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DNS Definitions
PURPOSE
The purpose of this guide is to create a resource for the domain name systems and its
DNS records.

DOMAIN NAME SYSTEM (DNS)

DNS stands for domain name system. It is how the internet sorts and directs servers and
computers to resources and information for every routable domain. DNS records are the
reason why the internet works. Domains are purchased from registrars. Whoever
purchases the domain is the registrant.

ANATOMY OF A DOMAIN

Above is a normal URL, and each part of the URL is essential to how the website is
discovered and how data is transferred between systems. These are the descriptions for
the URL components:

Component Definition

Protocol Http stands for hypertext transfer protocol. It refers to how data is exchanged
between your computer and the server. The “s” in https stands for secure.

Domain The “juliuspringles” part is considered the domain name. It is the part of a
Name domain purchase you have unlimited choices of naming.

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 Component Definition

Subdomain Anything in front of the domain name separated by a period is considered a

subdomain. Subdomains are commonly seen like this:
support.juliuspringles.com

Top-level The TLD is the top-level hierarchy for domains. When your computer goes out
Domain (TLD) to find the location of a URL it starts its search with the TLD servers, and then
within those servers it finds the domain name. That is why it is referred to as
the top-level in the hierarchy, because it is the first location your computer
goes to find a domain name. Common TLDs are .com, .edu, and .org.

Root Domain The root domain is the combination of the domain name and the TLD. Most
people refer to this simply as, “the domain.”

DNS RECORDS
A domain can have services and resources associated with it, such as email and websites. The way
the internet finds a domain’s resources is by using DNS records to direct them. Once the domain
name has been found, the system looks to Name Servers, the location of the DNS records, to find
the records that it needs to continue its journey.

ICANN
A non-profit organization that helps coordinate the Domain Name System (DNS). ICANN tracks
domain purchases and activity while registering the name of the person or business who bought
the domain. Privacy measures can be added to ensure the name and address of the person is not
on the world wide web. Reference ICANN Homepage for more information.

DNS Record Definitions and their Relationship to Microsoft 365

In the table below, are a list of DNS records, their purpose, and their relationship with Microsoft
365’s services. Reference External Domain Name System records for Office 365 for DNS record
values and more information.

Record
Purpose Relationship to Microsoft 365
Type

A record The A record contains the information for An A record is only required by
the domain’s IP address. It works as the M365 services when a customer is
translation between words to numbers and is using M365’s Single Sign-On.

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 used for IPv4 addresses. An IPv6 address
requires an AAAA record.
Record
Purpose
Type
CNAME Canonical Name records or CNAME
record records can be thought of as forwarding
records. It maps one domain name, such
as an alias, to another domain or, canonical
domain. If a person creates a CNAME
record for mail.juliuspringles.com (alias) it
will then resolve or redirect to
portal.office.com (canonical name).
MX record Mail Exchanger records or MX records
contain who the mail host is for the
domain, so mail can be routed to that host
for further distribution.
TXT record Text records or TXT records don’t impact a
domain’s function but provide text that is
valuable information about the domain
itself, like the Sender Policy Framework
(SPF) record, domain’s setup, or other
services associated with the domain.
SRV record Service record or SRV records define
locations and transfer protocols for
services.
NS record Name Server or NS records are managed
by the registrar. The NS record determines
who is hosting or managing a domain’s
DNS records.
Updated 03/10/2021 Microsoft © 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Relationship to Microsoft 365
There are five CNAME records
within M365. Two are for M365
multi-factor authentication, two
are for Teams sign-in capabilities,
and the last is for Autodiscover.
Autodiscover allows Outlook
desktop client to automatically
find Exchange and configure the
account properly.
M365 can host email. MX records
pointed to M365 use the Exchange
service to manage a tenant’s
email.
TXT records are used to validate
domain ownership when adding a
domain. The TXT record for SPF is
important because it is used by
recipient email systems to validate
the server sending a tenant’s mail
is the approved one, this is called
spoofing.
Two SRV records are used in M365
for Teams by coordinating
connection and information flow.
NS records can be pointed to
M365 so DNS records can be
automatically configured. But it is
not recommended for customers
who have other services reliant on
the domain, like a website.
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 Domain Domain Connect is a process used to add Domain Connect along Microsoft
Connect DNS records automatically. 365 to auto-populate DNS records
when signing into Microsoft 365.
Name Name servers works as an address that A name server can be changed
Servers points to where your DNS records are
located

DNS AND DOMAIN AUTHENTICATION SECURITY

Component Definition

Sender Policy SPF is an email authentication protocol designed to detect and block email
Framework spoofing and verify that incoming mail from a specific domain comes from an
(SPF) IP address authorized by its administrators.
DomainKeys DKIM is an email authentication tool that uses private and public keys to
Identified Mail validate a specific domain sent the email.
(DKIM)
Domain-Based DMARC is an added authentication method that determines whether an email
Message is authentic or not. Both SPF and DKIM must pass for DMARC to work.
Authentication,
Reporting, and
Conformance
(DMARC)

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