data.gov.uk A Record Lookup

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What Is data.gov.uk's IP Address?

An A (Address) record maps data.gov.uk to a 32-bit IPv4 address. When you type data.gov.uk into your browser, the first step is a DNS lookup that returns these A records — the IP addresses your browser connects to in order to load the website.

data.gov.uk may have one or multiple A records. A single A record means all traffic goes to one server, while multiple A records typically indicate load balancing or CDN usage, distributing visitors across several servers for better performance and reliability.

data.gov.uk's A records are the current IPv4 addresses that the domain resolves to. These can change if data.gov.uk switches hosting providers, adds a CDN, or updates its server infrastructure.

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What Are A Records?

A records are the most fundamental DNS record type. They provide the direct mapping between a human-readable domain name like data.gov.uk and the machine-readable IPv4 address that computers use to route network traffic. Without A records, browsers would have no way to find the server hosting data.gov.uk's website.

Each A record has a TTL (Time To Live) value that tells DNS resolvers how long to cache the result. A short TTL means changes propagate quickly but generate more DNS queries. A long TTL reduces DNS traffic but means changes take longer to take effect. data.gov.uk's A records each carry their own TTL value.

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A Records vs AAAA Records

A records hold IPv4 addresses (32-bit, e.g., 192.0.2.1), while AAAA records hold IPv6 addresses (128-bit, e.g., 2001:db8::1). Both serve the same purpose — mapping data.gov.uk to an IP address — but for different versions of the Internet Protocol.

IPv4 addresses are limited to about 4.3 billion unique addresses, which have been fully allocated. IPv6 provides a vastly larger address space. Modern domains like data.gov.uk ideally support both protocols. Check data.gov.uk's IP address page to see if it has IPv6 support.

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Multiple A Records and Load Balancing

When an A record lookup for data.gov.uk returns multiple addresses, DNS resolvers typically rotate them in round-robin fashion. This distributes traffic across several servers without requiring a dedicated load balancer. CDN providers like Cloudflare, Fastly, and AWS CloudFront use this technique extensively.

If data.gov.uk uses a CDN or cloud hosting, its A records may point to different IP addresses depending on the geographic location of the DNS resolver. This is called GeoDNS or anycast routing, and it ensures visitors connect to the nearest server for optimal performance.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What IP address does data.gov.uk resolve to? — data.gov.uk's A records list all IPv4 addresses that the domain currently resolves to. Each address represents a server that can handle requests for data.gov.uk.

Does data.gov.uk use multiple IP addresses? — If more than one A record exists for data.gov.uk, then yes — the domain uses multiple IP addresses, likely for load balancing, redundancy, or CDN distribution.

What is a DNS A record? — An A record is a DNS entry that maps a domain name to an IPv4 address. It's the most basic DNS record type and is essential for any domain to be reachable on the web.

How do I find who hosts data.gov.uk? — You can perform a reverse IP lookup on data.gov.uk's IP addresses, or check the WHOIS page for data.gov.uk to find registration and hosting information.