What is an A Record?

A records for DNS

A “record” is a type of DNS entry that simply indicates which IP address corresponds to a domain name. For A records, the A simply means _address.

This type of DNS record indicates the IP address (in IPv4 format) associated with a domain name. When a user tries to connect to a website, his browser searches for the corresponding A record via the DNS.

To do this, the browser first sends a query. If a record exists, the server hosting the site will send information about the IP address to connect to.

DNS A records are also at the heart of DNS-based blacklists (DNSBL). These lists compile IP addresses associated with malicious operations (such as spam). Email providers rely on these lists to automatically report these IP addresses as spam.

Updated on: 22/03/2023