Primary DNS Zone – complete breakdown

Today, we will explain the definition behind the Primary DNS zone and why it is one of the most crucial components when administering your domain name. So let’s dissect it and provide some further context.

What is the DNS zone concept?

As previously mentioned, the DNS zone is a straightforward text file containing all of the domain’s DNS records. Consequently, another term for this file is a zone file. DNS records exist for each domain name (A record, SOA record, MX record, etc.). To maintain the integrity of these DNS records, the Domain Name System zone was established. Zones in the Domain Name System are where all DNS records for a specific zone are kept. They are there so that the administration of the entire system can become more decentralized and practical. Each DNS zone is under the management of a different domain name system administrator. For instance, when you purchase a domain name, you can acquire the authority to manage its zones.

Additionally, the SOA (Start of Authority) record, the initial Domain Name System record for the zone, gives the contact details for the Domain name system administrator.

A Primary DNS zone: what is it?

A Master DNS Zone is another name for the Primary DNS Zone. You have control over that specific area of the namespace. You may control your domain name exactly how you want and add, delete, and manage DNS entries there. If you manage the domain, each component—that is, each server you wish to control—could have its own Primary DNS Zone. A domain name can only have one Primary DNS Zone at a time.

Your zone file is located in this DNS zone. The zone file, on the other hand, is a text file that contains the complete set of DNS records for your domain name.

Differences between the Primary DNS zone and the Secondary DNS zones

Its use can be combined with several Secondary DNS zones. Simply duplicates of the Primary zone exist in the Secondary zones. They have a method for directly receiving updates (the most recent DNS records) from the primary name server and responding to client DNS requests. In this manner, you will have numerous servers and a single Primary DNS zone that can respond. Redistributing the traffic will be much simpler for the main one.

You can picture how the performance would increase if more servers were holding the answers for a domain.

Furthermore, additional Secondary DNS servers will still be able to respond to DNS requests if the Primary Authoritative DNS server where the Primary DNS zone is situated goes offline for any reason. As long as the DNS records’ TTL values remain valid, they can continue to respond. They will then erase any expired DNS records and search the Primary for any fresh ones.

Conclusion

Congratulations! Now you know what the Primary DNS zone is. It is a DNS administrative entity with control over the region authorized by the upper levels of the DNS hierarchy. So, it is your first step when you are entering the Domain Name System administrations.