CNAME chasing
CNAME chasing refers to a subsequent lookup of a DNS name returned from a CNAMErecord answer to an initial query. Public DNS resolvers perform subsequentlookup of CNAME answers according to their configuration. Generally, publicresolvers chase CNAME answers in any public zones.
When Google Cloud VMs use their metadata server (169.254.169.254) astheir name server, and no alternative name server is defined in an outboundserver policy of the VPC network, Cloud DNS performsCNAME chasing as described in the following table.
| Source of CNAME answer | Cloud DNS resolver behavior |
|---|---|
| Cloud DNS private zone with local records (not a forwarding zone) | Cloud DNS systems perform queries for the CNAME answer in Cloud DNS private zones that are authorized for the VPC network. Cloud DNS systemsdon't perform queries for the CNAME answer in any public DNS zones, including Cloud DNS public zones. |
| Cloud DNS forwarding zone | Cloud DNS systemsdon't perform queries for any CNAME answers received from forwarding target name servers. |
| Cloud DNS response policy zone | Cloud DNS systemsdon't perform queries for any CNAME answers received from local data rules of response policy zones. |
| Cloud DNS public zone | Cloud DNS systems perform queries for the CNAME answer in theinternal DNS service and public zones, including Cloud DNS public zones. Cloud DNS systemsdon't perform queries for the CNAME answer in any Cloud DNS private zones (including any forwarding, peering, or response policy zones). |
What's next
- To find solutions for common issues that you might encounter when usingCloud DNS, seeTroubleshooting.
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Last updated 2026-02-18 UTC.