Proxy DNS records

DNS stands for Domain Name System.

Without DNS, we would have to remember long strings of numbers to access our favorite websites. With DNS, you just have to remember something like example.com and your browser goes to an IP address like 192.0.2.1.

For more details on DNS, refer to the Learning Center Open external link .

DNS records are instructions that live in authoritative DNS servers and provide information about a domain including what IP address is associated with that domain and how to handle requests for that domain.

• DNS records (concept) Open external link
• DNS records in Cloudflare
• Manage DNS records

When you proxy specific DNS records through Cloudflare - specifically A, AAAA, or CNAME records — DNS queries for these will resolve to Cloudflare Anycast IPs instead of their original DNS target. This means that all requests intended for proxied hostnames will go to Cloudflare first and then be forwarded to your origin server.

This behavior allows Cloudflare to optimize, cache, and protect all requests to your application, as well as protect your origin server from DDoS attacks Open external link .

Because requests to proxied hostnames go through Cloudflare before reaching your origin server, all requests will appear to be coming from Cloudflare’s IP addresses (and could potentially be blocked or rate limited). If you use proxied records, you may need to adjust your server configuration to allow Cloudflare IPs.

Cloudflare Anycast IPs used to proxy traffic on your domain are assigned automatically. These IPs might change at any time for operational reasons. If you need to allowlist Cloudflare IPs on your infrastructure or hosting provider, include the full list of Cloudflare Anycast IPs Open external link .

As an Enterprise customer, you have the option to get static IPs or bring your own IPs (BYOIP).

• Reverse proxy (definition) Open external link
• How Cloudflare works
• DNS record proxy status