Glossary
DNS
Recursive resolver
The server that does the work of finding an answer on a client’s behalf, walking from the root and caching what it learns. What you see from one resolver is not necessarily what everyone sees.
Defined in RFC 1034 §5.
Where this appears
The lessons that use this term, and what each is for.
Domain Security FundamentalsHow a name resolvesTrace a lookup from the root down and name what each step contributes.Domain Security FundamentalsCaching, and why "propagation" is the wrong wordExplain what you are actually waiting for after a DNS change, and compute how long.Domain Security FundamentalsReading DNS by handUse dig to ask the authoritative server directly, and know when the answer you got is not the answer everyone gets.Domain Abuse & ImpersonationWhat passive DNS addsSay what a record’s history tells you that its current value cannot.