Most Common DNS Records

DNS (Domain Name System) records are instructions that tell the internet how to handle traffic for your domain—whether it’s loading a website, sending email, or verifying ownership. Each type of record has a specific role. Here’s a simplified overview of the most common ones.

Common DNS Record Types

• A Record (Address Record)
  Maps a domain or subdomain to an IPv4 address.
  Example: example.com → 216.251.43.98
  • Format:
    • Record Name = @
    • TTL = 3600
    • Content = IP of the host Eg. 216.251.43.98
• AAAA Record
  Same as an A record, but maps to an IPv6 address.
  Example: example.com → 2606:2800:220:1:248:1893:25c8:1946
• MX Record (Mail Exchanger)
  Directs email for a domain to the correct mail server.
  • Must point to a hostname, not an IP.
  • Requires an A record to map that hostname to its IP.
  • Format:
    • Record Name = @
    • TTL = 3600
    • Content = [Priority].[Subdomain].[Domain Name]. Eg. 10.mailrouter1.execulink.com. DON’T FORGET THE [.] AT THE END
    • Priority indicates the preference of the mail server. Lower numbers have higher priority. Eg. 10 is higher priority than 20.
• CNAME Record (Canonical Name)
  Creates an alias from one domain to another.
  Example: www.example.com → example.com
  • Format:
    • Record Name = Alias or Subdomain
    • TTL = 3600
    • Content = The domain name the alias points to. DON’T FORGET THE [.] AT THE END
• NS Record (Name Server)
  Specifies which nameservers are authoritative for the domain or subdomain. NS Records are generally used when you want to delegate DNS authority for a specific sub-domain to a different group of DNS servers.
• TXT Record (Text Record)
  Stores plain text. Commonly used for:
  • Email security (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
  • Domain verification (e.g., Google or Microsoft)
    Example: “google-site-verification=abc123…”
    • Format:
      • Record Name = @
      • TTL = 3600
      • Content = “google-site-verification=VY8jpks5dSeiXYq-I5jZvQIw9hcW0Rc_7cblwVMuIxA”
• SOA Record (Start of Authority)
  Provides domain administration details such as:
  • Primary nameserver
  • Admin email
  • Domain serial number and refresh timers
• SRV Record (Service Record)
  Defines how services are accessed (like VoIP, XMPP, LDAP). Specifies protocol, port, priority, and weight for load balancing.
  • _service             The symbolic name of the service (e.g. _sip, _xmpp, _ldap)
  • _protocol          Protocol used: _tcp or _udp
  • name                  The domain name (like example.com)
  • TTL                    Time To Live – how long the record is cached (optional in some setups)
  • class                   Usually IN for Internet
  • priority              Lower values = higher priority (like MX records)
  • weight                Load balancing between records with the same priority
  • port                    The port the service is running on