What does the root server respond with during a DNS lookup?

What does the root server respond with during a DNS lookup?

• A. The address of a Top-Level Domain (TLD) DNS server
• B. The IP address of the domain's nameserver
• C. The web server's IP address
• D. The DNS cache TTL

Answer: (A)

Root servers guide the lookup by returning the address of a TLD DNS server. They don’t know the specific host’s IP address; instead, they provide a referral to the appropriate top-level domain servers (for example, the .com or .net servers) responsible for the domain’s TLD. The resolver then queries those TLD servers, which in turn point to the domain’s authoritative servers that hold the actual IP records. The TTL value is related to how long a cached record is kept, but the root’s role is to direct the query, not to supply the final IP.

Root servers guide the lookup by returning the address of a TLD DNS server. They don’t know the specific host’s IP address; instead, they provide a referral to the appropriate top-level domain servers (for example, the .com or .net servers) responsible for the domain’s TLD. The resolver then queries those TLD servers, which in turn point to the domain’s authoritative servers that hold the actual IP records. The TTL value is related to how long a cached record is kept, but the root’s role is to direct the query, not to supply the final IP.