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Authoritative name server

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Authoritative name server

A server that answers authoritatively for names in its zones.

Reading time:: 5 min
Difficulty:: Intermediate
Estimated duration:: 5 min
Prerequisites:: DNS
Last updated:: 2026-07-15
Author:: empire

Definition

Authoritative servers hold zone data and return authoritative answers for those names.

Prerequisites

DNSDomain Name System — the lookup fabric email authentication depends on.

DNSDomain Name System — the lookup fabric email authentication depends on.
Recursive resolverA resolver that performs iterative lookups and typically caches answers.

PreviousDNS propagation NextRecursive resolver

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