Understanding Domain Name Records

A "domain name" (refer to Understanding the Domain Name for a discussion on what a domain is and what it can do for your business) is very similar to your home address in many ways: it tells the Internet where to find your website just as an address tells a visitor where to find your home. Your home has multiple identifying records (a plat number, a longitude and latitude coordinate... etc.). The same is true of domain names; they have multiple records that identify their many characteristics.

Domain Records

Every domain name has multiple records. Each record identifies a particular attribute. The most important records for the purposes of this posting are: A records, MX records, CNAME record, NS, and SOA.

Although the legal parties to a domain name are not records per se, they are every bit as important, so we'll discuss them here. The parties include: Registrar, Registrant, Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, and Billing Contact.

A Records

An "A Record" is an "address record", and it is the most important record of your domain name. It tells the Internet where to find your website. The process occurs by providing a map from the domain host location to the web host location. If the "A record" is incorrect, then your website will not be accessible.

CNAME Records

CNAME stands for canonical name record. It is an alias for the "A record". In some situations, a company may want to use a CNAME for marketing purposes so that a more recognizable name is employed, rather than the actual "A record" name. In most instances, a CNAME is used for one of multiple services ran on a single server with a single IP address.

IP Address

IP stands for Internet Protocol.

MX Records

The MX record is the mail exchange record. That record provides the map to the mail exchange server handling the mail for a particular domain name.

NS Record

NS stands for name server. The NS record maps the domain name to the domain name server. The NS record is a domain name that is registered with the IP address of the authoritative servers for that domain name. When setting up a domain name on a server, the NS record is used to specify the named server upon which the domain name will be located. Subsequent domains may then be located on that server, and each will contain a registered NS record.

SOA Record

SOA stands for "start of authority". The SOA record contains the name of the domain name server where information resides regarding the domain name. That information includes authoritative domain information, the server's identification number, and the authorized administrator's email address.

Registrar, Registrant, Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, and Billing Contact

Registrar

If anyone "owns" a domain, it would be NIC - the international Network Information Centre. NIC is a domain name registry. NIC ensures that only one occurrence of a domain name exists. All registrars are listed with ICANN, and are assigned various authorities (which have changed over time). Today, there are many registrars that sell licenses for domain name, but fewer who actually control the relationship of a domain name to its owner. Some of the more familiar registrars are ENOM, Network Solutions, GoDaddy, and Register.com.

Registrant

The registrant is the person who holds the right to use a domain. Although not directly parallel to a lease agreement, the agreement between the registrant and the registrar is similar to a lease wherein the registrant pays an annual fee for the right to use a domain name subject to the rules and conditions set forth by the registrant, which are in turn approved by ICANN. The registrant holds the right to defend a domain name.

The registrant may assign all or some of his or her rights to other parties or companies; however, registrants should retain certain rights.

Administrative Contact

The administrative contact for a domain name is one of the rights that a registrant should retain because this contact controls all other rights. The administrative contact manages the domain, approves or denies domain ownership changes or hosting, and authority to change the contact information for the domain and all other authorized agents.

Technical Contact

The technical contact for a domain is assigned by the administrative contact. The technical contact handles maintaining the map for the domain (the domain name servers) and the directions (domain name pointers). The technical contact can also handle domain name configurations. A registrant may assign the rights of the technical contact (and usually does) to the person responsible for the location and care of the website.

Billing Contact

The billing contact for a domain name is the person charged with the responsibility of ensuring payment of the annual licensing fee for a domain name. If the fee is not paid, the billing contact is notified. A registrant should remain authority of the billing contact.