You type a website address into your browser and press Enter. Within seconds, the page loads, no questions asked.
At that moment, a natural question arises in the mind of the end user:
“How does a browser know where a website lives?”
More questions quickly follow.
“How does kartikeynarayan.in turn into a real website on a real server?”
“How does an email sent to contact@kartikeynarayan.in reach the correct inbox?”
“Why does blog.kartikeynarayan.in behave differently from the main website?”
All these questions point to concepts that work quietly in the background. Although everything looks simple on the surface, a lot is happening under the hood. The browser needs a clear set of instructions to find the correct destination.
That entire system of instructions is called DNS (Domain Name System). But in this blog our main focus on DNS record types, a critical concept that helps requests reach the right place, whether it’s opening a website, sending an email, or performing any other action on the internet.
Instructions for the Internet
We can think of DNS as the internet’s phonebook, much like the phonebook we have at home. But there’s a catch. If a phone book has no entries, what’s the point of having it at all? That question makes sense and the same logic applies to DNS.
DNS is useful only because it contains entries, and those entries tell the internet what to do. These entries are known as DNS record types. They act as instructions that guide the internet based on the kind of request being made.
Each record type answers a specific question, such as:
“Who manages this domain?”
“What is the IP address of kartikeynarayan.in?”
“Where should emails for this domain be delivered?”
This is one of the most fundamental and important concepts of DNS. You can think of it as the starting point of the race without it, nothing on the internet knows where to go.
Now, a natural question arises:
“How do we set up DNS records?”
Adding Entries to the Internet’s Phonebook
When you buy a domain name like kartikeynarayan.in from GoDaddy, Hostinger, or any other platform, it doesn’t automatically know where your website or emails should go. At first, it’s like an empty phonebook with a name, but no entries. (In some cases, basic default records are set that point back to the provider’s own DNS.)
To make the domain useful, we need to add entries to it. This process is called setting up DNS records. DNS records live on DNS servers and act as instructions for the internet, telling it where to send website requests, emails, and other services.
By configuring the right DNS records, we teach the internet how to handle different types of requests for our domain whether someone is visiting a website, sending an email, or accessing another service.
At this point, a natural question comes to mind:
“How does this flow work when entries are added to the internet’s phonebook?”
How DNS Finds the Right Place?
Now the story reaches a very interesting point, this is where the real work happens behind the scenes.
To understand how DNS finds the right place, we first need to know about the key entries in the internet’s phonebook. These entries are called DNS record types, and they act as instructions that guide requests across the internet.
The most important DNS records are:
Each of these records plays a specific role.
A natural question follows:
“How do these records work together to help DNS resolve requests accurately?”
How DNS Records Work Together?
DNS does not rely on a single record to solve everything. Instead, it works like a team, where each DNS record has a specific responsibility. When these records work together, the internet is able to route requests accurately and efficiently.
Let’s understand this with a simple flow.
When you type a domain name like kartikeynarayan.in into your browser, the internet doesn’t immediately look for the website’s IP address. First, it needs to know who is responsible for managing that domain.
That responsibility is defined by the NS (Name Server) records. NS records tell the internet which DNS servers are authoritative for the domain and where the correct information can be found.
Once the correct DNS server is reached, the browser looks for the A or AAAA records. These records provide the actual IP address of the server where the website is hosted, IPv4 for A records and IPv6 for AAAA records.
Sometimes, a domain doesn’t point directly to an IP address. Instead, it points to another domain name. This is handled by CNAME records, which act like aliases or nicknames. They redirect the request to another domain, which eventually resolves to an A or AAAA record.
Email delivery works in a similar coordinated way. When an email is sent to an address like contact@kartikeynarayan.in, the sending mail server looks for MX (Mail Exchange) records. These records specify which mail servers should receive emails for the domain.
Finally, TXT records support the entire system by providing additional information. Most commonly for verification, security, and domain ownership. Technologies like SPF, DKIM, and domain verification rely heavily on TXT records.
Together, these records form a complete instruction set. Each one answers a different question, and only when all of them work together does DNS function smoothly.
It is a well-organized system of responsibilities, decisions, and clear instructions working behind the scenes.
Big Picture
After understanding all the individual DNS records, the bigger picture becomes clear.
DNS records are simply instructions for the internet. They tell it how to find the right place for a request whether that request is coming from a browser, an email server, or another service.
Each record solves a specific problem so there is no confusion:
NS records define who is responsible for a domain?
A and AAAA records tell browsers where a website lives.
CNAME records act like nicknames.
MX records decide where emails should be delivered.
TXT records are commonly used for verification and domain ownership checks.
Because every record has a clear responsibility, DNS can resolve requests accurately and efficiently.
Once DNS records start making sense:
“Domains stop feeling magical, they become understandable systems.”
And that’s the moment when DNS truly clicks.