OVERVIEW

This article is a detailed overview of the Internet's Domain Name

System (DNS), covering the technical and theoretical aspects behind
how domain names work.

DOMAIN NAME
A domain name usually consists of two or more parts (technically
labels), separated by dots. For example: mediatemple.net.
The rightmost label conveys the top-level domain.
Each label to the left specifies a subdivision or subdomain of the
domain above it. Note that "subdomain" expresses relative
dependence, but not absolute dependence: for example,
mediatemple.net comprises a subdomain of the net domain, and
www.mediatemple.net comprises a subdomain of the domain
mediatemple.net. In theory, this subdivision can go down to 127
Levels deep, and each label can contain up to 63 characters, as
long as the whole domain name does not exceed a total length of
255 characters. But in practice some domain registries have
shorter limits than that.
A hostname refers to a domain name that has one or more
associated IP addresses. For example, the wiki.mediatemple.net
and mediatemple.net domains are both hostnames.

DNS
The Domain Name System consists of a hierarchical set of DNS
servers. Each domain or subdomain has one or more authoritative DNS
servers that publish information about that domain and the nameservers

of any domains "beneath" it. The hierarchy of authoritative DNS servers

matches the hierarchy of domains. At the top of the hierarchy stand the
root nameservers: the servers to query when looking up (resolving) a
top-level domain name (TLD). Iterative and recursive queries:
An iterative query is one where the DNS server may provide a
partial answer to the query (or give an error). DNS servers must
support non-recursive queries.
A recursive query is one where the DNS server will fully answer
the query (or give an error). DNS servers are not required to
support recursive queries and both the resolver (or another DNS
acting recursively on behalf of another resolver) negotiate use of
recursive service using bits in the query headers.

DNS PROPAGATION
DNS Propagation refers to the time for any DNS changes to transmit
across the Internet. Please remember that DNS changes in general can
take up to 24-48 hours to fully propagate.

DNS RECORDS
Root Domain
The root domain (also sometimes referred to as the "parent," "naked," or
"apex" domain) is the primary entry for the domain without any
subdomains. The NAME field typically remains blank as this would
define a subdomain. This type of record should usually be an A record,
with the value set to the destination IP address. Using a CNAME for the
root domain can cause other DNS functions, such as MX records, to
route incorrectly. It is standard practice to set the A record for the root
domain to that of the "www." subdomain.

CNAME or "Canonical Name"

CNAME Records are used to define an alias hostname. A CNAME
record takes this format:
alias.domain.name

IN

CNAME

otherhost.domain.name.

This defines alias.domain.name as an alias for the host whose

canonical (standard) name is otherhost.domain.name.
A Record
An A record gives you the IP address of a domain. That way, users that
try to go to www.example.com will get to the right IP address. An A
record or "Address Record" maps a hostname to a 32-bit IPv4 address.
An "A" Record takes this format (example):
Name

TTL

TYPE

DATA

ftp.domain.com

43200

IP Address

Media Temple DNS Zone files are written with a "wildcard" entry, that
looks like this:
*.domain.com

IN

xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx

The x's represnt your particular IP address. The star takes "anything"
.domain.com and points it to your server's IP address. This way, if
someone mistakenly types too many or too few w's, they'll still see your
website. This is also useful for setting up subdomains on your server,
relieving you of the duty of adding an additional "A" record for the
subdomain.
MX Record
Mail Exchange Record: Maps a domain name to a list of mail exchange
servers for that domain. A zone can have one or more Mail Exchange

(MX) records. These records point to hosts that accept mail messages
on behalf of the host. A host can be an 'MX' for itself. MX records need
not point to a host in the same zone. An 'MX' record takes this format:
host.domain.name
IN
otherhost.domain.name.
IN

MX

MX

10

20 otherhost2.domain.name.

The 'MX' preference numbers nn (value 0 to 65535) signify the order in

which mailers select 'MX' records when they attempt mail delivery to the
host. The lower the 'MX' number, the higher the host is in priority.
PTR Record / Pointer Record
Maps an IPv4 address to the canonical name for that host. Setting up a
PTR record for a hostname in the in-addr.arpa. domain that corresponds
to an IP address implements reverse DNS lookup for that address. For
example, at the time of writing, www.icann.net has the IP address
192.0.34.164, but a PTR record maps 164.34.0.192.in-addr.arpa to its
canonical name.
NS Record or "Name Server Record"
Maps a domain name to a list of DNS servers authoritative for that
domain. In this case, for (mt) Media Temple purposes would be:
ns1.mediatemple.net
ns2.mediatemple.net

SOA Record or "Start of Authority Record"

Specifies the DNS server providing authoritative information about an
Internet domain, the email of the domain administrator, the domain serial
number, and several timers relating to refreshing the zone.

TXT Record
The TXT Record allows an administrator to insert arbitrary text into a
DNS record. For example, this record is used to implement the Sender
Policy Framework and DomainKeys specifications.