Domain Management Tutorial: Creating Various Records

Welcome to this tutorial on domain management! We’ll discuss what domain records are, the different types of records, how to create them, and how to test them. We’ll keep it simple and easy to understand.

What are Domain Records?

When you type a website address (like www.example.com) into your browser, your computer needs to find out where that website is located on the internet. This is done using domain records, which are like instructions that tell your computer how to find the website.

Types of Domain Records

1. A Record (Address Record)

• Purpose: An A record points your domain name to an IP address. It’s like a phone book that translates a human-friendly domain name into a computer-friendly IP address.
• Example: If you want www.example.com to go to the IP address 192.0.2.1, you set an A record for that.

1. CNAME Record (Canonical Name Record)

• Purpose: A CNAME record is used to alias one name to another. It’s like a nickname. For example, you can make blog.example.com point to www.example.com.
• Example: If you want blog.example.com to go to www.example.com, you set a CNAME record.

1. MX Record (Mail Exchange Record)

• Purpose: MX records tell email servers where to deliver emails sent to your domain.
• Example: If you want emails sent to [email protected] to go to your email server at mail.example.com, you set an MX record.

1. TXT Record (Text Record)

• Purpose: TXT records are used to store text information. This can be used for various purposes like verifying domain ownership or setting email security measures.
• Example: Adding a TXT record can verify your domain with Google.

1. NS Record (Name Server Record)

• Purpose: NS records specify the name servers for your domain. These are the servers that are authoritative for your domain and contain all your DNS records.
• Example: If your domain’s DNS is managed by ns1.example.com and ns2.example.com, you set NS records for them.

How to Create Domain Records

Creating domain records is done through your domain registrar’s control panel. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Log in to Your Domain Registrar

• Go to the website where you registered your domain and log in.

1. Find the DNS Management Section

• Look for a section called “DNS Management” or “Domain Settings.”

1. Add a New Record

• Click on the option to add a new record.
• Choose the type of record you want to add (A, CNAME, MX, etc.).
• Fill in the required fields. For an A record, this would be your domain and the IP address. For a CNAME, it would be the alias and the domain it points to.

1. Save Your Changes

• After entering the information, save your changes.

How to Test Domain Records

1. Use Online Tools

• Websites like WhatsMyDNS can check if your DNS records are set up correctly.
• Enter your domain name and select the type of record you want to check (A, CNAME, MX, etc.).

1. Command Line Tools

• If you are comfortable with using the command line, you can use tools like nslookup or dig to check your DNS records.
• For example, open the command prompt or terminal and type nslookup www.example.com to check the A record.

Example: Creating and Testing an A Record

1. Creating an A Record:

• Log in to your domain registrar.
• Go to DNS Management.
• Add a new A record.
• Set the domain to www.example.com and the IP address to 192.0.2.1.
• Save your changes.

1. Testing an A Record:

• Go to WhatsMyDNS.
• Enter www.example.com and select A from the dropdown menu.
• Click “Search” and see if the IP address 192.0.2.1 shows up.

Congratulations! You’ve learned about domain records, how to create them, and how to test them. With this knowledge, you can manage your domain settings and ensure your website and email services are correctly configured.