Free DNS reader

About this tool

This tool will display the full Domain Name System (DNS) records for a domain including all A, AAAA , CNAME, MX, TXT, NS, PTR, SOA, and SRV records.

 

What do the DNS records do?

DNS (Domain Name System) records are used to translate human-readable domain names into IP addresses and vice versa. There are several types of DNS record, each serving a different purpose. The main DNS record types are:

• A (Address) Record
  Maps a domain name to an IPv4 address. For example, example.com might be mapped to 192.0.2.1.
• AAAA (IPv6 Address) Record
  Similar to A records but maps a domain name to an IPv6 address. It's used for IPv6 addresses, which are longer than IPv4 addresses.
• CNAME (Canonical Name) Record
  Creates an alias for a domain name. It points one domain name to another domain name instead of an IP address. For example, www.example.com might be a CNAME for example.com.
• MX (Mail Exchange) Record
  Specifies the mail server responsible for receiving email on behalf of the domain. It points to the domain name of the email server. Multiple MX records can be assigned with different priorities for redundancy.
• TXT (Text) Record
  Stores text-based information associated with a domain. It can be used for various purposes such as domain verification, SPF (Sender Policy Framework) records for email authentication, and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) records.
• NS (Name Server) Record
  Specifies the authoritative DNS servers for a domain. It indicates which DNS servers are responsible for providing DNS information about the domain.
• PTR (Pointer) Record
  Performs the reverse mapping of an IP address to a domain name. It's used in reverse DNS lookups to determine the domain name associated with an IP address.
• SOA (Start of Authority) Record
  Contains administrative information about the domain name, such as the primary authoritative name server for the domain, the email address of the domain administrator, and various timing parameters for refreshing the DNS data.
• SRV (Service) Record
  Specifies the location of services such as SIP, LDAP, and XMPP within the domain. It provides information about the available services and their locations.