What does TTL (Time To Live) mean for DNS records?
TTL controls DNS caching duration:
Measured in seconds. TTL of 3600 = cache for 1 hour.
How it works:
- Resolver queries authoritative server
- Receives record with TTL value
- Caches result for TTL seconds
- After TTL expires, queries again
Lower TTL (300-600):
- Changes propagate faster
- More DNS queries (higher load)
- Good during planned changes
Higher TTL (3600-86400):
- Better caching, fewer queries
- Changes propagate slower
- Good for stable records
- Balance between update speed and query efficiency.
Expiration date on cached information. Short expiry means frequent checks for updates.
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