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DNS & Technical 9 min read Updated 2026-07-23

DNS Management Guide: A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT & Nameserver Propagation

Mastering Zone Records, TTL Caching & Email Deliverability Protocols

Key Takeaways

  • Nameservers (NS records) delegate authoritative control of your domain's DNS zone.
  • A records map domains to IPv4 addresses; AAAA records map to modern IPv6 addresses.
  • CNAME records create aliases but cannot be placed at the root zone apex without CNAME flattening.
  • TXT records are essential for email deliverability protocols including SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
  • Time to Live (TTL) dictates how long recursive resolvers cache DNS responses before re-querying origin servers.

Essential DNS Record Types

A Record: Maps a hostname to an IPv4 address.

AAAA Record: Maps a hostname to a 128-bit IPv6 address.

CNAME: Creates an alias pointing to another canonical domain name.

MX: Routes incoming emails with specified priority levels.

TXT: Stores SPF, DKIM, and DMARC verification records for email deliverability.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Common Questions

What TTL should I use before a server migration?

Set your TTL to 300 seconds (5 minutes) at least 24 hours prior to a planned migration. Once the move is complete and verified, restore TTL to 3600 or 86400.