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General Discussion

Posted by Joe Consterdine
Joe Consterdine
13,965 Points

Why Would You Use A Records Instead Of Name Servers?

Hi guys,

so normally I grab my nameservers from my hosting and point them to the domain I would like on my domain host.

But what about A records? I understand that they point a domain to a certain IP address... but when would you use this instead of just using name servers?

Also what if I found out someone elses IP address? Could I not just point my domain to that IP address and thus it show someone elses site?

If someone could provide examples that would be great!

Thanks :)

1 Answer

Anthony Babich
Anthony Babich
5,505 Points
Anthony Babich
Anthony Babich
5,505 Points

Hey!

I'll try to break it down;

A record is a database entry of an IP for a website, giving instructions to the persons browser which sends a request to the DNS and returns a location on where to go to get to the website.

Browser -> DNS -> Does this site have an A(ddress) Record -> If true return address -> If false contact next DNS

So if you want to change the location of your domain, you'll need to change the nameservers.