This article discusses DNS Type A and AAAA records in detail. For general instructions on DNS records and how to set them up in the customer administration, see DNS - Domain Records.
In this article you will read:
Type A records
And the records you use to list the IPv4 address of the server that contains your site. Almost all VEDOS services have this address. If you are running your site elsewhere, find out whether you are pointing the domain to the service using an A record or another type(AAAA, ALIAS/CNAME).
An IPv4 address is a numerical designation of a computer on the network. For example, 46.28.105.2. Although this version of addressing is now obsolete, it is still very common, and some services do not yet even offer an alternative, which is the newer IPv6 address given in AAAA records.
The type A record supports only the address, it does not allow you to specify the port at the same time.
Discovering the IPv4 address of a service
All VEDOS hosts have an IPv4 address, with the exception of VPS SSD servers, where the IPv4 address is an additional service. The address can be found in the customer administration in the service details. If you already know it, continue with the Entering Type A entries section.
To access the VEDOS service details, follow these steps:
- Log in to the customer administration ⧉.
- In the top menu, select the type of service: Hosting Services Webhosting, WMS or WebSite, or Server Services VPS ON, VPS SSD or Dedicated.
- From the list, select the service whose IPv4 address you want to discover.
Open detail:
Continue by service type.
- For Web Hosting (including WMS Web Hosting) and WebSite, you can find the IPv4 address in the Service Addresses table.
- For VPS HDD, VPS SSD and Dedicated servers, you can find the IPv4 address in the IPv4 address table.
- For VPS ON, you can find the IPv4 address in the Assigned IP Addresses table.
If the service whose IPv4 address you want to find out is not with VEDOS, search for the help for that service or contact the support of its provider.
Entering type A records
For general instructions on setting up DNS records in the customer administration, see DNS - Domain Records.
If the domain uses other DNS servers, automatic or manual changes to VEDOS records will not affect its behavior.
Basic A records typically contain one record for the main domain (with a blank name) and one record for any subdomains not specified elsewhere in the record (with an * in the name):
Name TTL Type Data (blank) 300 A (IPv4 server address) * 300 A (IPv4 server address)
Whenever you specify any entry for a subdomain (except CNAME), if that subdomain is to point to an IPv4 address, create a corresponding type A entry for it. If no other record exists for the subdomain, it will point to the IPv4 address of the server listed for the record named *.
And specify the subdomain record according to the pattern:
Name TTL Type Data (name-subdomains) 300 A (IPv4 server address)
You can have type A records set up automatically under certain circumstances. Our system sets DNS records on VEDOS DNS servers.
To set up DNS records automatically:
- By checking the DNS record settings when setting up and renaming a Web Hosting or WebSite service, or when setting up an alias.
- To point a domain to a service, follow the instructions in Domains - Pointing to Services.
Examples of type A records
Example: the domain and all subdomains point to IP address 46.28.105.1:
Example: the domain and almost all subdomains point to IP address 46.28.105.1, but the eshop subdomain points to 46.28.105.3:
Example: a domain directed to the default VEDOS server via both A and AAAA records:
Type AAAA record
You use AAAA records to specify the IPv6 address of the server that contains your site. Many VEDOS services have this address, with the exception of some web hosts. If you are running a site elsewhere, find out if you are pointing the domain to the service using an AAAA record or another type (A, ALIAS/CNAME).
An IPv6 address is a numerical designation of a computer on the network. For example, 2a02:2b88:1:4::16. This version of addressing is new, and some newer devices prefer it, while other older devices cannot use it. Therefore, domains still mostly use an IPv4 address, which you specify using A-type entries.
The AAAA DNS record is optional, and many services do not support it. If your service is not accessible via an IPv6 address but you have AAAA records for it, it may be an old setting. Make sure that the AAAA records are not really pointing to your service, and then remove them.
Discovering the IPv6 address of a service
Almost all VEDOS hosts have an IPv6 address, with the exception of older web hosts that use only IPv4 addresses. The address can be found in the customer administration in the service details. If you already know it, continue with the Entering AAAA records section.
To access the VEDOS service details, follow these steps:
- Log in to the customer administration ⧉.
- In the top menu, select the service type: Hosting Services Webhosting or WebSite, or Server Services VPS ON, VPS SSD or Dedicated.
- From the list, select the service whose IPv6 address you want to discover.
Open service detail:
Continue by service type.
- For Webhosting (including WMS) and WebSite, you can find the IPv6 address in the Service Addresses table. If the WWW IPv6 row is blank, the IPv6 address is not supported by the webhost system. If you need to use an IPv6 address with such a web host, contact customer support. Provide the name of the web host and a request for an IPv6 address.
- Server services typically use the entire range instead of a single IPv6 address. The specific addresses must be configured in the administration or system of each service according to the IPv6 address guidelines for VPS SSD and VPS ON.
If the service whose IPv6 address you want to find out is not with VEDOS, search for the help for that service or contact the support of its provider.
Entering AAAA records
For general instructions on setting up DNS records in the customer administration, see DNS - Domain Records.
If the domain uses other DNS servers, automatic or manual changes to VEDOS records will not affect its behavior.
Basic AAAA records typically contain one record for the main domain (with an empty name) and one record for any subdomains not specified elsewhere in the record (with an * in the name):
Name TTL Type Data
(empty) 300 AAAA (IPv6 server address)
* 300 AAAA (IPv6 server address)
Whenever you specify any entry for a subdomain (except CNAME), if that subdomain is to point to an IPv6 address, create a corresponding AAAA entry for it. If no other record exists for the subdomain, it will point to the IPv6 address of the server listed for the record named *.
Specify the AAAA subdomain record according to the following pattern:
Name TTL Type Data
(nazev-subdomeny) 300 AAAA (IPv6 server address)
You can have AAAA records set automatically under certain circumstances. Our system sets DNS records on VEDOS DNS servers.
To set up DNS records automatically:
- By checking the DNS record settings when setting up and renaming a Web Hosting or WebSite service, or when setting up an alias.
- To point a domain to a service, follow the instructions in Domains - Pointing to Services.
Examples of AAAA records
Example: the domain and all subdomains point to IP address 2a02:2b88:1:4::11:
Example: the domain and almost all subdomains point to IP address 2a02:2b88:1:4::11, but the eshop subdomain points to 2a02:2b88:1:4::17:
Example: a domain directed to the default VEDOS server via both A and AAAA records:
Example: a domain directed to a new service through an A record, but the default VEDOS server remained in the AAAA records:
Frequently Asked Questions
My web hosting provider did not give me any IPv4/IPv6 address, what should I do?
If you have an IPv4 address, set it in the A records of the domain, and an IPv6 address in AAAA. However, some older devices do not support IPv6. Many providers also handle pointing the domain to their services using an ALIAS (ANAME) or CNAME record.
What is the connection between Type A and AAAA records?
Records of both types should go to the same server. Otherwise, different information may be displayed to visitors. Some servers don't use IPv4 or IPv6 addresses - so only list the records that actually lead to the desired server for the domain.
How do I know that A/AAAA records are going to my web host?
The correct website is displayed. If you are running the same version of the site on multiple servers, use diagnostic tools such as the domain or web hosting diagnostics in the customer administration. Caution - if you have changed DNS servers in the last 48 hours, the information in the diagnostics may be out of date.
How to point the eshop subdomain to a different direction than the rest of the site?
Create a custom A or AAAA record for it. Alternatively, use a CNAME record.