Root Servers
The authoritative name servers that serve the DNS root zone, commonly known as the “root servers”, are a network of hundreds of servers in many countries around the world. They are configured in the DNS root zone as 13 named authorities, as follows.
List of Root Servers
| Hostname | IP Addresses | Operator |
|---|---|---|
| a.root-servers.net | 198.41.0.4, 2001:503:ba3e::2:30 | Verisign, Inc. |
| b.root-servers.net | 170.247.170.2, 2801:1b8:10::b | University of Southern California, Information Sciences Institute |
| c.root-servers.net | 192.33.4.12, 2001:500:2::c | Cogent Communications |
| d.root-servers.net | 199.7.91.13, 2001:500:2d::d | University of Maryland |
| e.root-servers.net | 192.203.230.10, 2001:500:a8::e | NASA (Ames Research Center) |
| f.root-servers.net | 192.5.5.241, 2001:500:2f::f | Internet Systems Consortium, Inc. |
| g.root-servers.net | 192.112.36.4, 2001:500:12::d0d | US Department of Defense (NIC) |
| h.root-servers.net | 198.97.190.53, 2001:500:1::53 | US Army (Research Lab) |
| i.root-servers.net | 192.36.148.17, 2001:7fe::53 | Netnod |
| j.root-servers.net | 192.58.128.30, 2001:503:c27::2:30 | Verisign, Inc. |
| k.root-servers.net | 193.0.14.129, 2001:7fd::1 | RIPE NCC |
| l.root-servers.net | 199.7.83.42, 2001:500:9f::42 | ICANN |
| m.root-servers.net | 202.12.27.33, 2001:dc3::35 | WIDE Project |
Configuring the Root Servers
Operators who manage a DNS recursive resolver typically need to configure a “root hints file”. This file contains the names and IP addresses of the root servers, so the software can bootstrap the DNS resolution process. For many pieces of software, this list comes built into the software.
For more information, visit information on root zone and root hints access.
More information
The organisations that operate root servers map the locations of the many root server instances, and also provide other useful material such as statistics on root server utilization.