CompTIA Network+ Practice Test

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What information does the TTL (Time To Live) setting in an SOA record determine?

The duration a record is cached before being refreshed
The time it takes to establish a DNS request
The lifespan of a DNS server
The period before a server is shut down

The correct answer is: The duration a record is cached before being refreshed

The Time To Live (TTL) setting in a Start of Authority (SOA) record specifies the amount of time that a DNS resolver is allowed to cache the record before it must discard it and perform a new query to retrieve the updated information. This caching mechanism is important for optimizing DNS queries and reducing the load on DNS servers by allowing resolvers to quickly respond to requests based on cached data. When the TTL value expires, the resolver will fetch the latest information from the authoritative DNS server, ensuring that clients receive up-to-date records. The TTL is measured in seconds, and it plays a critical role in managing how frequently DNS records are refreshed across the global DNS infrastructure. A shorter TTL means that records are updated more frequently, while a longer TTL allows for more prolonged caching but carries the risk of delivering outdated information. In contrast, the other options describe different contexts that do not align with the function of TTL in DNS records. Therefore, understanding the TTL setting's role in caching helps clarify its importance in DNS management and performance.