DNS Lookup

Query DNS records for any domain to view A, MX, NS, TXT, and other record types.

Understanding DNS Records

What is DNS?

DNS (Domain Name System) is the internet's phone book. It translates human-readable domain names like "example.com" into IP addresses that computers use to communicate. DNS records contain various types of information about a domain and how it should be handled by servers and email systems.

Common DNS Record Types

  • A Record: Maps a domain to an IPv4 address. The most fundamental DNS record.
  • AAAA Record: Maps a domain to an IPv6 address for modern internet protocol support.
  • MX Record: Specifies mail servers responsible for receiving email for the domain.
  • NS Record: Identifies the authoritative name servers for the domain.
  • TXT Record: Stores text information, commonly used for SPF, DKIM, and domain verification.
  • CNAME Record: Creates an alias pointing one domain name to another.
  • SOA Record: Contains administrative information about the domain zone.

What is TTL?

TTL (Time To Live) indicates how long a DNS record should be cached by resolvers before querying the authoritative server again. It's measured in seconds. Lower TTL values mean changes propagate faster but result in more DNS queries. Common values range from 300 (5 minutes) to 86400 (24 hours).

Common DNS Issues

DNS problems can cause websites to be unreachable or email delivery failures. Common issues include misconfigured records, propagation delays (changes can take up to 48 hours to fully propagate), incorrect TTL values, and missing essential records like MX for email or proper A/AAAA records for web hosting.