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DNS Record Types

A quick explanation of the different DNS record types and their use.

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Overview

There are several types of DNS records that you can add to your domains DNS zone file. These can be used for managing your website traffic and emails or for several other services. Here are examples of some of the more common types of DNS records.

A Records

The form used to add an A record in the zone editor.

An A record maps domain names to IP addresses. 

example.com --> 192.168.42.69

They are essential to DNS functionality because they direct your website traffic and emails to the correct server. Without appropriate A records, your visitors cannot access your website, and your emails would not function correctly.

The main record for your domain is known as a blank A record ( example.com, though some services refer to it as “@. example.com”). Every zone file requires this blank A record to be considered a valid zone file. All A records must be set to an IP address.

example.com.      IN A 3600  192.168.42.69
www.example.com.  IN A 3600  192.168.42.69
ftp.example.com.  IN A 3600  192.168.42.69

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CNAME Records

The form used to add a CNAME record in the zone editor.

CNAME records are similar to A records (and AAAA records for that matter). The difference is that instead of resolving to an IP address, they will resolve to a domain name (Ex. example.com). 

mail.example.com --> example.com

The main advantage of using CNAME records, is that if you have several services that are all pointing to the same server, you can use a CNAME record to point them all to the blank A record. That way, if the server IP ever changes, you only need to update the blank A record and the CNAME records will still work.


example.com.       IN A     3600  192.168.42.69
www.example.com.   IN CNAME 3600  example.com
ftp.example.com.   IN CNAME 3600  example.com
mail.example.com.  IN CNAME 3600  example.com

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TXT Record

The form used to add a TXT record in the zone editor.

TXT records contains text information that is used by various services, typically for verification reasons. For example, TXT records can specify data for the SPF (Sender Policy Framework) or DKIM (Domain Keys Mail Identifier) email authentication systems. They are also used for domain verification for SSL certificates, as well as several other services.

example.com. IN TXT 3600  "This domain is cool"

TXT records can be any text, but is limited to 255 characters (bytes).

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MX Record

The form used to add an MXrecord in the zone editor.

MX records (or Mail Exchange) are required for your email services. This is what directs emails to your mail server.

example.com.  IN MX 3600  0 mail.example.com

While these records are set up by default, if you are not using our mail service, you will need to update these records.

  • Name is typically the domain name (example.com.)
  • TTL (or Time To Live) can stay at default
  • Type is MX
  • Priority – it is common to have several MX records in your zone file for redundancy reasons. The DNS server will attempt to resolve to the MX record with the lowest priority number first and then the next lowest. Different MX records can be set to the same priority.
  • Destination – this would be the domain name of your mail server (Ex. mail.example.com)

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AAAA Record

The form used to add an AAAA record in the zone editor.

AAAA records are the same as A records but use an IPv6 address instead of an IPv4 address. It is unlikely that you will ever need to use this type of record, but your service provider should be able to provide you with the details.

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CAA Record

The form used to add a CAA record in the zone editor.

CAA records are used to identify what certificate authorities are allowed to issue certificates for your domain. This is an advanced feature and you would need to get this information from your certificate issuer.

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SRV Record

The form used to add an SRV record in the zone editor.

SRV records are used to provide information about additional services on specific ports on your server. This is more for advanced users. Any service requiring SRV records should provide them to you.

The target for an SRV record must point to an A or AAAA record.

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If you have any further questions, please be sure to reach out to our support staff by using our chat service in your client area or by submitting a ticket.

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