IT Learning | Server | Zone file

Everything might be not exactly correct in this article but it’s very useful for beginners to understand IT terms. If you want to learn IT but you don’t have any experiences to work in IT industries, I wish it helps you to understand IT and you like to study IT more.

Let’s start our three minutes lesson!

What is Zone file?

Zone File is a file for DNS.
Zone File is a file for Authoritative name server.
Zone File is mappings between domain names and IP addresses and so on.

1. Zone file is a job handbook

Zone file is a job handbook for an Authoritative name server.

If you don’t know Authoritative name server or the following article, please check this article at first.

IT Learning | Server | Authoritative name server | Japan Teams

Authoritative name server uses this handbook(actually a file) which is mapping between domain names and IP address and other resources. More detail is here.

A Domain Name System (DNS) zone file is a text file that describes a DNS zone. A DNS zone is a subset, often a single domain, of the hierarchical domain name structure of the DNS. The zone file contains mappings between domain names and IP addresses and other resources, organized in the form of text representations of resource records (RR). A zone file may be either a DNS master file, authoritatively describing a zone, or it may be used to list the contents of a DNS cache.
Zone file – Wikipedia

Is this explanation bit difficult? In short, Zone file is mappings between IP addresses and domain names which Ms. Authoritative name server manages in her zone.

2. There are two DNS roles

There are two DNS servers. One is Authoritative name server. Another is called Caching DNS Serve. Laptops usually ask Mr. Caching DNS server the first question. If Mr. Caching DNS server can’t answer the question, he will ask Ms. Authoritative name server.

When she receives the question from Mr. Caching, she check the file to answer his question. And she will answer it if she finds the answer in that file.

**Ms. Authoritative answers Mr. Caching**

And if she can’t find the answer but that file says ” That information is delegated to blah-blah DNS server.”, she will tell Mr. Caching that “those information is delegated to blah-blah DNS server, so ask him please”. But she will answer “No ideas.” if there are no information on his question in her file.

“That file” or “Her file” is “Zone file”.

**Ms. Authoritative tell the information about another DNS based on the zone file.**

**She can’t answer anything if there are no information in her zone file.**

A sample file of Zone file is like a following image. Actually there are many information in this zone file, but mainly Authoritative name server uses the zone file for these jobs. I’ll explain other information in other articles.

Zone file – Wikipedia

This article doesn’t talk about the detail and content is very simple. So if you need more details or information, please check here (Zone file – Wikipedia).