{"id":29026,"date":"2022-08-02T09:41:50","date_gmt":"2022-08-02T09:41:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/easydmarc.com\/blog\/?p=29026"},"modified":"2026-03-13T10:01:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T10:01:03","slug":"what-is-soa-record-in-dns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/easydmarc.com\/blog\/what-is-soa-record-in-dns\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is SOA Record In DNS?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this post we will explain SOA DNS record.<\/strong> DNS<\/a> records are a set of instructions that reside on DNS servers. They include information about a domain and tell servers how to execute DNS requests for it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve discussed several <\/span>types of DNS records<\/span><\/a>, including the <\/span>A record<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>NS record<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>DNS MX record<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>TXT record<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>CNAME record<\/span><\/a>. In this post, we\u2019ll introduce you to SOA records in the DNS. Let\u2019s begin with one question:, <\/span>What is the DNS SOA record<\/b>?<\/span><\/p>\n

What is the SOA Record and Why Do You Need It?<\/b><\/h2>\n

SOA is an acronym for Start of Authority, and it\u2019s a type of DNS record that contains important information about a DNS zone, including the administrator\u2019s email address, server refreshing timeframe, and the last time a domain was updated.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You need to properly configure an SOA record in your DNS to conform with the IETF (Internet and Engineering Task Force) standards. These records are also required during zone transfers. When transferring zones, you need to send the DNS records from a primary server to a secondary server. During this process, the first record you must send is the SOA record. Your domain won\u2019t work properly and a <\/span>DNS Lookup<\/span> can\u2019t occur without DNS <\/span>SOA records<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is a Zone Serial Number?<\/b><\/h2>\n

The DNS zone is a particular segment of the DNS namespace. This can include a single domain, a single domain and multiple subdomains, or several domain names.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A zone serial number is a version number for your DNS domain. The zone serial number in the SERIAL segment is indicated in the below structure. When the serial number changes, the secondary server will know there are changes, and request a zone transfer.<\/span><\/p>\n

The SOA Record Structure<\/b><\/h2>\n

A <\/span>DNS SOA record<\/b><\/a> contains vital information about a particular DNS zone or domain. This record is formatted in a structure that both servers and browsers can understand. Below is an example of an SOA record.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
name<\/span><\/td>\nmywebsite.com<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
record type<\/span><\/td>\nSOA<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MNAME<\/span><\/td>\nns.primaryserver.com<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RNAME<\/span><\/td>\nadmin.mywebsite.com<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SERIAL<\/span><\/td>\n121222321<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
REFRESH<\/span><\/td>\n46800<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RETRY<\/span><\/td>\n6200<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
EXPIRE<\/span><\/td>\n3000000<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TTL<\/span><\/td>\n36000<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Let\u2019s explain the format in the above SOA record structure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n