What types of DNS records are there?

A: An A record will point a domain name to an individual IP address. It controls what the domain does when someone visits it. For example, an A record points "tierra.net" to the IP address "216.104.168.2".

AAAA: Similar to an A record, a quad-A record record allows a domain to point to an IPv6 address.

CNAME: A Canonical Name record specifies that a domain name is an alias for another domain (the "canonical" domain). CNAMEs point subdomains to another server, and unlike A records, CNAMEs cannot use IP addresses.

MX: Mail Exchange records point the domain's email to its email provider. It specifies the responsible mail server, and also prioritizes delivery if multiple mail servers are available. As an example, TierraNet's MX records are "mx1.daemonmail.net" and "mx2.daemonmail.net", each priority 10.

NS: A Nameserver record will map the domain name to a list of authoritative DNS servers.

PTR: Pointer records are used for the reverse DNS lookup. While an A record points a domain name to an IP address, the PTR record resolves the IP address to a domain or hostname.

SOA: A Start of Authority record is information stored in a DNS zone and provides authoritative information about the domain, including the primary nameserver, the domain administrator's email, the domain serial number, and several timers relating to refreshing the zone.

SRV: Service records define the location of servers, namely hostname and port number, for specified services.

TXT: A TXT record provides text information to outside sources. The text can be used for a variety of purposes, and is human or machine readable.

Zone Files: A Zone File is a file that stores all of the domain's DNS settings. A Zone File can be useful if changing the DNS host, allowing you to gather all of the domain's individual DNS records in one file.