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A Records (IPv4)

A Records (IPv4)

An A (Address) record maps a domain name to an IPv4 address, allowing browsers and other clients to locate the server hosting a website or service. This is the most fundamental DNS record type for connecting human-readable domain names to machine-readable IP addresses.

Common Uses

Pointing a domain (example.com) to a web server's IPv4 address

Creating subdomains that resolve to specific servers (blog.example.com, mail.example.com)

Load balancing by returning multiple A records for the same domain (round-robin DNS)

Valid Settings

Any valid IPv4 address in dotted-decimal notation (e.g., 192.0.2.1). Values must be in the range 0.0.0.0 to 255.255.255.255. Multiple A records can exist for the same hostname.

History

A records were defined in RFC 1035 in 1987 as part of the original DNS specification by Paul Mockapetris. They remain the primary method for IPv4 address resolution and are the most commonly queried DNS record type.

Maps the domain to IPv4 addresses.

Address	Name	TTL
216.239.34.10	ns2.google.com	342134s

AAAA Records (IPv6)

AAAA Records (IPv6)

An AAAA (quad-A) record maps a domain name to an IPv6 address, serving the same purpose as A records but for the newer 128-bit IPv6 addressing system. As IPv4 addresses become exhausted, AAAA records are increasingly important for modern internet infrastructure.

Common Uses

Enabling IPv6 connectivity for websites and services

Dual-stack configuration where both A and AAAA records exist for the same domain

Future-proofing infrastructure as the internet transitions from IPv4 to IPv6

Valid Settings

Any valid IPv6 address in colon-hexadecimal notation (e.g., 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334 or shortened as 2001:db8:85a3::8a2e:370:7334). Addresses are 128 bits represented as eight groups of four hexadecimal digits.

History

AAAA records were defined in RFC 3596 in 2003 to support IPv6 addressing. The name 'AAAA' was chosen because IPv6 addresses are four times larger than IPv4 addresses (128 bits vs 32 bits).

Maps the domain to IPv6 addresses.

Address	Name	TTL
2001:4860:4802:34:0:0:0:a	ns2.google.com	342723s

PTR Records (Reverse DNS)

PTR Records (Reverse DNS)

A PTR (Pointer) record performs reverse DNS lookup by mapping an IP address back to a hostname, essentially the opposite of A and AAAA records. PTR records are stored in special reverse lookup zones.

Common Uses

Email server verification (many mail servers reject email from IPs without valid PTR records)

Network troubleshooting and logging (converting IP addresses to readable hostnames)

Security and abuse investigations (identifying the organization behind an IP address)

Valid Settings

A fully qualified domain name (FQDN) that the IP address resolves to. PTR records are stored in reverse zones: IPv4 uses '.in-addr.arpa' (e.g., 1.2.0.192.in-addr.arpa for 192.0.2.1).

History

PTR records were defined in RFC 1035 in 1987 as part of the original DNS specification. Reverse DNS became increasingly important in the 1990s for email verification and spam prevention.

Pointer records mapping IP addresses back to hostnames.

Hostname	Name	TTL
ns2.google.com	10.34.239.216.in-addr.arpa	77727s

Type	Value	Name	TTL
PTR	ns2.google.com	10.34.239.216.in-addr.arpa	77727
A	216.239.34.10	ns2.google.com	342134
AAAA	2001:4860:4802:34:0:0:0:a	ns2.google.com	342723

Your IP: 216.73.216.115

About DNSApe

DNSApe is a fast, no-nonsense network diagnostics toolkit built for developers, sysadmins, and security researchers.

Version History

2.0 - 2025-12-19

Complete rewrite

Rebuilt with Laravel 12, Livewire 3, and Tailwind CSS 4
Live ping monitoring with real-time Chart.js visualization
Email Security tool: SPF, DKIM, DMARC validation
REST API with JSON responses (60 req/min)
MCP server for AI assistant integration (Claude, ChatGPT, etc.)
Slack integration with /dns, /whois, /ssl slash commands
Help tooltips explaining each tool and record type
Shareable ping sessions with unique URLs
Pretty/Raw view toggle with persistent preference
Browser-based ping for client-side latency testing
Enhanced WHOIS with domain + IP info combined
Improved SSL certificate error handling
Full-width responsive layout

Version 2.1 with performance improvements and bug fixes coming soon.

1.1.3 - 2019-04-30

Moved to new infrastructure, resolving most DNS Traversal issues
Replaced RBL with SSL validation tool

1.1.2 - 2019-04-17

Fixed DNS Traversal issue causing many requests to fail

1.1.1 - 2019-04-16

Minor UI adjustments
Added links to lookups in DNS results
Updated dependencies
Increased session timeout to 1 week to eliminate 419 errors
Updated IP address display
Removed dnsape.com as default lookup

1.1 - 2019-02-15

Several UI adjustments
Dark mode setting is persistent between sessions via cookie
Added GDPR cookie banner for session cookies
Added tool to show client IP in lookup field (settings menu)
Keyboard shortcuts for tools, focusing, text size, copying URLs
Shareable lookup URLs - browser address changes with tool usage
Added links to Github repo and feature voting
Several error handling and bug fixes

1.0.7 - 2019-01-11

Fixed HTTP Headers issue with multiple HTTPS redirects

1.0.6 - 2019-01-09

HTTP Headers now forward to and display HTTPS headers
UI adjustments

1.0.5 - 2019-01-08

Dark Mode!

1.0.4 - 2019-01-07

TLD and subdomain validation fixes

1.0.3 - 2019-01-06

Updated DNS Cache host list
IP address validation improvements
Fixed progress bar bug with failed queries
UI adjustments

1.0.2 - 2019-01-05

IPWhois and Ping now work with IP addresses as well as hostnames
Several validation enhancements reduce errors for many lookups
Several UI adjustments

1.0.1 - 2019-01-04

Added Recent Updates panel
Fixed Whois search for many TLDs
Fixed DNS Traversal for many TLDs
Changed to fluid viewport width
Added Privacy Policy

1.0 - 2019-01-02

Initial release