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DNS records

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As a Web site owner or e-mail administrator, you've no doubt looked at your DNS records. Some of these records will be self-explanatory. Other records require some explanation to properly understand what those records actually regulate. In this knowledge article, we'll tell you everything you need to know about some important DNS records.

What exactly is DNS?

First back up; what exactly is DNS? DNS stands for Domain Name System and is a system that converts domain names into IP addresses. This way, a Web site or other online tool can be reached without having to use an IP address each time. For example, you can simply enter oxxa.com instead of, say, 123.456.78.90 in your browser bar.

When you enter a domain name in your browser bar, your computer sends a DNS query to a DNS server to find out the IP address of the Web site you want to visit. The DNS server then looks up the IP address in its database and sends it back to your computer. It then connects to the server of the Web site you want to visit. All in less than a second.

The part within the DNS responsible for managing a particular domain is the DNS zone. Each zone contains information about the DNS records for the domain, such as the IP addresses of the servers responsible for hosting the website and the domain's email server.

DNS records

As you can imagine, using DNS records correctly is critical to directing visitors to and from your Web site or that of your customers. We discuss below some important aspects of DNS records that you need to know:

  • A-records
    An A record(Address record) is used to associate a domain name with an IP address. This record tells the DNS server which IP address to use to find a domain's Web site.
  • AAAA records
    An AAAA record is actually a similar type of record to an A record. However, an AAAA record is used to associate a domain name with an IPv6 address. IPv6 is the successor to IPv4 and uses a 128-bit address notation system instead of the 32-bit system used in IPv4.
  • MX records
    An MX record(Mail Exchanger record) is used to find a domain's mail server. This record tells the DNS server which server is responsible for handling incoming emails for a particular domain.
  • CNAME records
    A CNAME record(Canonical Name record) is used to create an alias or reference to another domain. For example, this record can be used to link a subdomain to another domain.
  • TXT records
    A TXT(Text record) record can contain different types of information, such as SPF (Sender Policy Framework) records for e-mail authentication or DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) records for digital signatures.
  • SRV records
    An SRV record(Service record) is used to find a specific service within a domain, such as a SIP phone service or an LDAP service.
  • NS records
    An NS record(Nameserver record) is used to specify authoritative nameservers for a specific domain.
  • CAA records
    A CAA record(Certificate Authority Authorization record) is used to indicate which certificate authority issued an SSL certificate for a specific domain. It is an additional means of verification.
  • SHHFP records
    An SSHFP record(SSH Fingerprint Record record) is used to publish the fingerprints of SSH keys for a particular domain, providing an additional layer of security.
  • TLSA record
    A TLSA record(Transport Layer Security Authentication record) is used to associate a domain name with a so-called public key. This key is issued by the certification authority.
  • DNSSEC
    DNSSEC(Domain Name System Security Extensions) is a set of security extensions for the DNS protocol. DNSSEC uses digital signatures to verify that DNS records are authentic and have not been modified by malicious third parties.

By properly configuring and managing these DNS records, you can ensure that your website or your customers' websites and email traffic are routed correctly and that your domain is protected from malicious attacks. It is important to regularly check and update DNS records to ensure they are up-to-date and correct.

Manage DNS records

Within a few clicks, you can manage the DNS records of your domain(s) or those of your clients via your my.oxxa.com environment. You take the following steps:

  1. You log in via my.oxxa.com.
  2. In the menu on the left, choose 'Domains'.
  3. In the overview of your domains or the domains you manage for your clients, click on the cog icon behind the domain whose DNS records you want to manage.
  4. You will now see a block to configure your domain; in this block click on 'Show extended settings'.
  5. Next, under 'Nameserver group' choose the option 'Managed DNS service'.
  6. Next, you can choose the action you want to apply to the domain. In this case: 'Manage records'.
  7. Now an overview appears where you can modify and add a record.
  8. Once you have made the changes, click 'SAVE'.

Do you need help managing the DNS records or do you have a question about one of the records to be managed? Please contact one of our customer service representatives.

I have a question about DNS records

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