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Authoritative DNS Servers vs DNS Resolvers – and Where DNS over HTTPS Fits In

Understand the difference between authoritative DNS servers and DNS resolvers, and learn how DNS over HTTPS (DoH) improves privacy. Discover why Webnames.ca’s authoritative DNS services ensure secure, reliable domain management.

Garrett Saundry avatar
Written by Garrett Saundry
Updated today

The Domain Name System (DNS) is the backbone of the internet, translating human-readable domain names into IP addresses. Two key components make this work: authoritative DNS servers and DNS resolvers.

Authoritative DNS Servers

Authoritative servers store and serve the official DNS records for a domain. When a query reaches an authoritative server, it provides the definitive answer for that domain—such as its A, MX, or TXT records.
Webnames.ca provides authoritative DNS services, ensuring your domain’s records are accurate, secure, and highly available.

DNS Resolvers

Resolvers (often operated by ISPs or public DNS providers like Google or Cloudflare) act as intermediaries. They receive queries from end-user devices, cache responses for efficiency, and fetch answers from authoritative servers when needed. Resolvers do not own the data—they simply retrieve and deliver it.

DNS over HTTPS (DoH)

DoH encrypts DNS queries between the client and the resolver using HTTPS, improving privacy and security by preventing eavesdropping or tampering.
Important: DoH applies to communication with resolvers, not authoritative servers. It does not change how authoritative servers store or serve DNS records.


In short:

  • Authoritative servers = source of truth for domain data.

  • Resolvers = query handlers and cache managers.

  • DoH = privacy layer for resolver communication.

By using Webnames.ca’s authoritative DNS services, you ensure your domain’s data is managed securely and reliably at the source.

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