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About DNS Records
Being a global, hierarchical and distributed host information database, the Domain Name System, or DNS, is one of the most fundamental building blocks of the Internet.
The most basic function of the DNS is to find the corresponding IP address for a domain name. This service is invaluable for users as domain names are much easier to remember than their corresponding numerical IP addresses. The DNS also makes it possible to assign domain names to groups of Internet users in a meaningful way, independent of their physical locations. Due to this, hyperlinks on the World Wide Web and contact information on the Internet can remain consistent and constant. Many other invaluable services, like routing e-mail to its proper destination, are performed by the DNS.
To understand the field of DNS management, it is very important to learn about its basic data element – the Resource Record (RR).
When sent over an IP network, all RRs use the common format specified in RFC 1035. The NAME field consists of the fully qualified domain name of the pertinent node. TYPE contains the type of RR in numeric form and gives a hint of its intended use. For example, the MX record specifies the mail server used to handle e-mail for a specific domain. CLASS has the class code while TTL contains the unsigned time in seconds till when the RR stays valid. RDLENGTH contains the length of the RDATA field (RDATA is data of type-specific relevance like the IP address for address records and priority and hostname for MX records).
The types of RRs are many. Let us look at some of the most common ones.
The A record is an address record most commonly used to map domain names to their respective IP addresses. CNAME creates an alias of a name and prompt the DNS to retry the lookup with a new name. Similarly, a DNAME creates an alias for a name as well as all its sub-names. LOC specifies a geographical location associated with a domain name while the MX record maps a domain name to a list of message transfer agents for that domain. TXT was originally used for arbitrary human-readable text but now carries machine-readable text more often.
The criticality of the DNS system has prompted most IT managers to scourge the market for robust DNS solutions. A DNS appliance that offers centralized domain and database management, data integrity verification, auditing and diagnostics as well as enables ease of integration with third-party software should fulfill the DNS management requirements of your enterprise.
About the Author
The Domain Name System, or DNS, is one of the most fundamental building blocks of the Internet. The most basic function of the DNS is to find the corresponding IP address for a domain name. Many invaluable services, like routing e-mail to its proper destination, are performed by the DNS.
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