The final in our series of articles about DNS records, today we’re going to explore two of the most frequently used records. MX records and CName records are used with almost every domain and so it is vital you understand the difference, their impact on the system and how they affect the user experience.

MX Records will be used to set-up email on your own domain using many popular email services like using GMAIL to power your email, on your own domain. You can uses services like GMAIL to have your email be managed with the GMAIL system and still be your own domain like [email protected]

When you move a name to the default nameservers of your registrar, for instance to be able to manage text records or setup DNSSEC, you are now in the world of using CNAME and other records to manage your email and website.  Normally, you would change nameservers to set-up web-hosting, but may lose the ability to add your own text records for listing on marketplaces.  Understanding CNAME and MX records will allow you to set-up website hosting – and still manage TXT records.

For those that haven’t read our previous articles, let’s start with a quick recap of what a DNS record is…

A DNS record, sometimes known by the term zone file is a set of text-based instructions created to deliver information about a specific domain. The information often includes the IP address that is connected with the domain, as well as how specific requests should be handled.

These records are in a text file format and written in DNS syntax, meaning that each record has a collection of characters that acts as a command telling a DNS server what to do. Every domain must have certain DNS records that are required for a website to operate correctly.

If you’d like to know more about the wide range of DNS records then you can visit a helpful resource here.

What is a DNS MX record?

An MX record is a mail exchange record and in its simplest form directs emails to a specific email server. These records tell the system how an email message must be routed, following the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).

An interesting feature of MX records is the priority value. When creating a record, you may have multiple email servers that you wish to send emails to in a particular order or share them equally to balance the workload.

If you have two options, with one record having a lower priority than the other then this will be the preferred process. Should the preferred process fail for any reason, then the system will default to the next lowest priority number.

What do we need to know about how MX records work?

Compared to some of the other DNS records we’ve discussed, MX records are a relatively simple concept to understand. However, it is good to know some of the underlying processes and requirements for MX records in case you need to deal with them at a more technical level.

How does querying an MX record work?

The software responsible for querying an MX record is called MTA software. This stands for Message Transfer Agent software.

After a user clicks send on their email, this MTA software comes into play sending a DNS query to find out the specific mail servers for the recipients of the email. After this, the MTA software will establish an SMTP connect, in the priority order that the MX record states.

Where should you point an MX record to?

MX records need to point straight to the server’s A record, or AAAA record. You can find out more about this type of record in one of our previous articles here. It is important to note that you must not point to a CNAME record, as this is expressly forbidden by documentation that defines how MX records operate.

Why do people use a backup MX record?

One of the main reasons why people use a backup MX record (discussed above when we explored priority values) is that in the event a mail server doesn’t work then the system will still work.

It can be a useful way to balance the workload of multiple servers and ensure users experience a consistent service. This idea of balancing the workload is known as load balancing and for those wanting to look at it in more detail, we suggest visiting this website.

What is a CNAME record and what do we need to know about them?

The second part of this article is about the CNAME record and in particular how the DNS system utilises it. Anyone who operates multiple domains, services or is a web professional will have used these before, but for others who are new to domain management and domain trading let’s start with a definition.

So what exactly is a CNAME record?

CNAME standards for Canonical Name and this record allows a domain owner to create an alias from one domain name to a second domain name. This functionality allows us to use CNAME records in a few different ways including:

• If you wish to register the same domain in multiple countries but point those individual country domains to a central domain such as a .com or .net.
  
  
• If an organisation has multiple websites then they can all point to the main website.
  
  
• If you wish to use separate names for specific services such as email or FTP.
  
  
• If you want to provide specific subdomains to customers on a provider’s main domain (for example customer1.hostname.com), but then point it to a customer’s personal domain.
  
  

Are there restrictions with CNAME records?

There are some specific restrictions when we deal with CNAME records and it is important to be aware of them before you start utilising them. These restrictions include:

• You cannot place a CNAME record at the level of the root domain. This is because the root domain must use a DNS Start Of Authority to point to an IP address.
  
  
• A CNAME record must only point to a domain name and not an IP.
  
  
• You must not point an NS record or an MX record to a CNAME alias.
  
  
• It is advisable not to use a CNAME record for any domains that are used for email purposes. It can have negative results for mail servers.
  
  

What record types are normally used with a CNAME record?

In general, you will find that the CNAME record is used with two other types of records and these are ALIAS and A records. Let’s break down the differences between these two alternative records.

A Records

An A record is used to map a hostname to an IP address (or multiple IP addresses). This differs from a CNAME record because these map from hostname to a hostname.

ALIAS Records

Very similar to a CNAME record, it maps a hostname to a hostname. However, the key difference is that ALIAS records allow the possibility of other DNS records being on the same hostname. This means you could apply it at the root domain level, unlike a CNAME record.

A final thought on DNS records

Throughout this series of articles on DNS records, we’ve tried to share the most important pieces of information, explain their relevance to the world of domain ownership and in general, start to get to the bottom of what can be a complex part of domain management.

In most cases, domains can be managed easily through domain registrars and domain host dashboards. If ever in doubt, this is a great place to start but there are also some fantastic user guides out there on how to make a new record or amend an existing one.

Keep this in mind when searching for that next domain to buy on our Cloudname trading platform, so that you can connect it to your existing website or manage emails accordingly.

DNS stands for Domain Name System and represents a database of all websites linked to Internet. The DNS helps users to successfully connect with the website they are looking for by translating the name of their names into numbers. These numbers are unique for each machine/website linked to the Internet and are called IPs.

While possibly an oversimplification for advanced users, the basic concept is the content for a website like DomainName.com might be stored on a connected internet computer with an address if 123.123.161.183.  So the DNS system allows us to easily remember and communicate DomainName.com instead of 123.123.161.183.

Prior to a uniform domain name system, each person might have their own nicknames for different IP addresses,  like “That domain Name Site”, “DN” “Joe’s Computer”. Imagine post-it notes and a world where routers and devices would all have to read our mind as to what our nickname was for different IP addresses.

With the legacy root servers keeping one and only IP address for each domain name, and all devices having access to the same list, the existing internet is usable by everyone, anywhere.

These IPs are the official names the servers recognize. So, every time a website is searched from a computer, the DNS translates the name we have given to this website, for example, google.com into its unique IP number (IP address) so the servers can understand our query.

In more human-friendly terms, the DNS translates our words of our queries into digits so the servers can understand what we need.

People know each other by name, link between by sharing their addresses and social media nicknames. Similar to this, the devices on the Internet recognize each other and link between solely by using digits (IPs).

Thanks to the DNS servers there is no need for us to store and memorize IP addresses which can be longer than 20 characters.

So, how exactly the DNS is doing it?

In order to successfully translate our query and in return to load the correct webpage, the DNS passes through four servers:

DNS Recursor

Also known as a recursive resolver, this is the first server to reply to our query. In case this server finds the website, it will send it back to the IP of our computer. This will mean that the Recursor has stored the IP of the website in its cache and can send it to us immediately.

In case the website we look for is not in the DNS recursor, this type of server will contact the Root nameserver.

Root Name Server

This is the server the Recursor will contact if it can’t find the web page cached. Our query will be translated into a computer-friendly language – IP address before being proceeded to the next server.

Root servers contain an index of all the servers where our web page may be.

Root servers are 13, placed all over the Globe and managed by ICANN’s Internet Assigned Numbers Authority.

Based on the extension – .com, .org, .co.uk, .eu., the Root server will send the query to the next type of server.

TLD Server

The top-level domain names server is the next step in the search of our web page. These servers read-only part of the website hostname – its extension. According to it, the TLD server contacts the last server.

Authoritative Name Server

The authoritative name server keeps a record of all domains and will return to the DNS recursor the IP address of our query. In case of a changed IP, the Authoritative name server will send back a webpage showing error 404.

Once our computer receives the correct webpage its IP address will be cached. The DNS recursor will cache the IP too so next time we need to visit the same website, the Recursor will be able to respond to our query directly.

What is DNS cache?

As mentioned above, passing through the four sets of servers to visit a web page is not necessary if the computer or the DNS recursor has cached the IP address of this page. Through caching the Recursor can answer the DNS query immediately without the need to check for information the external servers.

The DNS data can be cached on:

• Browser – Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Opera, and Mozilla Firefox, they all have a DNS cache that keeps the visited IP addresses and this is the first place the DNS query gets before being proceeded to the Recursor.

• OS (operating system) – stub resolvers built in the OS. Also called DNS resolvers they can respond to the queries prior to sending it to the DNS recursor server.

• Recursive resolver or the DNS Recursor – as explained above, this is the first external server our computer will connect with in the search of the correct IP address and in case it is not held by Browser’s or the Operating system’s cache. The Recursive resolver may have only part of the query and may still need to check with the other servers. In this case, with information only partly available, the DNS recursor may decide to skip the Root server and connect to the next step.

What information is held by the DNS servers?

Although the goal is to reach the correct web page, meaning that the servers are working on correctly responding to the one DNS query, the different DNS servers are in charge of coping with different parts of the IP address.

A record

The A record keeps the IP address and does apply only for the IPv4 format. This format is shorter, used by most of the websites.

TXT record

The TXT record helps in translating a text into a DNS. These types of records are in charge of the domain owners’ verification as well as their email services and basic security like coping with the Spam.

CNAME Record

The CNAME record is used with larger websites where one IP address is shared by more than one domain name. In this case, load balancers help both domain names to point to the same IP.

DNS Queries

During the DNS resolution or during the response by the DNS servers to our query, different types of DNS responses may occur:

The shorter query is the Recursive one. This is the shortest path between the computer and the Recursive server. If the server has cached the IP address during a previous search, it will return to the user either the name of the webpage or an error message.

The query from the Recursor and the other external servers like the Root or the TLD servers is called Iterative DNS queries. This time, the servers will respond by either sending back to the Recursive server the name of the web page or with a referral.

The Non-recursive queries are DNS queries where the Recursor knows where to look for the IP address and can skip a DNS server in order to decrease the time for the query. It can skip the TLD server for example. These types of queries respond with an answer.

Since more familiar with the DNS servers and their significance for browsing, let’s move to the place where the websites are located – the Web hosting.

What is Web Hosting?

This is where the website is located or hosted. This is the physical location of the powerful computer – server on which your website is hosted and where all content is stored. Thanks to Web hosting the web pages are visible on the Internet.

Apart from the website content, the web hosting contains the ftp files, the email accounts, the databases, and the website building platform.

Usually, the web hosting is held by providers in charge of the physical maintenance of the servers. Thanks to them, the website is visible and operates without interruptions. Of course, you could manage your own server. In this case, you will most probably have a separate room for your server and you’ll have to pay attention to the temperature and the electricity, the hardware and the software, the server’s configuration and its maintenance.

Most people who need the services of a hosting server are not technically skilled to maintain their own machines. This is why they use the services of the hosting providers who in their turn offer different hosting solutions depending on how big the website is and what speed it needs.

What are the different types of Web hosting?

Depending on the content of your website, its functionalities, and its speed need, and of course your personal needs you can choose from:

Website Builders

Using Website Builders like WordPress for hosting is perfect for beginners with limited technical knowledge or for developers whose websites are not ready to go fully online yet. These companies will offer you a hosting server while you are building your website.

Shared Hosting

As the name suggests, these types of hosting servers including their resources like software, storage space, memory, and bandwidth are co-used by the websites of other owners.

This shared hosting environment is cheaper than the other options and can be perfect for small businesses, however, bear in mind that due to the shared usage, the websites on these servers tend to be slower. You will also have very limited access to the server configuration – what’s good for the others is good for you too.

Cloud Hosting

These types of hosting servers use storage and resources from different physical servers. They are also called virtual servers and their main objective is to spread the website data across more than one server.

This means that one website is hosted on different locations. If one of the servers has limited operational power for some reason or is down, the others should take over to keep the website operational.

More expensive than the previous option, the cloud hosting shows better results in terms of website speed, security, and hardware problems compared to the shared hosting.

VPS Hosting

The virtual private server (VPS) does share hosting space with other websites like the shared hosting but unlike it, the VPS allocates a share of its resources to each of its users. The server is the same but memory, bandwidth, storage space, and others are allocated to each user.

Dedicated Hosting

These hosting servers are dedicated to a single website. They offer physical space, memory, speed, etc. to a single website and are quite like having your own server at home or at the office. Apart from all the resources being allocated to your website only, you’ll have to freedom to fully control its configurations.

The second part of our series on managing DNS records will be focusing on email forwarding and website forwarding.

These can usually be done by setting your nameservers to the registrars “own nameservers” and are provided for free at many registrars. Both website forwarding and email forwarding allow you to use your domain name with existing content or email addresses you already maintain.

You may be asking the question – “Are these processes important for most users?”

Whilst some domain owners and domain traders may not need to forward emails or websites, these processes are increasingly important for those wanting to ensure customers get the very best experience. This is because they offer a way to minimise downtime, maximise SEO by ensuring traffic and search engines access an active page and allow owners of multiple domains/emails to manage everything more efficiently.

So, we have established that there are some fundamental benefits to understanding and utilising both email forwarding and website forwarding. Let’s now explore each topic in detail, starting with email forwarding.

What is email forwarding and when should you use it?

When you purchase a domain or rent one on a platform like Cloudname, you will often set up at least one mailbox. No matter whether you wish to run it as an e-commerce site, informational site or community platform, you will want people to be able to get in touch.

This often causes complications because the number of emails to manage increases. This is where email forwarding comes in.

So what is it?

Email forwarding results in emails sent to a specific email address being automatically redirected to another email address. This is done at the domain level and either can be a permanent setting or a temporary one depending on your requirements.

This feature requires MX records, which are the mail exchange records for a domain specifying the mail server that is responsible for accepting emails. These MX records often include two different parts, the priority and the name of the mail server. The lower the priority, the higher preference for the system to use it.

You can find out more about MX records here and we will cover it more in our third article, found within the Cloudname blog section.

When should you use it?

There are three situations when you will most likely want to use email forwarding and these are as follows:

• – Changing a domain: If you decide to change a domain for any reason, such as branding or cost-saving then there may be a delay in customers switching over to the new domain details when trying to contact you. By setting up email forwarding from your old domain email, to your new domain email, you can ensure you won’t miss any emails and suffer from customer service problems.
  
  
• – Forwarding an account: If you want to maintain an old email address, or perhaps manage a colleague’s email via your own then a redirect is a great way to deal with this and not risk missing any important emails.
  
  
• – Creating an email hub: It is common for businesses, consultants and domain traders to manage a wide range of emails. A great way to manage all of the different emails is to forward them all to a single hub email.
  
  

What are the benefits of email forwarding?

Some of the benefits of utilising email forwarding include:

• – Manage multiple emails from a single email address.
  
  
• – Maintain customer service levels when changing domains, reducing the chances of losing customers.
  
  
• – Utilise your preferred email software without facing additional problems.
  
  
• – Save time and money when managing your email accounts.
  
  

What is website forwarding and why is it so important?

The second type of forwarding we are covering in this article is website forwarding, sometimes referred to as domain forwarding. 

An essential feature for those domain owners concerned with both search engine optimisation (SEO) and the user experience of visitors to the domain in question. Let’s get started with an explanation of what it is!

What is it?

A fairly simple concept, website forwarding is a process of automatically redirecting traffic to a different URL when they try to access your domain name. This can be redirecting users to another URL within your domain (such as sending all visitors from domain.com to www.domain.com) or to a completely different domain (such as domain.com to domain2.com).

Some of the reasons why domain owners choose to implement this feature include:

• – You have a business with multiple domains but you wish to send all traffic to a single, primary website.
  
  
• – You have issues with a particular domain and don’t want to risk visitors landing on a broken page or experiencing an error
  
  
• – You’re moving a website to a new domain name
  
  
• – You want to merge multiple websites or migrate from HTTP to HTTPS

As you can see, website forwarding offers an array of benefits but the importance of this feature goes above simply solving a technical problem.

Why is it so important?

We can understand the importance of using website forwarding properly by looking at two key topics: user experience and SEO.

User experience

Imagine visiting a website and it doesn’t load correctly! Or perhaps it doesn’t load at all and you simply see an error. This will not only affect your trust in their brand, but it will also likely cause you to go to a competitor.

In an age of instant information and huge competition, when we click on a website link we expect to go to the page we want to visit. If this page has moved or has a fault then by setting up website forwarding you can make sure the user gets through to the right URL without experiencing a drop in the user experience.

SEO

No matter whether you have a portfolio of domains or you operate e-commerce sites, you will want to maximise each domain’s SEO. This is because it will add value to the site when you wish to sell it or generate more traffic, in turn generating more sales.

If a page returns an error, such as a 404 or 410 error code then search engine indexes will drop it quickly, losing any ranking that it previously held. Furthermore, backlinks that point to a page with an error end up offering no value to your SEO.

Website forwarding, both as a temporary tool or a permanent one help mitigate these problems and protect your rankings in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).

What are the common issues with forwarding/redirecting that you should avoid?

You should always be aware of potential issues when setting up website forwarding, so take the time to understand what the problem is that you’re trying to resolve with forwarding and follow the correct guidance. Some of the most common issues include:

• – Make sure that a redirect from one page to another offers as closely matched content as possible. If a person is clicking on a link to buy a certain product, make sure the redirect takes them to the same product.
  
  
• – You can have problems with redirect chains, where you don’t simply redirect from A to B, but then B to C. This can increase the chances of problems occurring and reduce the efficiency of the user experience.
  
  
• – Make sure that you remember to change any internal links to avoid unnecessary redirecting.
  
  

Summary

Email forwarding and website forwarding are a fantastic part of the DNS environment and are vital to understanding how to effectively manage website domains. With more of us now managing multiple emails and websites for both personal projects and business opportunities they not only make life easier but help protect investments.

If you’ve joined the Cloudname community or are currently considering investing in domains, then make sure to set up the relevant domain forwarding features for all your new domains.