This article covers the detailed setup of domain DNS records. If pointing your DNS to VEDOS services is enough, read this article Domains - Pointing DNS to services.
If you need to change the DNS servers (NSSETs) of a domain, follow the Domains - DNS Servers (NSSETs) tutorial. For more information about the difference between DNS records and DNS servers, see the DNS Manual article.
In this article you will read:
- How DNS domain records work
- What basic types of records exist
- How to dump and read DNS records of a domain
- How to add, delete, or edit DNS records for a domain
- Common problems
- Frequently Asked Questions
DNS records
DNS records direct a domain and its subdomains (including www) to sites, e-mails, and other services on the Internet. To run DNS properly, you need:
- The second-level domain (e.g. wds-test.cz) for which you will set up DNS.
- The DNS servers on which the DNS records will be stored. These are usually provided by your domain registrar, hosting provider, or other service.
- The names, types, and dates of DNS records that you obtain from the service provider to which you want to point the domain or subdomain.
Basic DNS record types
Here you will find an overview of the most commonly used DNS records and links to more detailed descriptions.
- And the records you use to list the IPv4 address of the server that runs your site. For more information, see DNS - A and AAAA Records.
- You use AAAA records to list the IPv6 address of the server running your site (if it uses that address). For more information, see DNS - A and AAAA Records.
- ALIAS records can replace A and AAAA records for the main domain. For more information, see DNS - ALIAS and CNAME Records.
- You use CNAME records for so-called domain aliases. For more information, see DNS - ALIAS and CNAME Records.
- You use MX records to list the names of the MX mailservers that receive your mail. For more information, see DNS - MX record.
- TXT records are used to pass various domain settings, such as SPF and DMARC records.
We also support NS, SOA, DNAME, SRV, NAPTR, CAA, HTTPS, SSHFP and TLSA records.
For more detailed information about how DNS works, see the DNS Manual article.
List of DNS records of a domain
To access the DNS record summary, follow these steps:
- Log in to customer administration.
- Select DNS from the top menu.
- Open the details of a specific domain.
- Click the DNS records link in the menu on the left.
In the table, you can see a list of DNS records for the domain. Each record contains:
- A name relative to the current domain (do not specify the domain name itself). An empty name corresponds to the record directly for the domain, otherwise it is a subdomain name. The * in the name corresponds to all other subdomains not listed directly in the DNS.
- TTL, the time after which the record is updated. It is usually set to 1800 s (30 minutes) or 300 s (5 minutes). TTL values of records of the same name and type must be the same.
- The type that determines the purpose of the record. For more information, see Basic record types and their uses.
- The data, i.e. the instructions for the domain behavior itself.
Managing DNS records
The change in DNS records usually takes effect within 60 minutes.
Make sure that you know the current DNS provider of the domain's DNS servers before interfering with DNS records.
Changes to DNS records at VEDOS will not be reflected as long as the domain is using another provider's DNS servers.
Use the controls directly in the report to work with the DNS records listed. You can add, edit, or delete records.
Adding a record
To add a new listing record, follow these steps:
- Click the new record button above the list of DNS records.
- Fill in the name, TTL, type and data in the details. If the record is for the main domain, leave the name field blank.
- Click the Save Record button.
Follow these rules when creating a new record:
- Leave the name blank for the main domain (e.g. wds-test.cz).
- For all subdomains not specified elsewhere, include a * in the name;
- For a specific subdomain, specify only the name of the subdomain without the name of the domain for which you are setting up DNS (e.g., for obchod.wds-test.cz, specify only obchod). Records with a * in the name are not valid for this subdomain.
Editing a record
To edit the TTL or record data, follow these steps:
- Click on the pencil icon on the left side of the corresponding row in the table.
- Make the necessary changes in the record detail.
- Click the Edit Record button.
If you need to change the name or type of a record, delete the original record and add a new one with the correct information.
When you have finished editing, click Apply Changes. This will confirm your selections and prepare you for further processing. If you do not confirm your changes with the button, the system will apply the changes automatically after 5 minutes.
Deleting a record
To delete an unnecessary record, click the red cross button on the left side of the record listing.
To delete multiple records at once, follow these steps:
- For the items you want to delete, select the check boxes on the left side of the record listing.
- Click Delete selected records.
Common problems
The most common problems when working with DNS records include:
- An error message is displayed when creating or modifying DNS records
- Change of records is not reflected
- The original site is displayed
- Emails are not coming in
DNS record creation/editing errors
Problem: An error message is displayed when creating or editing.
Cause: DNS records must meet certain conditions to work properly. The system blocks the insertion of records that violate these conditions.
Solution: Modify the DNS records to resolve the error in the message. Common errors and their solutions include:
- Cannot insert a record of the same name and type if the TTL values do not match: correct the TTL value to match the records of the same name and type that you already have in the table. Most often this is 300, 1800, or 3600.
- Incorrect entry of the A/AAAA record value. IP address version 4/6 must be entered: check that the data field contains only one address in the required format and no other data.
- MX record value entered incorrectly. It must be in the format numeric priority + space + domain name of the email server. Enter the address without protocols (http, https) as per the example above.
If you need to specify multiple MX servers, create a separate entry for each. - Unable to insert a CNAME record with this name: Edit the record name to include either a * or a valid subdomain name. The CNAME record name must not be empty.
- You cannot insert any record for a name for which there is a CNAME record: if you need to replace the current subdomain records with a CNAME record, delete all other records containing that subdomain in their name (including higher-order subdomains).
If you need to add a record of a different type to a record for which a CNAME exists, delete the existing CNAME record and resolve the domain routing in an alternative way, such as A or AAAA records. - The maximum number of entries for this domain is 50: If you need to enter more than 50 entries for a domain, ask &boxbox support to increase this limit. Please provide the domain name and the reason for the request to increase the DNS record limit.
Change of records is not reflected
Problem: More than 60 minutes have passed since the records were changed, but the change has not been reflected.
Cause: The most common cause is that you are using another provider's DNS servers, or you mistakenly entered a value in the name field that contains the domain name (e.g. sub.domena.tld instead of just sub).
Solution: Make sure you are using WEDOS DNS servers (NSSET) and that they have not been changed in the last 48 hours. Next, check that the record name field does not contain adomain name.
The old website is displayed
Problem: After changing DNS records A and CNAME to a new web hosting provider, the old website is still displayed.
Cause: Most often, this is an omission to edit or delete AAAA records that also point to the web.
Solution: If the new provider doesn't support AAAA records, delete any that point the domain to the original web hosting. Next, check to make sure that no old A records remain in the DNS records.
stopped receiving emails
Problem: After changing the DNS records of MX to a new provider, emails stopped arriving.
Cause: Most often a mistakenly entered name (often e.g. mail) interferes with the record. More rarely, you have MX records of different providers listed for the domain and the mail goes to a different provider than where you expect it.
Solution: Create the records again with an empty name.
If you have multiple MX records listed for the domain, delete all MX records except for the current provider.
Frequently Asked Questions
According to the instructions for setting up my service, I should enter a DNS record called @. How do I do that?
Leave the name field blank in this case. Do not add the @ sign or the main domain name.
How to point the eshop subdomain to a different direction than the rest of the site?
Follow the instructions in DNS - Subdomains.
I switched to a webhost that does not have an IPv6 address. Can I delete the old AAAA records?
Yes, be sure to delete the old AAAA records. Some services prefer them over A records and then route the domain to non-existent hosting.
How long before WEDOS publishes my entry?
If you use our DNS servers, the record will be published within 1 hour (unless you have set a particularly long TTL). If you don't use our DNS servers, changing the record with us won't have any effect on the internet.