DNS Records Archives - Mark Waters

Why is the PTR record so important?

by MarkMay 30, 2022May 30, 20220

PTR record is not one of the most popular DNS record types, but it is absolutely important. Why? We will explore this and its main purpose in this article. So, let’s start.

PTR record: Meaning

The reverse equivalent of an A record is known as a PTR record. The PTR record maps an IP address to a hostname, whereas the A record translates a domain name to an IP address. As a result, the Pointer record assures that your IP address connects to your host in an official manner.

If you’re utilizing both internal and external mail servers, you’ll need to set up the Pointer record. This record improves the reliability of sending servers by allowing the receiving end to verify your IP address’s hostname. It’s a great strategy to defend yourself from all kinds of spammers.

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Reverse DNS: Everything you need to know

by MarkFebruary 25, 20220

Reverse DNS – what does it mean?

Reverse DNS, or simply rDNS, is a mechanism for translating an IP address into its matching domain name. Compared to the standard Forward DNS lookup, which resolves the domain name to its IP address, it serves the exact opposite purpose.

You can use it to establish that a specific IP address corresponds to a particular domain name. One of the most common reasons for using it is establishing trust in email servers. They use Reverse DNS lookups to make sure the email came from a legitimate source and isn’t a hoax.

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Top 4 most popular DNS records

by MarkSeptember 30, 2021June 20, 20230

The Domain Name System (DNS) matches the domain names to their corresponding IP addresses. Thus, DNS records give the information for your hostname, domain, and IP address. With DNS records, you can adjust your domain configuration. There are many types of DNS records, but let’s start with the top 4 most popular of them.

A record and AAAA record

The A record is probably the most popular DNS record because it is used in almost any DNS system. It is an address record, so its purpose is to point a domain name to the corresponding IP address. Thanks to that, humans are not required to remember long and difficult numbers (IP addresses). Yet, the A record is usable when we are talking about IPv4 addresses.

In case when we want to point a domain name to an IPv6 address, we have to use the AAAA record. It is not so commonly used in comparison to the A record. However, the amount of new devices is rapidly growing, so eventually,, the IPv6 and the AAAA record will also gain popularity.

What is an RP record?

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DNS AAAA record explained

by MarkJuly 9, 2021February 2, 20230

The DNS AAAA record is one of the essential Domain Name System records. It works with the IPv6 address. Let’s explain a little bit more about it.

What is the DNS AAAA record?

The DNS AAAA record is a DNS resource record. It has the main purpose of linking a domain name with the IP address, which it corresponds to. This is a process that happens every time a domain name is requested for the site to be accessible. The browser will be incapable of finding the IP addresses successfully for the requested domain names. For users will be impossible to reach your website without help from the AAAA record.

How to check the AAAA record?

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DNS CAA record meaning

by MarkMay 25, 2021October 11, 20210

The DNS records are the instructions that clients and servers are searching for a particular domain. The common ones are the A records for a domain name to IP address resolution, the CNAME for redirecting subdomain to the domain name, MX for incoming mail servers, etc. But the DNS CAA record is not so well-known, so now we will explain it to you.

What is a DNS CAA record?

The DNS CAA record (Certification Authority Authorization) is a record that the DNS administrator of a domain can add to clarify which Certificate Authorities (CAs) can issue SSL or TLS certificates for the particular domain. The CA are external organizations that you, as a domain owner, can choose to issue cryptographic certificates like SSL or TLS for your domain name.

The cryptographic certificate is used to validate the domain owner and to encrypt the communication with that domain. That way, it protects sensitive data.

With the CAA, the domain owner will have improved control over the process of issuing certificates. He or she can clearly state who is permitted to issue certificates and lower the number of miss-issued certificated for that domain. The CAA record can be used for the whole domain, or chosen subdomains only, depending on how you set it up.

One common requirement for using CAA records is to first enable DNSSEC. That is required for better security and trust from the side of the CA.

How to add a CAA record?

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ALIAS record vs CNAME record

by MarkMay 12, 2021February 8, 20230

Let’s compare these two DNS record types that have a similar purpose. Both redirect from one hostname to another, but they have more than a few differences in between. Let’s see what exactly distinguishes the ALIAS record and the CNAME record.

What is the ALIAS record?

ALIAS record links two hostnames, showing that one is just another way to write the other. It is not a standard DNS record type, and not all of the Managed DNS providers offer it. This record type can coexist with other DNS records, for example, MX records. A great thing about the ALIAS records is that they will save time and not only show the other hostname, but an ALIAS query will return the IP address. The only problem with ALIAS that might lead you to CNAME records is that it doesn’t work well with GeoDNS because it will show the IP address of the name server and won’t redirect to the best location.

Why do you need an ALIAS record?

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