DNS Record Types Table

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Introduction

This page provides an overview of the different DNS record types, their operational usage, and their compliance with official standards. Links to the relevant RFC pages are available at the bottom of this document.

Table of Contents

  1. Address Resolution (Web / Network)
  2. Mail Services and TLS Governance
  3. DNSSEC – Integrity and Validation
  4. Services and Applications (VoIP, SIP, Service Discovery)
  5. Zone Administration and Infrastructure
  6. Rare Types
  7. Non-standard / Proprietary
  8. Summary Table
  9. RFC Datatracker Links

Address Resolution (Web / Network)

TypePrimary FunctionRFC / Status
AName → IPv4RFC 10351
AAAAName → IPv6RFC 35962
CNAMEAlias to canonical nameRFC 10351
DNAMEAlias for subtreesRFC 66723
HTTPS / SVCBModern HTTP service discoveryRFC 9460 / vendor-specific4

Notes

  • CNAME / DNAME: Provide aliasing flexibility; a CNAME cannot coexist with other record types on the same name.
  • HTTPS / SVCB: Recently standardized, replacing certain CNAME-based practices for HTTPS.

Mail Services and TLS Governance

TypeUsageRFC / Status
MXEmail routingRFC 10351
TXTSPF, DKIM, DMARC via TXT recordsRFC 10351 + RFC dédiées
CAAAuthorized certification authoritiesRFC 86595

DNSSEC – Integrity and Validation

TypeRoleRFC / Status
DNSKEYDNSSEC public keyRFC 40346
RRSIGRRset signatureRFC 40346
DSParent → child DNSSEC linkageRFC 40346
NSEC / NSEC3Proof of non-existenceRFC 4034 / 515567
TLSADNS-based TLS authentication (DANE)RFC 66988

Services and Applications (VoIP, SIP, Service Discovery)

TypeUsageRFC / Status
SRVService location + port (VoIP, SIP, XMPP)RFC 27829
NAPTRURI rewriting and mapping (ENUM, SIP)RFC 340310
SSHFPSSH server key fingerprintsRFC 425511
LOCGeographic coordinatesRFC 187612
URIURI resource mappingRFC 755313
SMIMEAS/MIME certificate via DNSRFC 816214

Zone Administration and Infrastructure

TypeUsageRFC / Status
SOAZone metadata (admin, timers)RFC 10351
NSAuthoritative name serversRFC 10351
PTRReverse DNS (IP → name)RFC 10351

Rare Types

TypeUsageRFC
AFSDBAFS DatabaseRFC 118315
CERTGeneric certificateRFC 439816
RPResponsible PersonRFC 118315
APLAddress Prefix ListRFC 312317
HINFOHost informationRFC 10351

Non-standard / Proprietary

TypeUsage
ANAME / ALIASApex-level aliasing, provider-resolved (non-RFC)
SVCB / HTTPSModern service bindings, progressive adoption

Summary Table

The table below aggregates all DNS record types detailed in the previous sections, indicating their primary usage, DNS standard compliance, and corresponding RFC references.

TypePrimary UsageStandardRFC / Status
AName → IPv4YesRFC 10351
AAAAName → IPv6YesRFC 35962
CNAMEAlias to canonical nameYesRFC 10351
MXMail routingYesRFC 10351
TXTArbitrary data (SPF, DKIM, DMARC…)YesRFC 10351
NSAuthoritative DNS serversYesRFC 10351
SOAZone metadataYesRFC 10351
PTRReverse DNSYesRFC 10351
SRVService + portYesRFC 27829
CAAAuthorized certification authoritiesYesRFC 86595
DSDNSSEC chaining (parent → child)YesRFC 40346
DNSKEYDNSSEC public keysYesRFC 40346
RRSIGDNSSEC signatureYesRFC 40346
NSEC / NSEC3DNSSEC proof of non-existenceYesRFC 4034 / 515567
TLSADANE (TLS via DNSSEC)YesRFC 66988
NAPTRRewriting + service discoveryYesRFC 340310
LOCGeographic coordinatesYesRFC 187612
SSHFPSSH key fingerprintsYesRFC 425511
HTTPS / SVCBModern HTTPS service discoveryYesRFC 9460 / vendor-specific4
ANAMEApex aliasNoVendor-specific
ALIASApex aliasNoVendor-specific
1

RFC 1035 – Domain Names – Implementation and Specification

2

RFC 3596 – DNS Extensions to Support IPv6

3

RFC 6672 – DNAME Redirection in the DNS

4

RFC 9460 – Service Binding (SVCB) and HTTPS RR

5

RFC 8659 – Certification Authority Authorization (CAA)

6

RFC 4034 – Resource Records for the DNS Security Extensions

7

RFC 5155 – DNSSEC NSEC3

8

RFC 6698 – The DNS-Based Authentication of Named Entities (DANE) Protocol

9

RFC 2782 – A DNS RR for Specifying the Location of Services

10

RFC 3403 – Naming Authority Pointer (NAPTR) RR

11

RFC 4255 – Using DNS to Securely Publish SSH Key Fingerprints

12

RFC 1876 – DNS Encoding of Geographic Locations

13

RFC 7553 – The URI DNS Resource Record

14

RFC 8162 – S/MIME Certificate Distribution via DNS

15

RFC 1183 – AFSDB / Responsible Person (RP)

16

RFC 4398 – CERT RR – Certification Authority RR

17

RFC 3123 – Address Prefix List (APL)