[Crawl-Date: 2026-04-05] [Source: DataJelly Visibility Layer] [URL: https://dnswalkthrough.com/records] --- title: DNS Record Types — A, AAAA, CNAME, MX & More | DNS Subway description: Explore every DNS record type with collectible trading cards. A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, NS, SOA, PTR, SRV and more. url: https://dnswalkthrough.com/records canonical: https://dnssubway.com/ og_title: DNS Walkthrough - Take a Walk Through DNS og_description: Learn how DNS works with our interactive subway map guide. Follow the journey from browser to website step-by-step. og_image: https://dnssubway.com/og-image.png twitter_card: summary_large_image twitter_image: https://dnssubway.com/og-image.png --- # DNS Record Types — A, AAAA, CNAME, MX & More | DNS Subway > Explore every DNS record type with collectible trading cards. A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, NS, SOA, PTR, SRV and more. --- DNS Records ## Types of DNS Records Explore the different types of DNS records and understand what each one does. From basic A records to advanced security configurations. [Back to Home](https://dnswalkthrough.com/) ## Common DNS Records Different types of DNS records serve different purposes. Think of them as different types of information cards in the internet's phonebook. ## A Address Record Maps a domain name to an IPv4 address. The most common type of DNS record. Example: `example.com → 192.168.1.1` ## AAAA IPv6 Address Record Maps a domain name to an IPv6 address. The next-generation IP addressing system. Example: `example.com → 2001:db8::1` ## CNAME Canonical Name Creates an alias that points one domain name to another domain name. Example: `www.example.com → example.com` ## MX Mail Exchange Specifies the mail servers responsible for handling email for the domain. Example: `example.com → mail.example.com` ## TXT Text Record Stores arbitrary text data. Often used for domain verification and security policies. Example: `example.com → "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all"` ## NS Name Server Indicates which DNS servers are authoritative for the domain. Example: `example.com → ns1.example.com` ## Want to See DNS in Action? Use our interactive DNS lookup tool to see how any domain resolves in real-time. Coming soon: Live DNS resolver with step-by-step visualization! 🚀 ## Advanced DNS Records Beyond the basics, these specialized records handle security, services, and administrative functions. ## SOA Start of Authority Contains administrative information about the DNS zone, including the primary nameserver and contact details. Example: `example.com SOA ns1.example.com admin.example.com` ## PTR Pointer Record Used for reverse DNS lookups, mapping IP addresses back to domain names. Example: `1.1.168.192.in-addr.arpa → example.com` ## SRV Service Record Specifies the location of servers for specific services, including port and priority information. Example: `_sip._tcp.example.com SRV 10 5 5060 sipserver.example.com` ## CAA Certificate Authority Authorization Specifies which Certificate Authorities are allowed to issue SSL certificates for the domain. Example: `example.com CAA 0 issue "letsencrypt.org"` ## Example DNS Zone File ; DNS Zone file for example.com $TTL 3600 example.com. IN SOA ns1.example.com. admin.example.com. ( 2024092601 ; Serial 3600 ; Refresh 1800 ; Retry 604800 ; Expire 86400 ; Minimum TTL ) ; Name servers example.com. IN NS ns1.example.com. example.com. IN NS ns2.example.com. ; A records example.com. IN A 192.0.2.1 www IN A 192.0.2.1 mail IN A 192.0.2.10 ; AAAA record (IPv6) example.com. IN AAAA 2001:db8::1 ; MX record example.com. IN MX 10 mail.example.com. ; CNAME records ftp IN CNAME example.com. blog IN CNAME example.com. ; TXT records example.com. IN TXT "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all" _dmarc IN TXT "v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:dmarc@example.com" ## Keep Exploring Now that you know the record types, learn how they fit together in the real world. [DNS for Developers →](https://dnswalkthrough.com/dns-for-developers) [How DNS Works →](https://dnswalkthrough.com/how-dns-works) [Troubleshooting Guide →](https://dnswalkthrough.com/dns-troubleshooting) ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebSite","name":"DNS Walkthrough","url":"https://dnssubway.com/","description":"Learn how DNS works with our interactive subway map guide. Understand DNS resolution step-by-step from browser to website.","potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://dnssubway.com/glossary?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","name":"DNS Walkthrough","url":"https://dnssubway.com/","logo":"https://dnssubway.com/og-image.png","description":"Making DNS approachable through interactive guides and visualizations.","sameAs":[]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"DNS Record Types \u2014 A, AAAA, CNAME, MX \u0026 More","description":"Explore every DNS record type with collectible trading cards. A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, NS, SOA, PTR, SRV and more.","url":"https://dnssubway.com/records","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"DNS Subway","url":"https://dnssubway.com/"}} ``` ## Discovery & Navigation > Semantic links for AI agent traversal. * [DNS Walkthrough](https://dnswalkthrough.com/walkthrough) * [DNS Records](https://dnswalkthrough.com/records) * [How DNS Works](https://dnswalkthrough.com/how-dns-works) * [Troubleshooting](https://dnswalkthrough.com/dns-troubleshooting) * [DNS for Developers](https://dnswalkthrough.com/dns-for-developers) * [Glossary](https://dnswalkthrough.com/glossary) * [About This Project](https://dnswalkthrough.com/about) * [Why DNS Matters](https://dnswalkthrough.com/why-dns-matters) * [DataJelly](https://dnswalkthrough.com/datajelly)