Namerecords

Namerecords, in the Domain Name System (DNS), are the individual entries that map domain names to information describing how a domain should be handled on the Internet. They are stored in zone files on authoritative name servers and are queried by resolvers to translate human-readable names into machine-readable data. Each name record includes a name (the domain or subdomain), a type, a time-to-live (TTL), a class (usually IN for Internet), and an RDATA field containing the data for that type.

Common types include A and AAAA for IPv4 and IPv6 addresses; CNAME for an alias to another name; MX for mail exchange servers; NS for delegating authority to name servers; TXT for text data used in verification and policies; SRV for service location; PTR for reverse lookups; and SOA as the start of authority for a zone. Name records enable a variety of services: web hosting via A/AAAA, email delivery via MX, domain verification via TXT, and subdomain management via CNAME and NS records.

TTL values control how long resolvers cache records, affecting update propagation. Shorter TTLs allow quicker changes but increase query load, while longer TTLs reduce load but slow updates. There are constraints: a CNAME record generally cannot coexist with other data at the same name, and the apex of a zone (the naked domain) typically cannot be a CNAME; many zones use A or AAAA records, sometimes in combination with ALIAS or ANAME approaches to point the apex to another host.

Management involves configuring records through a DNS hosting provider or server, monitoring changes, and ensuring consistency across records. Security considerations include using DNSSEC to provide data integrity and origin authentication. Examples of typical records include example.com A 93.184.216.34; example.com NS ns1.example.net; www.example.com CNAME example.com; mail.example.com MX 10 mail.example.com; _dmarc.example.com TXT "v=DMARC1; p=none".