What is DNS Propagation? How Much Time Does It Take?

This article will give you an idea of what DNS propagation is and how much time does DNS propagation takes? So let’s start our discussion.

Before going to our main topic let’s see what is DNS and the working of it.

What Is DNS And How Does It Work?

A DNS or Domain Name System (DNS) is a system to translate a name such as (www.facebook.com) into an IP address such as 192.168.1.1 (in IPv4), or more complicated more modern alphanumeric IP addresses such as 2352:ab07:1028:1c::c519:47a2 (in IPv6).

While visiting a website, your device or machine requests your local DNS server for the address. In case you haven’t visited the website recently, then it will need to forward the request to the server liable for managing it.

On obtaining a result, it is stored or saved locally in a DNS cache to boost up future requests. The amount of time it is stored varies on the configured Time to Live (TTL).

Functions of DNS Servers

DNS servers can handle one or both of two basic functions: DNS host and resolver.

DNS hosts contain the zones for their domains and respond to the requests with the records from the zones for those domains. Whenever a modification or changes are done to the zone, you are doing modifications or changes on the host.

A resolver is a DNS server that will send requests to other DNS servers for the records from their zones in an effort to respond to the requests that it obtains. These kinds of requests are described as recursive requests.

While you connect to the internet via your Internet Service Provider (ISP), your ISP will offer you two or more resolvers that will be liable for managing the recursive DNS requests sent by your machine or computer while you surf on the internet.

Now let’s move ahead to see what DNS propagation is.

What Is DNS Propagation?

Generally, DNS propagation is a term used to describe the time frame after doing any modifications to your domain name. DNS propagation time can range from a few minutes to 48 hours or longer.

Technically DNS doesn’t propagate, however, this is the term people got used to. Requests are forwarded from the locally utilized resolver to the authoritative nameserver on-demand then are cached to boost up future DNS lookups.

For some major famous sites, the results may be cached for people in various parts of the world. If you currently did some modifications to your configuration, this might signify that few people will be obtaining old results till the TTL (Time to Live) expires.

DNS Caching and Browser Caching

DNS Caching

Several computers cache DNS that can make the computer recognize the old IP address for up to 48 hours till the next time DNS gets updated. In case your computer is caching the DNS, it may be feasible to flush the DNS on your computer. Hence, it will look up the IP address for the domain again.

Browser Caching

Though browser caching is not related to DNS, browser caching can yet be a reason you see old page content even after modifying your DNS. Browsers usually cache a copy of the page content previously seen by the browser. You simply need to clear the cache to obtain a fresh copy from the server.

Additionally, you can also have a look at this blog post Tutorial to Solve DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_ NXDOMAIN error in Google Chrome

Few Types Of DNS Records

Some of the common types of DNS records are:

A – The most common type, is utilized to direct/ point to an IP address.
CNAME – Canonical name, they point to other records.
MX – Mail Exchanger, these are utilized to set email servers and their preference.
NS – Nameserver, they store the authoritative nameserver.
TXT – Text, generally utilized for configuration settings.