How to check DNS propagation?

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Through time, all businesses require changes to DNS records. But even you make such modifications fast, they won’t be visible immediately. This can be a bit frustrating, especially in urgent cases. Besides, taking too long could point to an issue. In any case, you will have to check how it is going.

Basics of DNS propagation.

DNS propagation is the time that it takes for DNS changes to be fully updated across the Internet.

Remember that modifications to DNS records can be made only on the authoritative DNS nameserver. And currently, most networks are really large. They integrate many servers, machines with different purposes, and all of them can be spread globally. 

With this image in mind, you can easily understand why changes, small or big ones, take time to be completed. They have to be updated on plenty of machines! 

Additionally, the process can face obstacles that can delay it even more. For instance, the DNS cache of the network’s servers. It totally contributes to making the network more agile, but it can delay the DNS propagation. They keep the most updated version of DNS records, during the time the TTL (time-to-live) each has configured remains valid. Once the TTL expires, recursive servers naturally will look for the last update. In other words, they won’t look for the update exactly at the moment you made DNS changes, but when their TTL points zero seconds.

DNS propagation – fully explained

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Zone transfer: What is it and how does it work?

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Today we will talk about zone transfer. First, we will explain its purpose and how it functions. Then we will explore what a zone file is, and for the final note, we will see the zone transfer vulnerability’s effects. So, let’s start.

Zone transfer: Definition

Duplicating DNS records from the Master DNS zone to the Backup DNS zone is the procedure known as zone transfer. This gives you the option to duplicate your DNS records on various alternative name servers. You will have higher availability as a result of finishing the transfer if one of the name servers fails. Additionally, faster DNS resolution will be advantageous if you run a worldwide website with users from all over the world and numerous presence locations (PoPs).

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TXT record – Definition and details

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Today we will explore the TXT record. It is an exciting and helpful DNS record type. So, first, we will define its purpose and then move to the importance of implementing it. And the final stage of our article is to review what the TXT record looks like (its structure). So, without further ado, let’s get down to business.

Definition of TXT record

A TXT record is a DNS record that exposes text data to sources outside of your domain. Many TXT records can be found in a top-level domain name. Human-readable facts on servers, networks, databases, and other IT information are frequent in TXT records. Sender Policy Framework (SPF), DomainKeys (DK), and DomainKeys Identified E-mail (DKIM) are some of the applications for TXT records.

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​DNS zone file: Explained for beginners

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In extremely short, the DNS zone file is the DNS information that includes all your DNS records about your domain that you keep on your Primary authoritative name server and you copy on your Secondary name servers. If you want to know more about the DNS zone file, go on and read the rest of this article.

​DNS zone file definition

All the information (all the DNS records, a.k.a resource records) for a DNS zone are saved on a file called DNS zone file. 

It is a text file that is hosted inside the Primary authoritative name server. Inside it, you have all the resource records’ text listed in a sequence (line-orientated entries). 

Inside the file, there are some control entries that are called directives, and they are presented by a dollar sign and its name. Examples of directives are:

  • $ORIGIN – shows the domain name that is used as the origin for further subsets of domain names. 
  • $INCLUDE – Shows which files to include too. It can add other origin domain names. 
  • $TTL – a default TTL value for the file itself. 
  • $GENERATE – non-standard extension to insert multiple resource records with a single entry.

If you need more detailed info, check this article about DNS zone file!

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How does DNSSEC work?

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If you are browsing for what DNSSEC is and how it works, you came to the right place. In this article, we will focus on its primary purpose and its benefits. So, let’s explain it.

What does DNSSEC mean?

DNSSEC is a collection of protocols and specifications for securing the Domain Name System and its associated activities. From lookups to data transmission, it’s all here.

Authenticated denial of existence, cryptographic authentication of DNS information, and information integrity are all provided by these enhancements to DNS resolvers.

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) invented it. Because the Domain Name System was not designed with security in mind from the start. Different vulnerabilities were discovered early on in its utilization. After that, DNSSEC was created. The creators picked the extension format for this system to make it easier to integrate with the existing DNS infrastructure.

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IPv4: Advantages and disadvantages

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If you’re searching on the Internet for what IPv4 is, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll take a look at what its purpose is and what its main advantages and disadvantages are.

IPv4 – definition

IPv4 is the fourth iteration of the Internet Protocol and a widely used protocol for data exchange over various types of networks. In packet-switched layer networks, such as Ethernet, Internet Protocol version 4 is a connectionless protocol. Instead, it establishes a logical connection between network devices by assigning each one a unique identifier. Depending on the type of network, there are a variety of ways to configure IP version 4 with various devices, including manual and automatic configurations.

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Anycast DNS – Complete breakdown

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What is Anycast DNS?

Anycast DNS is a form of communication or routing technology that allows you to send and receive data quickly. One IP address can be entered into several DNS servers around the world using this method. Any of them has the ability to react to the request. The goal is for the server that is nearest to the user in terms of distance to respond. This significantly speeds up the response time.

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Popular ways for using Dynamic DNS

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What does Dynamic DNS mean?

Dynamic DNS, also commonly called Dyn DNS or DDNS, is a great technology that helps with auto-updating the name servers. Every time when the IP address (IPv4 or IPv6) changes for some reason, that beneficial service is going to refresh the DNS records – A record and AAAA record.

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Dig command – the best tool for testing your DNS

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Dig command – What is it?

Domain information groper is the full name of the Dig command that is a simple built-in command used for various DNS probing. One of the main advantages it has it’s that you can use it on most Linux distros and any macOS computer. The Dig command allows you to perform quick checks of your DNS in a very simple way. For instance, you can view a specific DNS record or check a name server. You just have to open the Terminal app on your device. It has a command-line interface (CLI), which shows you all of the needed data in its output.

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Most commonly used DNS record types [Full List]

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There are many DNS record types. Of course, some of them are not applied so frequently. But, on the other hand, several DNS record types are essential for almost every DNS zone. So, let’s check out which they are and what their purpose is!

Additional DNS record types every beginner should know

SOA record 

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