A record
Maps a hostname to an IPv4 address. The most fundamental record on the internet: without it, a name points nowhere.
What one looks like
example.com. 3600 IN A 93.184.216.34
Things worth knowing
- Multiple A records for one name are normal — that is round-robin load balancing.
- A CDN will return different addresses depending on where the query came from, so two people can both be right about "the" IP.
- The TTL controls how long resolvers cache it; lower it before a migration.
Look up a real A record
Query any domain live and see every record type with its TTL.