Setting up your domain records

Common Configurations.
Record Types.
Setting up records.
Creating a new root record.
Creating a sub-domain record.
Creating an MX Record.
Updating your DNS records.

 

Common Configurations:
You would typically set up the following records for a domain. (In these examples, the domain is "admin3.com". Substitute your domain's name for "admin3.com"

"A record" admin3.com pointing to an IP address
"A record" www.admin3.com pointing to an IP address
"A record" mail.admin3.com pointing to an IP address
"MX Record" pointing to mail.admin3.com

Record Types:

• A: Host Address, A host address record - maps a DNS name to an IP address I.E.: bob.admin3.com will point to 68.15.187.28
• CNAME: Canonical Name, One of the original record types, a CNAME indicates an alias domain name for a name already specified as another resource type in the zone. CNAME is the acronym for canonical name. IE bob.admin3.com will point to mail.admin3.com
• MX1: Primary Mail Exchanger. A mail exchange record is used to provide message routing to a specific DNS name. This routes all incoming E-Mail to the server address.
• MX2: Mail Exchanger. Secondary Mail Exchanger. A mail exchange record is used to provide message routing to a specific DNS name. This routes all incoming E-Mail to the server address should the primary mail server be unavailable.
• NS: Name Server, specifies that the name server listed has a zone starting with the owner name. Identify servers other than SOA server that contain zone information files. We recommend leaving this alone unless you know exactly what your doing with it. Changing this with an incorrect entry will cause your domain not to work.
  (Currently we only allow access to the above record types, if you require access to other record types we would be more than happy to attach them to your account. We have found that when providing access to all record types, customers would inadvertently damage their records, causing their domain(s) to stop functioning)

Setting up records:
After you log onto the system you will have several menu selections on the bottom of the application. You want to click on the Add/Edit Domain Records.

This will take you to the web based DNS record grid.

The image above shows a typical setup for a domain, we used admin3.com as an example and have set up what a typical domain should look like.

Creating a new root record:

From the Domain Record Grid click on the Add button, this will take you to the create record screen. As an example in the image we are creating a root record for admin3.com. A root record is the top level of the domain. So if someone goes to their web browser and simply types in http://admin3.com they will be pointed to whatever you place in the server address box. To create your root record leave the name box blank. Yes, leave it blank. (you won't like the results if you type in root, as it won't work and cannot be deleted without contacting myserver.org support)

Normally the first record you want to create is the root record, a root is something like (admin3.com) Notice there is no WWW before it. This is a common question I get.. "What's the difference?" If someone goes out on the web and types in http://admin3.com they are going to the root record for that domain. If they type in http://www.admin3.com they are going to a sub domain which is controlled by a different record (Yes you can have the root go to one IP address and www go to another)

• Domain, this column displays the domain name associated with the record.
• Record Type, this column displays the record type, I.E.: A, CNAME, MX, etc..
• Name, this column displays the friendly name of the record type. Suppose you have bob.admin3.com. Bob would be the name. (Do not enter bob.admin3.com in the name box, Just type in bob if you want to create bob.admin3.com. This is the single most common mistake people make)
• Server Address, this column displays the address where admin3.com should go to.
  MX Records If creating an MX record you do not use an IP address, use a FQDN (FQDN means Fully Qualified Domain Name) such as mail.admin3.com, most mail services WILL NOT DELIVER MAIL to an MX record that resolves to an IP address. Create an A record such as mail.admin3.com before creating MX records
  A Records If you are creating an A record, the server address can only be an IP address between 0.0.0.0 and 255.255.255.255. Using an invalid IP address will result in a stray record.
  CNAME Records If you are creating a CNAME follow the same rule as if it were an MX record, you can only use a FQDN such as www.admin3.com. Using an IP address in the server address for a CNAME will result in stray records.
  
• Automatic IP resolution After you click the update button to create the record it will take you back to the web based DNS record grid. The AutoIP res column indicates whether or not the application should automatically update the server address to what your external routable IP Address is. Auto IP Resolution automatically checks for a new routable IP address every 30 seconds and immediately reports any new findings to our DNS server. This option gives you the ability to have your record dynamically update to your current IP address. Use this option only on records that resolve to an IP address, such as A records. We sometimes have customers set auto IP resolution on CNAME records and MX records, which causes problems. Only set it for A records since CNAME's and MX records should be set to use a FQDN. If you are using the web based DNS gris ad your automatic updater you Must leave the page open on the server it should be checking. Closing the web page will disable this feature.

Creating a sub-domain record:
To create a sub-domain like (www.admin3.com) you only put in the www leave the domain out, (See image below) you selected the domain in the domain dropdown. This is one of those things I get calls on frequently. If you type in www.yourdomain.com you will create a sub-domain called (www.yourdomain.com.yourdomain.com) "I don't think people want to type in that much to get to your site"

After you have finished creating the record click the update button.

Creating an MX Record:
Screen shot of a typical MX record. Notice we leave the SubDomain box blank. If you put something like mail in the sub domain box people would have to send mail to me@mail.admin3.com Leaving it blank will allow people to send mail to me@admin3.com. Under Record Type, there are 10 different MX types, MX1-MX10. These set the priority of the MX Record, with MX1 being the highest priority, and MX10 being the lowest priority. Your primary mail server should use MX1, and backup servers should use MX2-MX10.

After you have finished creating the record click the update button.

Notes:

• If you are using the Automatic IP Resolution functionality of the software you must leave the DNSApp or the Web Based Domain Record Grid up and running on the machine you want monitored. Closing the app or the Web Based Domain Record Grid will disable the remote server from communicating with your machine.
• In order to utilize the Round Robin function you simply create a duplicate A record only changing the server address for each server.
• MX records normally point to a domain, create a sub domain like mail.admin3.com and point your MX record to that. Some mail services will not send mail to an IP address.

Updating your DNS records:

After you log onto the site go to the Domain Record Grid, this grid displays  all the records for your domain currently on the DNS server.
Highlight the DNS record you wish to edit and click the edit button. Make the changes and click the update button

• Domain, this column displays the domain name associated with the record.
• Record Type, this column displays the record type, IE: A, MX, CNAME, etc..
• Name, this column displays the friendly name of the record type. Suppose you have bob.admin3.com. Bob would be the name.
• Name, this column displays where bob.admin3.com should go to. If you are setting up the root IP for the domain (http://admin3.com) leave this box blank. We suggest using the same server address for the root as www because some people accessing your site may not type in the entire http://www.admin3.com.
• Automatic IP resolutionAfter you click the update button to create the record it will take you back to the web based DNS record grid. The AutoIP res column indicates whether or not the application should automatically update the server address to what your external routable IP Address is. Auto IP Resolution automatically checks for a new routable IP address every 30 seconds and immediately reports any new findings to our DNS server. This option gives you the ability to have your record dynamically update to your current IP address. Use this option only on records that resolve to an IP address, such as A records. We sometimes have customers set auto IP resolution on CNAME records and MX records, which causes problems. Only set it for A records since CNAME's and MX records should be set to use a FQDN. If you are using the web based DNS gris ad your automatic updater you Must leave the page open on the server it should be checking. Closing the web page will disable this feature.

You may manually configure an IP address by disabling the Automatic IP resolution feature, keeping in mind that the application has no way of auto updating the DNS server should the IP address you manually type in change. You will have to manually go in and apply the change yourself. Simply type in the IP address you want your domain root or sub-domain to point to and click the update button.

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