When discussing networking and the Domain Name System (DNS), one of the most critical yet often overlooked parameters is the Time to Live (TTL). Understanding TTL is essential for network administrators, IT professionals, and anyone interested in optimizing network performance and reliability. This blog post delves into the key concepts of TTL, its significance in DNS and networking, and best practices for its configuration.

What is TTL?

TTL, or Time to Live, is a value that determines the lifespan of data in a network. In the context of DNS, TTL specifies how long a DNS resolver is allowed to cache the DNS query results before it must request the data again from the authoritative DNS server. Time to Live is measured in seconds and is included in every DNS record.