A record facts for kids
Imagine the internet is a huge city with millions of buildings. Each building has a street address, but it also has a name, like "The Big Library" or "Fun Games Arcade." On the internet, websites have names like "example.com" (called a domain name) and also numerical addresses, like "192.0.2.1" (called an IP address).
An A record is like a signpost that connects a building's name to its street address. It's a special entry in the internet's "phone book," known as the Domain Name System (DNS). This record tells computers which IP address belongs to a specific domain name.
What is an A Record?
An A record is a fundamental part of how the internet works. It's a type of DNS record that links a domain name to an IP address. Specifically, it links to an IPv4 address, which is a 32-bit number.
How A Records Work
When you type a website address into your browser, your computer needs to find the server where that website is stored. It can't use the name directly. Instead, it uses the IP address.
- Your computer asks the DNS for the IP address of the domain name you typed.
- The DNS looks up the A record for that domain.
- The A record provides the correct IP address.
- Your computer then uses this IP address to connect to the website's server.
Think of it like calling a friend. You know their name, but your phone needs their phone number to connect. The A record gives your computer the "phone number" for the website.
One Domain, Many A Records
A single domain name can have many A records. This means different parts of a website can point to different IP addresses.
For example:
- The domain example.com might have an A record for www.example.com that points to the IP address 127.0.0.1. This is where the main website lives.
- It could also have another A record for mail.example.com that points to a different IP address, like 127.0.0.2. This IP address would be for the email server.
This flexibility allows websites to organize their services across different servers.
Related pages
The domain name RFC
