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