DNS Record Types - Complete Guide to Supported Records

DNS records are the building blocks of the Domain Name System. They tell DNS resolvers how to handle requests for your domain by mapping domain names to IP addresses, mail servers, verification data, and much more.

DNScale supports 14 different record types, giving you complete control over your DNS configuration for any use case—from simple websites to complex distributed systems.

Supported Record Types Overview

Record Type Categories

Address Records

A and AAAA records are the foundation of DNS, mapping human-readable domain names to machine-readable IP addresses.

• A records point to IPv4 addresses (e.g., 192.0.2.1)
• AAAA records point to IPv6 addresses (e.g., 2001:db8::1)

Alias Records

CNAME and ALIAS records let you point one domain to another, simplifying management when multiple domains need to resolve to the same destination.

• CNAME records work for subdomains (not apex/root domains)
• ALIAS records work at the apex domain level

Mail Records

MX records are essential for email delivery, telling mail servers where to send messages for your domain.

Text and Verification Records

TXT records store arbitrary text data and are widely used for:

• SPF (email sender verification)
• DKIM (email signing)
• Domain ownership verification
• Custom application data

Service Discovery Records

SRV, HTTPS, and SVCB records help clients discover services and their connection parameters.

• SRV records specify host and port for services
• HTTPS records optimize HTTPS connections with HTTP/3, ECH support
• SVCB records provide general-purpose service binding

Security Records

CAA, TLSA, and SSHFP records enhance security:

• CAA records control which Certificate Authorities can issue certificates
• TLSA records enable DANE for certificate authentication
• SSHFP records publish SSH key fingerprints for verification

Infrastructure Records

NS and PTR records handle DNS infrastructure:

• NS records delegate DNS authority to nameservers
• PTR records provide reverse DNS lookups

Multi-Value vs Single-Value Records

DNScale handles record types differently based on whether they support multiple values:

Multi-Value Record Types

These types can have multiple records with the same name:

• A, AAAA, TXT, MX, NS, SRV, CAA, TLSA, SSHFP, HTTPS, SVCB

For example, you can have multiple A records for load balancing:

example.com.    300    A    192.0.2.1
example.com.    300    A    192.0.2.2

Single-Value Record Types

These types only allow one record per name:

• CNAME, ALIAS

A CNAME or ALIAS record must be the only record at that name.

Quick Start: Adding Records

Using the Dashboard

1. Navigate to your zone in the DNScale dashboard
2. Click Add Record
3. Select the record type from the dropdown
4. Fill in the required fields
5. Click Create Record

Using the API

curl -X POST "https://api.dnscale.eu/v1/zones/{zone_id}/records" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "www",
    "type": "A",
    "content": "192.0.2.1",
    "ttl": 3600
  }'

Best Practices

1. Use appropriate TTL values - Short TTLs (300-900s) for records that may change; longer TTLs (3600-86400s) for stable records
2. Set up redundancy - Use multiple A/AAAA records or MX records with different priorities
3. Secure your domain - Add CAA records to control certificate issuance and TXT records for SPF/DKIM
4. Consider IPv6 - Add AAAA records alongside A records for IPv6 support
5. Use HTTPS records - Enable faster connections with HTTP/3 and ECH support

Conclusion

Understanding DNS record types is essential for properly configuring your domain. DNScale's comprehensive record type support ensures you can implement any DNS configuration your infrastructure requires.

Explore the individual record type guides for detailed information, examples, and best practices for each type.