What is the authoritative source for an address lookup?
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Correct answer: a recursive DNS search.
Why this is the answer
A recursive DNS search is the authoritative source because it involves a DNS resolver querying the root, TLD, and authoritative nameservers until it finds the definitive IP address for a given domain name. This process ensures the most up-to-date and accurate information directly from the domain's registered DNS. The operating system cache, ISP local cache, and browser cache are all local, temporary storage mechanisms that store previously resolved DNS queries to speed up future lookups. While they provide faster access, they are not authoritative; their entries can be stale or incorrect if the original DNS record has changed. If an entry is not found in these caches, or if it has expired, a recursive DNS search is initiated to get the current, authoritative record.
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