Questions tagged [domain-name-system]

The Domain Name System, usually referred to by the acronym DNS, is a hierarchical, distributed database where the keys are domain names. Questions involving publicly accessible domains should include the real, Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN)

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
307 votes
14 answers
992k views

What's the command-line utility in Windows to do a reverse DNS look-up?

Is there a built-in command line tool that will do reverse DNS look-ups in Windows? I.e., something like <toolname> w.x.y.z => mycomputername I've tried: nslookup: seems to be forward look-...
alastairs's user avatar
  • 3,205
268 votes
2 answers
321k views

Linux command to inspect TXT records of a domain [closed]

Is there a linux shell command that I can use to inspect the TXT records of a domain?
John's user avatar
  • 7,413
264 votes
11 answers
603k views

List all DNS records in a domain using dig?

My company runs an internal DNS for mycompany.example There is a machine on the network that I need to find, but I’ve forgotten its name. If I could see a list, it would probably jog my memory. ...
Runcible's user avatar
  • 3,215
244 votes
3 answers
410k views

How to include multiple domains in an spf TXT Record

I am looking to setup a TXT spf record that has 2 included domains... individually: v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all and v=spf1 include:otherdomain.com ~all What is the proper way of combining ...
tgriesser's user avatar
  • 2,832
217 votes
8 answers
348k views

Setting the hostname: FQDN or short name?

I've noticed that the "preferred" method of setting the system hostname is fundamentally different between Red Hat/CentOS and Debian/Ubuntu systems. CentOS documentation and the RHEL deployment guide ...
Cakemox's user avatar
  • 25.4k
205 votes
5 answers
150k views

What is a glue record?

This is a Canonical Question about DNS glue records. What exactly (but briefly) is a DNS glue record? Why are they needed and how do they work?
LanceBaynes's user avatar
  • 3,107
190 votes
5 answers
443k views

DNS - NSLOOKUP what is the meaning of the non-authoritative answer?

For some domains nslookup gives me a Non-authoritative answer section. What does this mean? Got answer: HEADER: opcode = QUERY, id = 3, rcode = NXDOMAIN header flags: response, ...
mahen3d's user avatar
  • 4,382
185 votes
12 answers
199k views

Top level domain/domain suffix for private network?

At our office, we have a local area network with a purely internal DNS setup, on which clients all named as whatever.lan. I also have a VMware environment, and on the virtual-machine-only network, I ...
Otto's user avatar
  • 2,081
184 votes
16 answers
173k views

Why is DNS failover not recommended?

From reading, it seems like DNS failover is not recommended just because DNS wasn't designed for it. But if you have two webservers on different subnets hosting redundant content, what other methods ...
Lin's user avatar
  • 2,929
167 votes
5 answers
221k views

Force dig to resolve without using cache

I'm wondering if there is a way to query a DNS server and bypass caching (with dig). Often I change a zone on the DNS server and I want to check if it resolves correctly from my workstation. But since ...
Daniel's user avatar
  • 3,117
165 votes
3 answers
109k views

Why can't a CNAME record be used at the apex (aka root) of a domain?

This is a Canonical Question about CNAMEs at the apices (or roots) of zones It's relatively common knowledge that CNAME records at the apex of a domain are a taboo practice. Example: example.com. IN ...
Andrew B's user avatar
  • 32.8k
145 votes
3 answers
148k views

What's the meaning of '@' in a DNS zone file?

I have the following data in my DNS zone file for my domain: $ORIGIN mydomain.com. @ IN A 208.X.Y.Z mail IN A 208.X.Y.Z ... etc.. What does the @ line mean? I know ...
Pure.Krome's user avatar
  • 6,578
134 votes
4 answers
229k views

What type of DNS record is needed to make a subdomain?

I'm making a website, and I need a sub-domain. I need to add the new part to my website, but I don't know which type of DNS record to add in the DNS console to point to this new site. Is it A or ...
Keavon's user avatar
  • 1,441
128 votes
4 answers
211k views

How can I see Time-To-Live (TTL) for a DNS record?

I would like to see the Time-To-Live (TTL) value for a CNAME record. I have access to dig (on Apple Mac OS X), which gives me an answer like this: % dig host.example.gov <*SNIP*> ;; ANSWER ...
Stefan Lasiewski's user avatar
121 votes
15 answers
148k views

What's the reverse DNS command line utility?

What's the command to find the name of a computer given its IP address? I always forget what this command is, but I know it exists in Windows and I assume it exists on the *nix command-line.
Peter Turner's user avatar
  • 2,208
107 votes
8 answers
173k views

Is a wildcard CNAME DNS record valid?

I know it's valid to have a DNS A record that's a wildcard (e.g. *.mysite.com). Is it possible/valid/advised to have a wildcard CNAME record?
Ben Mills's user avatar
  • 1,203
104 votes
6 answers
66k views

Why can't MX records point to an IP address?

I understand you should not point a MX record at an IP address directly, but should instead point it to an A record, which, in turns, points to the IP address of your mail server. But, in principle, ...
dayuloli's user avatar
  • 1,283
100 votes
21 answers
53k views

Should we host our own nameservers?

This is a Canonical Question about whether to outsource DNS resolution for ones own domains I currently have my ISP providing DNS for my domain, but they impose limitations on adding records. ...
Saif Khan's user avatar
  • 1,965
100 votes
4 answers
333k views

How does ServerName and ServerAlias work?

It's the following part of a virtual host config that I need further clarification on: <VirtualHost *:80> # Admin email, Server Name (domain name), and any aliases ServerAdmin example@...
njp's user avatar
  • 1,102
96 votes
2 answers
93k views

Should CNAME Be Used For Subdomains?

I manage multiple websites that currently have the following DNS configuration: example.com - A Record - Production Server IP test.example.com - A Record - Test Server IP www.example.com - ...
Joseph Sturtevant's user avatar
90 votes
3 answers
58k views

Is a CNAME to CNAME chain allowed?

Is it allowed in DNS to have a CNAME record that points to another CNAME record? The reason we need this is that we have a hostname that we want to be looked up to the IP address of our web server ...
Erik Sjölund's user avatar
89 votes
4 answers
72k views

Vagrant / VirtualBox DNS 10.0.2.3 not working

I am running a fresh install of Linux Mint Nadia (14). I am following the instructions on Vagrant Getting Started but have gotten stuck on the Provisioning. It seems the Vagrant box cannot connect ...
Rudolf Vavruch's user avatar
87 votes
3 answers
101k views

Multiple TXT fields for same subdomain

I would like to understand if multiple TXT records for the same subdomain are ok or could lead to issues. In particular, we have the requirement for one SPF record and one Google Domain Verification ...
chrisvdb's user avatar
  • 1,289
82 votes
2 answers
171k views

How to configure a Windows machine to allow file sharing with a DNS alias

What process is necessary to configure a Windows environment to allow me to use DNS CNAME to reference servers? I want to do this so that I can name my servers something like SRV001, but still have \\...
Michael Ferrante's user avatar
81 votes
6 answers
115k views

Do SPF Records For Primary Domain apply to subdomains?

I have a quick question regarding SPF records: Do they need to be present for all subdomains? Lets say that I have a TXT record with SPF info for domain.com Let's also say that I have a seperate ...
Mike B's user avatar
  • 11.9k
80 votes
11 answers
26k views

Multiple data centers and HTTP traffic: DNS Round Robin is the ONLY way to assure instant fail-over?

Multiple A records pointing to the same domain seem to be used almost exclusively to implement DNS Round Robin as a cheap load balancing technique. The usual warning against DNS RR is that it is not ...
Valentino Miazzo's user avatar
79 votes
11 answers
116k views

Private IP address in public DNS

We have an SMTP only mail server behind a firewall which will have a public A record of mail.. The only way to access this mail server is from another server behind the same firewall. We do not run ...
Geoff Dalgas's user avatar
  • 2,506
78 votes
8 answers
195k views

How does Windows decide which DNS Server to use when resolving names?

What algorithm does Windows use to decide which DNS Server it will query in order to resolve names? Let's say I have several interfaces, all active, some with no dns server specified, some told to ...
Artefacto's user avatar
  • 1,065
76 votes
14 answers
224k views

Docker containers can't resolve DNS on Ubuntu 14.04 Desktop Host

I'm running into a problem with my Docker containers on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. Docker worked fine for two days, and then suddenly I lost all network connectivity inside my containers. The error output ...
Thomas V.'s user avatar
  • 2,101
76 votes
3 answers
59k views

How long does negative DNS caching typically last?

If a DNS server looks up a record and it's missing, it will often "negatively cache" the fact that this record is missing, and not try to look it up again for a while. I don't see anything ...
Leopd's user avatar
  • 1,827
75 votes
3 answers
224k views

What is the difference between a hostname and a fully qualified domain name?

I am new to the world of setting up servers and am baffled by the term hostname and fully qualified domain name (FQDN). For example, if I want to set up a server that hosts files on the local network ...
PeanutsMonkey's user avatar
73 votes
3 answers
239k views

How to ensure OpenVPN connection uses specific DNS?

I'm using OpenVPN through Tunnelblick on MacOS X Lion. I need to set specific DNS (with local IP, which works only when VPN is up) for the duration of this VPN session only. I do not have access to ...
Stanislav Shabalin's user avatar
73 votes
1 answer
70k views

How long does it take for DNS records to propagate?

This is a Canonical Question about DNS Propagation How long does it take for an the various types of records to propagate? Do some propagate faster than others? Why does it take time for DNS records ...
user avatar
73 votes
6 answers
347k views

How to redirect domain A to domain B using A-Records and CNAME records only

I have 2 domains hosted with different hosts. I need to redirect Domain A to Domain B. Unfortunately I can't do a 301 redirect from Host A, but can only modify/add DNS entries (A-Records and CNAMEs) ...
Prembo's user avatar
  • 917
71 votes
21 answers
13k views

How the heck is http://to./ a valid domain name?

Apparently it's a URL shortener. It resolves just fine in Chrome and Firefox. How is this a valid top-level domain? Update: for the people saying it's browser shenanigans, why is it that: http://com./...
Christopher's user avatar
  • 1,381
70 votes
15 answers
16k views

Are IP addresses "trivial to forge"?

I was reading through some of the notes on Google's new public DNS service: Performance Benefits Security Benefits I noticed under the security section this paragraph: Until a standard system-wide ...
Jeff Atwood's user avatar
  • 13.2k
70 votes
7 answers
118k views

DNS A vs NS record

I'm trying to understand DNS a bit better, but I still don't get A and NS records completely. As far as I understood, the A record tells which IP-address belongs to a (sub) domain, so far it was ...
Tiddo's user avatar
  • 1,029
70 votes
18 answers
70k views

Is Round-Robin DNS "good enough" for load balancing static content?

We have a set of shared, static content that we serve up between our websites at http://sstatic.net. Unfortunately, this content is not currently load balanced at all -- it's served from a single ...
Jeff Atwood's user avatar
  • 13.2k
67 votes
7 answers
10k views

Government censors HTTPS traffic to our website. Workarounds?

I am helping run a website that has been blocked for political reasons by the same Russian agency that has previously tried blocking Telegram (RosKomNadzor). This is not the first time it happens, and ...
Mary's user avatar
  • 613
67 votes
2 answers
24k views

Why does Heroku warn against "naked" domain names?

I ran across this page in the Heroku docs... Naked domains, also called bare or apex domains, are configured in DNS via A-records and have serious availability implications when used in highly ...
Agvorth's user avatar
  • 2,459
66 votes
7 answers
13k views

DNS failing to propagate worldwide

I haven't changed anything related to the DNS entry for serverfault.com, but some users were reporting today that the serverfault.com DNS fails to resolve for them. I ran a justping query and I can ...
Jeff Atwood's user avatar
  • 13.2k
64 votes
8 answers
113k views

Overriding some DNS entries in BIND for internal networks

I have an internal network with a DNS server running BIND, connected to the internet through a single gateway. My domain "example.com" is managed by an external DNS provider. Some of the entries in ...
Remy Blank's user avatar
  • 2,025
63 votes
2 answers
147k views

Can we have multiple CNAMES for a single Name?

I need this for load balancing. For example, I've two azure storage accounts (say a and b) and the blob addresses for those are a.blob.core.windows.net and b.blob.core.windows.net. Both of them store ...
Raghuram Murthy P's user avatar
59 votes
2 answers
24k views

What are SPF records, and how do I configure them?

This is a canonical question about setting up SPF records. I have an office with many computers that share a single external ip (I'm unsure if the address is static or dynamic). Each computer ...
vulgarbulgar's user avatar
58 votes
4 answers
165k views

How to specify multiple included domains in SPF record?

Our business email is hosted on Google apps. In addition, our web server may also send email. Currently our SPF record in DNS looks like this: domain.com. IN TXT "v=spf1 a include:_spf....
Aleks G's user avatar
  • 966
57 votes
10 answers
77k views

How to use DNS/Hostnames or Other ways to resolve to a specific IP:Port

This is a Canonical Question about DNS/Hostnames resolution to IPs/Ports Example 1 I'm running a web server on port 80 and another on port 87. I would like to use DNS so that www.example.com goes to ...
Tom Smykowski's user avatar
56 votes
12 answers
77k views

Linux command line utility to resolve host names using /etc/hosts first

There are several command line utilities to resolve host names (host, dig, nslookup), however they all use nameservers exclusively, while applications in general look in /etc/hosts first (using ...
Zulan's user avatar
  • 645
55 votes
2 answers
153k views

When do DNS queries use TCP instead of UDP? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Is it true that a nameserver have to answer queries over TCP? I know DNS uses UDP for most of its queries, but in what circumstances will it use TCP instead?
pradeepchhetri's user avatar
54 votes
7 answers
303k views

How can I find the LDAP server in the DNS on Windows?

For Linux, this command should return the DNS record for the LDAP server host -t srv _ldap._tcp.DOMAINNAME (found at Authenticating from Java (Linux) to Active Directory using LDAP WITHOUT ...
mjn's user avatar
  • 943
54 votes
4 answers
46k views

What does the "IN" mean in a zone file?

Sometimes a record is listed as www IN A 192.168.1.1 and sometimes it is listed as www A 192.168.1.1. What is the purpose of the IN and when is it required/not required?
Tabitha's user avatar
  • 1,015

1
2 3 4 5
247