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A domain name server is a DNS server that stores or supplies information for a domain or DNS zone. The term often refers specifically to an authoritative name server, which provides the definitive DNS records for a domain. A recursive resolver has a different job: it finds an answer for a device by querying DNS servers or using cached information.
What does a domain name server do?
DNS translates domain names into information computers can use to connect to online services. A domain’s DNS records can identify, for example, the server associated with its web address. A name server stores or serves information about a domain or a part of DNS called a zone.
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In domain registrar and DNS-hosting settings, “nameservers” usually means the authoritative servers for the domain. They identify the DNS service that holds and answers for the domain’s records. Cloudflare, for example, uses “nameserver” to mean its authoritative servers: Cloudflare DNS concepts.
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These two kinds of DNS server perform different roles. AWS defines an authoritative name server as having definitive information about part of DNS; a resolver acts as an intermediary for user requests and queries name servers to obtain answers (AWS Route 53 concepts).
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| Role | What it does | Typical user |
|---|---|---|
| Authoritative name server | Serves definitive DNS records for its zone. | A domain owner configures it for the domain, often through a DNS-hosting provider. |
| Recursive resolver | Handles a client’s DNS request, querying other servers as needed or returning a usable cached answer. | A device or network uses it to look up domain names. |
So, “DNS server” can describe either role, depending on context. The resolver is usually the first DNS server a client contacts; the authoritative server supplies the record for the relevant zone.
How a domain name lookup works
When a resolver does not already have a usable cached answer, a typical lookup proceeds through the DNS hierarchy. The resolver, rather than the browser necessarily contacting every server itself, follows these steps (Cloudflare: What is a DNS server?):
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- The client asks a recursive resolver for information about a domain name.
- The resolver asks a root name server where to find the server for the relevant top-level domain, such as the server responsible for a TLD.
- The resolver asks that TLD server which authoritative server handles the domain.
- The resolver asks the authoritative server for the requested DNS record, then returns the answer to the client.
This is a typical uncached path, not a requirement that every web request contact all of those servers. A resolver may already have the answer stored, and some records, such as aliases, can lead to further lookups.
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Recursive resolvers can keep DNS answers in a cache and reuse them, so they do not have to repeat the full lookup for every request. A record’s time to live (TTL) sets how long a caching server may retain that record. Once the relevant cached answer expires, the resolver needs to obtain current information again (ICANN-hosted Introduction to the DNS; Cloudflare: What is a DNS server?).
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This is why a DNS change may not show up immediately for everyone: resolvers can continue using earlier answers while those answers remain within their cache lifetime.
What DNSSEC adds—and what it does not
DNS by itself does not give a resolver strong assurance that an answer came from the correct source and was not altered. DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) adds data-origin authentication and integrity checks using digital signatures. For validation to work along the lookup path, the relevant zones must be signed and the resolver must validate the chain.
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DNSSEC is not automatic: network operators must enable validation at recursive resolvers, and domain owners must enable DNSSEC for their authoritative zones. It authenticates DNS data; it does not encrypt the DNS query or hide the domain being requested. See ICANN’s DNSSEC explainer.
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If you own a domain and need to publish or change its DNS records, the relevant service is its authoritative DNS hosting. Your devices and network, meanwhile, use a recursive resolver to look up names. Managed DNS hosting is one way to have a provider host and serve a domain’s authoritative records.
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