Responsible DNS server
    
3. Result: Internet knows where to ask for all other records
    

## 2.A record

it connnect a domai name to an IPv4 adress it means , A record tell the internet → this website lives at this server adreess

eg imagine you buy `myshop.in`

right now this is empty it points to nothing if u type this on browser where is myshopi,in ? dns say no idea as no adree attached.

now yoou add a record as `myshop.in → 103.21.58.44` now user type

myshop.in , browser ask dns give me ip adress for my `myshop.in` now dns look at A record and replies `103.21.58.44` and thhan browser connect to that server now website load .

### Purpose

1. Browser does not know server adress
    

2. Connect: Domail to IP
    
3. Result → website open
    

## 3.AAAA record

it connect domain name to IPv6 address

imagine in a coty a house number has been ran out

same place older verssion → street 5 , house 120

now city intrduce better adress system → `Sector:8F3A:Block:21:Unit:9A`

same houuse beter syatem more spacwe this is IPv6

A record : old adress → IPv4

AAAA record new adress → IPv6

since IPv4 have limited adress we need a new one with this we can do faster routung beter salability

### Purpose

1. Fixes: Not enough IPv4 addresses
    
2. Connects: Domain → IPv6 address
    
3. Result: Website works on modern networks
    

## 4.CNAME record

it make one domain name points to anothrt domain name insatead of ip adress

in above example of AAAA we discuss of a myshop.in what is `www.myshop.com points to myshop.in`

in whih `www.myshop.com` is nickname

`myshop.com` is real name

heres what happen

browser ask dna where is `www.myshop.com`

dns replies its just a false name go for `myshop.com`

browser ask again where is `shop.com`

dns replies IP is 103.45.22.10

now browser connect to server

website open

### Purpose

1. Fixes: Multiple names for same site
    
2. Connects: Name → Name
    
3. Result: www and non-www work together
    

## 5.MX Record

stand for mail exchange as it name suggest mail, it is a record that tell internet which mail server whould receive emai for your domain

eg you need to sen mail to Dushyant’s house but he has 2 mail room

one for business and one for personal

MX recorder ddecides that usiness letter go to office mail room .

let us take ex of shop.com

you send mail to shop.com → goojle male server

now sending email:

sender main server ask dns who handle `shop.com` emails than dns say google mail service , now email is sent to google and you receive mail in gmail inbox

### Purpose

1. Fixes: Email delivery problem
    
2. Connects: Domain → Mail server
    
3. Result: Emails get delivered
    

## 6.TXT Record

in simle term you put board outesdie your house that this property belong to this person for public same as that TXT record is a public note attached to your domain

you claim this is my house and government gives you documentation and when inspector come he see it matxhed his document and confirm ownership

### Purpose

1. Fixes: Proving domain ownership / email trust
    
2. Stores: Codes, SPF, DKIM, DMARC
    
3. Result: Emails aren’t flagged as spam; services verify domain
    

# how they collab for website

imagine a websiet is your house

Domain: `myshop.com`

you want peopl vist your website , send mais and verify your ownership

1. NS Record say I know a guy who know a guy
    
    internet doesnt know who manages myshop.com how to fix it , ns record points to dns server in charge
    
2. A/AAAA Record it says wheres the ouse ?
    
    browser does not know the sdress so dns tell browser server is at How all DNS records work together for one website
    
3. CNAME Record just a alias name
    
    multiple name for one lae
    
    pointe `www.myshop.com → myshop.in`
    
4. MX Record - where to deliver emails?
    
    points myshop.com → mail server
    
5. TXT record → public note
    
    service neeed to verify thta it s reaching to correct person
    
    # Simple Flow
    
    1. Browser wants website → asks NS → finds A/AAAA → connects → website loads
        
    2. Someone sends email → asks NS → finds MX → delivers → inbox receives
        
    3. Google wants verification → asks NS → finds TXT → confirms → done
        

we could have some doubt in

A vs CNAME

| areas | A Record | CNAME Record |
| --- | --- | --- |
| points to | IP address (numbers) | Another domain name (a name) |
| pronblem fix | [myshop.com](http://myshop.com) → 103.45.22.10 | [www.myshop.com](http://www.myshop.com) → [myshop.com](http://myshop.com) |

NS vs MX

| Aspect | NS Record | MX Record |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Points to | Authoritative DNS server | Mail server |
| Problem fixed | Internet doesn’t know who manages this domain | Mail system doesn’t know where to deliver emails |
| Example | I know a guy who knows a guy | Deliver letters here |

# Whole dns setup look like

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1768990968746/16e60944-43fc-45cf-974f-e0af69b14397.png align="center")