Setting Up Your Own DNS Records

DNS records are basically mapping files that tell the DNS server which IP address each domain is associated with, and how to handle requests sent to each domain. When someone visits a web site, a request is sent to the DNS server and then forwarded to the web server provided by a web hosting company, which contain the data contained on the site.

The three most important types of DNS records are:

A Records - An A record points a domain or subdomain to a specific IP address and determines the TTL (time-to-live). The TTL determines how long a resolver is supposed to cache the DNS query before the query expires and a new one needs to be done.

(example: You want example.com to run on a server with the IP address of 1.2.3.4. You would create an A record that points example.com to the IP address 1.2.3.4.

MX Records - MX records are used to help route email according to the domain owners preference. The MX record itself specifies which server to attempt to use to deliver mail to when this type of request is made to the domain.

(example: You have three mail servers that you want to connect to example.com. You would create three MX records that point your mail servers to example.com, and modify the priority level to determine the order in which they receive mail.

CNAME Records - CNAME records are used to point a domain or subdomain to another hostname. It is important to note that CNAME records create a complete copy of all DNS records for the hostname or fully qualified domain name (FQDN) that you are pointing to.  So, if you setup a CNAME to point host.domain1.com to domain2.com, host.domain1.com will inherit all DNS records setup for domain2.com, including MX and other records. Also, when attempting to delete a CNAME record, you must enter a “dot” (.) after the CNAME record in order to terminate it.

(example: If you have a domain called docs.example.com, but you also want to access it through documents.example.com, you would add a CNAME record that points documents.example.com to docs.example.com. When you visit docs.example.com you will see that same content as you would see at documents.example.com.)

How to set up an A record:

1. Go to the account control center and click on “URL & DNS Control Center”.

2. You should see a list of your domains. Choose the domain that you would like to set a record for and click “Advanced Config & DDNS”.

3. From there, you will have the option to create an A record by going to the A records section and clicking “Add Record”

4. You will have a box on the left to enter an IP address of the server that your planning to run your domain on. You will have a box on the right to specify the TTL (Time To Live. (Note: The DDNS minimum TTL varies depending on your level of membership. Free      membership has minimum TTL of 21600 seconds, Club membership has minimum TTL of 1800 seconds, and with premium DNS you can get minimum TTL as low as 5 seconds.)

5. Click Finish

6. Your A record is now complete! You can edit, delete, and get Dynamic DNS info from the DNS/Redirection page.

How to set up an MX record:

1. From the URL & DNS Control Center, go to the domain that you would like to set an MX record for and click “Advanced Config & DDNS”

2. Go to the MX records section and click “Add Record”

3. Make sure your under “DNS ‘MX’ Record”, not “Sitelutions Space Mail” and enter the FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) (Example: mail.example.com) that is connected to your mail server. Make sure to add a closing dot after the domain name.

4. Select your TTL and MX Preference level, and then click “Done”

5. Your MX record is now complete! You can edit, delete, and get Dynamic DNS info from the DNS/Redirection page.

How to set up a CNAME Record:

1. From the URL & DNS Control Center, go to the domain that you would like to set a CNAME record for and click “Advanced Config & DDNS”

2. Go to the CNAME records section and click “add record”

3. Enter the hostname or FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name), set the TTL, and click “Done”

4. Your CNAME record is now complete! You can edit, delete, and get Dynamic DNS info from the DNS/Redirection page.