DNS Manager User Guide VF
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Vodafone Hosted Services: DNS Manager User Guide DNS Manager User Guide 1 Vodafone Hosted Services: DNS Manager User Guide DNS Manager What is DNS Manager ? DNS Manager allows the end-user to edit their domain’s zone file, including A (address) records, CNAME (canonical name) records and MX (mail exchange) records. What is the Default Zone File ? If the end-user selects “Edit Zone File” and clicks “Next”, their current zone file will be displayed at the top of the screen. By default, their zone file will contain several important records. Any changes to these records may cause serious problems with their website and email performance. What is DNS ? DNS (Domain Name System or Domain Name Service) catalogs and updates information in regards to domain names. DNS converts domain names into IP addresses. DNS usually contains a set of zone files that lists the types of redirection that will be done. 2 Vodafone Hosted Services: DNS Manager User Guide What are Zone Files ? Four types of records are important in a zone file: • A records • CNAME records • MX records • Start of Authority (SOA) domain.com points to 216.251.43.17 mail.domain.com points to 69.49.123.241 mail will be delivered to 10 mx1c1.megamailservers.com first mail will be delivered to 100 mx2c1.megamailservers.com second mail will be delivered to 110 Resource Record Abbreviations The end-users domain name is called their “origin”. The origin is appended to all names in the zone file that do not end in a dot. For example, if their domain is yourname.com, the entry “www” in the zone file is equal to www.yourname.com. A blank space is equal to “yourname.com.” What format is used to specify zone file records ? A (Address) Records An address record uses the following format to set an IP address to correspond with your domain: <prefix for domain> IN A <web server IP address> This determines where someone will be sent when they are looking for the domain. Address records are also typically used with MX records so that “mail.yourname.com” points to the IP address of the mail server that will be accepting email for the end-users domain. 3 Vodafone Hosted Services: DNS Manager User Guide CNAME (canonical name) Records The CNAME record uses the following format to specify an alias for an existing Address record: <prefix for domain> IN CNAME <existing address record> An address record maps to an IP address directly, while a canonical name record maps to an IP address indirectly, by referring to existing address records. For example, the CNAME Record for the domain yourname.com: Record Purpose www IN A 216.251.32.98 www.yourname.com points to 216.251.32.98 ftp IN CNAME www ftp.yourname.com is an alias for www.yourname.com ssl IN CNAME anotherplace.com. ssl.yourname.com is an alias for anotherplace.com MX (mail exchange) Records A mail exchange record must reference an existing address record. Mail exchange records also include an extra parameter called a “preference value” in the following format: <blank (origin)> IN MX <preference value> <existing address record> The preference value is a number in the range of 0-65535 that indicates the mail exchanger's priority. Mailers will attempt to deliver mail to the exchanger with the lowest preference value. If delivery fails, the mailer will then attempt to deliver mail to the exchanger with the next highest preference value. In their default zone file, the MX records point to the megamailservers.com domain. The existing address records for these MX records are located in a different zone file. In DNS Manager, the left side of an MX record must be blank, indicating their origin (domain name). Any entry on the left side of an MX record will be ignored. How do I check DNS ? There are many ways to check DNS. Primarily, a whois (i.e. xwhois.com) is done before you can search for the SOA of a domain. Then, with the listed name server, a SOA check is done against that particular server (via nslookup or host). Start of Authority (SOA) The SOA dictates which zone file is the most accurate. The SOA protects domains from malicious intent. 4.