{"id":19470,"date":"2022-11-07T10:00:16","date_gmt":"2022-11-07T02:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/?p=19470"},"modified":"2023-03-10T11:46:10","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T03:46:10","slug":"dns-propagation-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/blog\/domain-name\/dns-propagation-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ultimate Guide to DNS: Definition, DNS Propagation, and Premium DNS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most people won\u2019t know it, but DNS serves as a cornerstone of the internet. Without it, you wouldn\u2019t be able to access the websites you are looking for.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s safe to liken DNS, or Domain Name System, to phonebooks. Its primary function is to translate domain names like (<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">www.google.com<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) to IP addresses (8.8.8.8) because computers cannot understand names, they use a string of numbers and letters known as your IP address to display website content in your browser.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a result, when browsing, users no longer need to memorise thousands of number combinations. All you have to do is continue your search while DNS takes care of the rest!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Additionally, DNS allows website owners to move to a new IP address through a process called <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DNS propagation.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> When moving, you can simply update your records without affecting how users find you on the internet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this post, we\u2019re highlighting all things DNS. You\u2019ll learn more about DNS records, how to secure your DNS files, and how premium DNS providers boost the efficiency of your website.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19471 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2022\/10\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5935787-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"dns-propagation\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2022\/10\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5935787-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2022\/10\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5935787-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2022\/10\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5935787-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2022\/10\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5935787.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><em>Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/crop-hacker-typing-on-laptop-with-information-on-screen-5935787\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sora Shimazaki<\/a> via Pexels<\/em><\/p>\n<h4><b>4 types of DNS Records<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DNS records basically serve as maps for websites to the outside world. They contain instructions that provide information about a domain including its IP address and how to handle the access requests sent to them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are <\/span><a style=\"color: #f4662d;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/support\/help\/what-are-the-types-of-dns-records\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">numerous DNS records<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but we\u2019re highlighting the most commonly used ones below:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Address records or A records. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Otherwise known as host records, a website\u2019s DNS A record delegates a specific domain\/subdomain to a static IP address. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Typically, you set two A records to the wildcard (yourbusiness.com) and bare (http:\/\/yourbusiness.com) versions of your domain.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>MX records. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MX (mail exchange) record directs emails sent to addresses connected to a specific domain name. For example, your custom email address is <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">email@yourbusiness.com<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. To start receiving emails on this domain, you\u2019ll need to set up your MX record.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In most cases, your email or hosting provider gives the MX records you need.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>CNAME records. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CNAME, or Canonical Name Record, points to an alias domain address instead of an IP address.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s say you run a site with several subdomains. You want all your subdomains, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">www.yourbusiness.com<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, contact.yourbusiness.com, and blog.yourbusiness.com, to point to the root domain: yourbusiness.com. Rather than creating several A records for each subdomain, you can create CNAME records to link them together. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>TXT records.\u00a0 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TXT records are, you guessed it, text records. You can input both human and machine-readable data into TXT records. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google Verification is the most common use of TXT records. By adding strings of characters to your TXT file, you inform Google and other online services that you are the domain owner.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><b>DNS vs. Nameservers: How they work together<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s common for people to migrate to new hosting providers. Their reasons vary; perhaps they found a more affordable option or received poor service from their previous host.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whatever the reason, when you change web hosts, you must ensure that your visitors can still access your content. At this point, there are two components to consider: DNS and nameservers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We have briefly described DNS earlier. As the designated phone directory of the internet, <\/span><a style=\"color: #f4662d;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/support\/help\/how-does-dns-work\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DNS basically runs all IP network applications<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, from web browsing to email. Without it, web servers wouldn\u2019t be able to communicate through the internet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DNS is commonly interchanged with nameservers. While they do work in tandem, they have separate functions. DNS records hold the information on which IP addresses match a specific domain. Think of it as an individual entry in a phone book.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A nameserver, on the other hand, is the phone book itself. It stores and catalogues individual DNS records and delivers them to end users.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To better illustrate this, let\u2019s say you want to visit CLDY.com. You type the address into your browser which then sends a request to the domain\u2019s nameservers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nameservers respond with the IP address retrieved from the website\u2019s server. From here, your browser requests and retrieves content from that IP address and delivers it to your browser.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>DNS Propagation: Meaning<\/b><b> and Length<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DNS propagation refers to the time frame that comes after making changes to your domain name. Actions like updating your WHOIS information or pointing your site to a new hosting service don\u2019t happen right away. You need to wait a certain period until your record successfully propagates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So now the question comes to mind: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How long does DNS propagation take?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Normally, DNS changes can take between 48 to 72 hours to propagate. The factors listed below could speed up or slow down <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DNS propagation time.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>3 Factors Affecting DNS Propagation Time<\/b><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Time to Live (TTL) Settings.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> When changes are made to your DNS records, it takes time for the Web to take notice. Your TTL settings refer to the time a server caches your DNS settings before it auto-refreshes. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, if you set the TTL for an hour, your web server stores the DNS record locally for that period. Servers around the world store the information for an hour as well, and then remove it to obtain a new DNS request with your <\/span><a style=\"color: #f4662d;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/support\/help\/how-to-update-dns-records-via-cpanel\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">updated DNS record<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s recommended that you keep the TTL setting up to an hour to increase propagation speed. But note that this increases the number of times your nameserver gets queried, affecting your overall website performance. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Internet Service Provider (ISP). <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ISPs rely on caching to increase web browsing speed. For each website you browse, your ISP performs a DNS lookup once, and stores the data locally instead of retrieving updated data from your DNS server. While customers get a better browsing experience, it lengthens the total propagation time. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To speed up <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DNS propagation time,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> try shortening your TTL period to force ISPs to look for any updates in your DNS.\u00a0 <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Domain registry. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When updating your nameserver, the change request is sent over to the registry within minutes. Most registries update the new nameserver records in minutes, but it\u2019s uncommon for some of them to take several hours to days.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some website owners feel frustrated once they hit the 24-hour mark and see that customers are still running your website from your old IP, while other users see the website responding from your new server.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just know that this is totally normal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Run a <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DNS propagation check <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to confirm if your website is completely propagated. Sites like <\/span><a style=\"color: #f4662d;\" href=\"https:\/\/dnschecker.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DNS checker<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a style=\"color: #f4662d;\" href=\"https:\/\/viewdns.info\/propagation\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ViewDNS<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><a style=\"color: #f4662d;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whatsmydns.net\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WhatsMyDNS <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">can run through several DNS records. It\u2019s particularly useful when troubleshooting isolated DNS issues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re done changing DNS settings, see that propagation is complete, but <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">still no changes <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">on your website\u2014you may need to flush your DNS cache.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>What does flush DNS do? Security, Privacy, and Technical Implications<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a nutshell, flushing DNS means emptying your DNS cache. This helps you resolve any technical or security issues with your DNS records.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Note that your DNS cache should automatically clear itself without intervention. But you may want to force a DNS flush for the following reasons:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Technical: You\u2019ve encountered a 404 error. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s say your IPS caches the DNS records of a website that\u2019s since moved to a new hosting provider. Chances are, you\u2019ll see a 404 error pop-up or an outdated version of that website. Flushing your DNS cache can help resolve this issue.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Security: To prevent DNS spoofing. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DNS is a type of cyberattack where hackers access your DNS cache, alter the DNS records, and redirect traffic to a fraudulent site. Flushing your DNS cache helps you clear malicious data out of your system.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Privacy: Privatise search behaviour. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We all know how caching works, it basically stores the information of frequently-visited websites locally. However, some users want to keep certain information\u2014particularly sensitive data like bank details and personal information\u2014away from cybercriminals looking to exploit these data. Hence, it\u2019s good practice to regularly flush your DNS cache.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h4><b>How to flush DNS<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><b>Performing DNS flush on a Windows 10 device<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To execute these actions on Windows, make sure to run the command prompt as an Admin User to allow security permissions.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Right click the start menu and select Command Prompt (Admin)\/ Windows PowerShell (Admin)\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Type in the command ipconfig\/flushdns and hit enter<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You should see the message: <\/span><b>Windows IP Configuration Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><b>Performing DNS flush on Mac OS<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Open Spotlight Search or hit the command then the space button and type <\/span><b>Terminal. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Open click Terminal to open it.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Type: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sudo dscacheutil -flushcache;sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and hit enter. You\u2019ll be prompted to provide your password.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Press enter to complete the action.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can do a DNS cache as often as you want without any effect on your system. If a website or DNS-related issue persists, at least you\u2019ve crossed out a potential cause.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Premium DNS Service<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Given the rapid digital adoption around the world, securing your DNS files is more important than ever.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While flushing your DNS is a good step to prevent DNS spoofing, you can go one step further with a Premium DNS service. Premium DNS improves your website\u2019s overall performance and security.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Premium DNS offers protection against distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDoS). These types of cyberattacks overwhelm your server with fake internet traffic to prevent users from accessing it. The goal of these attacks is to extort money from the victims.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Speed is another advantage of Premium DNS. Because Premium DNS runs on a global cloud network, users can benefit from high availability and low latency delivery times.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>The Bottom Line<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hopefully, this ultimate guide answers all your questions about DNS and DNS propagation. If you\u2019re looking to <a style=\"color: #f4662d;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/domain-transfer\/\">transfer your domain<\/a> or web hosting to a more reliable and high-performing provider, look no further than CLDY.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CLDY is one of the fastest and most powerful <\/span><a style=\"color: #f4662d;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hosting solutions providers in Singapore<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Not only do you get the speed and security your website deserves, but CLDY also offers a seamless onboarding process.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most people won\u2019t know it, but DNS serves as a cornerstone of the internet. Without it, you wouldn\u2019t be able to access the websites you are looking for.\u00a0 It\u2019s safe to liken DNS, or Domain Name System, to phonebooks. Its primary function is to translate domain names like (www.google.com) to IP addresses (8.8.8.8) because computers [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":19489,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-domain-name"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19470"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21944,"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19470\/revisions\/21944"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cldy.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}