In this guide we will help you to understand what exactly an "AAAA Record" is.
For more information on how to manage your DNS settings, please see our article on "How To Change DNS Settings."
What’s An AAAA Record?
An AAAA record is similar in its concept to an A record in that it links the domain name for your website to the IP address of the computer hosting your website. However, where the two types of records differ is that an AAAA record allows you to specify which version of your domain address is recorded. While the A record provides the IPv4, the AAAA record provides the IPv6 address for your server.
The main difference between the two types of domain addresses is that the IPv4 is 32-bit, while the IPv6 is 128-bit, with the latter offering a larger space for your address. AAAA records are currently growing in popularity, and even if your domain name is given an IPv6 address, it can still be queried in IPv4, offering the best of both worlds.
Just as you can use an A record for multiple domain names to give you added redundancy, AAAA records are just as versatile, except they can hold larger addresses. If you have multiple domain names all linked to a single address, each will need its own AAAA record pointing all queries to the same IP address.
AAAA Record Format
Again, similarly to A records, the AAAA record follows standard top-level formatting. This includes:
The 128-bit IP address for IPv6.
The resource records (RR) type and RR class of the domain.
The 32-bit time-to-live (TTL) integer timing, again with a zero value preventing the source information from being cached, only allowing it to be used when the transaction is in progress.
The RDATA, which in an AAAA record represents the 128-bit domain name for the IPv6 website address.
All of this is available in the AAAA record, allowing you to query the name of the domain for the website the record pertains to, the TTL for cached information and the relevant IP address for the computer hosting the website and its domain.
Manage AAAA records
Whoever is hosting your website, whether that is an external company or a computer your personally own, can manage your AAAA records for any domain names you have. Again, like an A record for a website, you are able to edit your AAAA record.
This includes things like creating new records for new addresses, removing ones from your AAAA record that you are no longer using and updating your records if new domains or addresses are added to your specific IPv6 address.
Need help?
If you have any problems following this guide or modifying your DNS settings, please contact our team here.