DNS Zone: A Brief Explanation

 What is understood by a DNS Zone?

A DNS Zone refers to the administrative part of the Domain Name System (DNS) that directs Internet traffic to the location that is correct. It is the domain namespace’s distinct part, which is delegated to and maintained by a specific legal entity (an individual or an organization). It serves as an administrative function to enable DNS components’ control.

A Domain Name System converts domain names that are in a form that can be understood by humans into IP addresses that can be comprehended by machines. DNS consists of various zones, which exist as specifically managed areas in the DNS namespace. A portion of the DNS namespace that is managed by a particular administrator or organization is referred to as a DNS zone. This administrative space enables greater control over DNS components.

The domain name space can be understood as a hierarchical tree, in which the topmost position is occupied by the DNS root domain. It is within this hierarchical tree that a DNS zone starts at a certain domain. It can extend into subdomains, which enable the management of multiple subdomains by a single entity. DNS zones might not be separated from one another physically. The use of zones is for ensuring delegation control. Additionally, it is not right to associate a DNS zone with a single DNS server or a domain name. A DNS zone can have multiple subdomains. Moreover, many zones can coexist on a server.

What is a DNS Zone File?

Every information regarding a zone is maintained in a DNS zone file, which is a plain text file that is stored in a DNS server. An actual representation of the zone is contained in this file. It has every domain’s records that is within the zone. A DNS zone file aids in understanding the operation of a DNS zone. Zone files start with an SOA (Start of Authority) record. It has important information that includes the zone administrator’s contact information. Mappings among domain names, IP addresses and other resources are contained in such a file. This information is organized in the form of resource records (RR).

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What are the DNS zone file types?

Zone files can be of two types. One of these is a DNS Primary File. It describes a zone authoritatively. The other one is a DNS Cache File. The contents of a DNS cache are listed in it.

 What is the structure of a DNS zone file?

A DNS Zone file begins with two records that are mandatory. One of these is a Global Time to Live (TTL). How records should be contained in local DNS cache, is specified by it. The other one is Start of Authority (SOA) record. The DNS zone’s primary authoritative name server is specified by it.

Apart from these two mandatory records, any number of resource records can be contained in the zone file. Some of these will be mentioned now. There is the Name Server records (NS). The NS specifies the delegation of a specific DNS Zone to a specific authoritative name server. Then there is the IPv4 Address Mapping records (A) and the IPv6 Address records (AAAA). Canonical Name records (CNAME) is another resource record that points a hostname to an alias. Last but not the least is the Mail exchanger record (MX), which specifies an SMTP email server for the domain.

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