How to edit DNS in ServerPortal

DNS 101:
To keep things as simple as it gets, DNS serves one primary purpose: to convert a domain name (example.com, www.example.com, subdomain.example.com) to an IP address (123.45.67.89). It does this either directly using an A record, or indirectly using a CNAME record. With an A record, you “point” the domain directly to the IP address you are looking for. With a CNAME record, you point the domain to another domain name, which, in turn, points to the IP address.

Before completing the steps outline in this article, make sure your domain’s nameservers point to ns1.codero.com and ns2.codero.com.  To change your nameservers, you will need to contact your domain registrar (the company you purchased the domain from).

 

Create A DNS Zone for your domain

Log into ServerPortal.com with your client ID and password.

Select Services then DNS Management from the drop-down menu.

dns-management

 

From the DNS Management screen, click the Add Domains button.

add-domain

 

In the Add a Domain pop-up window, enter the domain name in the Domain Name text field, then click the [Create] buton.

When adding a domain name, use only the root domain. DO NOT use www. That is, use domain.com and not www.domain.com

 
If adding multiple domain names at one time, you must add each domain on its own line by pressing Enter

add-a-domain-popup

 

After clicking the Create button, the domain zone will be created.  You will be immediately prompted to add the DNS records for the newly added domain.  If you know the IP address for the new domain, you can add the zone records now.

Adding Records

A (Address) Records

The most important record is the A (address) record.  This record ties your domain name to your IP address.  To set the A record, use the @ symbol as the name for the record, then set the value as your IP address.

The @ symbol is DNS shorthand for the domain name.  You would achieve the same results if you type the full domain name in place of the @ symbol.
@ IN A 123.45.67.89
is the same as
newdomain.com. IN A 123.45.67.89

If you are only adding an A record, click the Create Records button. If you are going to add subdomains (www, ftp, mail, etc) and email to your domain, click the Add Record button.

a-record

 

The A record is the only record required to make your domain resolve to your server, however if you intend to use www.newdomain.com, or email, you will need 2 additional records.

DFTFD!  Don’t Forget The Final Dot!

The #1 most common error people make when creating CNAME an MX records is to forget to put a period ‘.’ at the end of the domain name they are trying to resolve to. 

Example: mail.mydomain.com.mydomain.com

When typing the domain name in the Value field, it is very important to put a final ‘.’ at the end of the domain name.

* IN CNAME newdomain.com.  <– Notice the final dot!

If you have already saved the record without the final dot, you cannot edit the record to add it.  Instead, you will need to delete the record and re-enter it.  This is a known bug in ServerPortal.com.

CNAME (Canonical Name) record

The CNAME (canonical name) record will allow you to use subdomains, such as www.newdomain.com, and points your subdomain to the IP of a domain.  To create a wildcard CNAME record, use the * symbol for the name and your domain name as the value.
Type = CNAME
Name = *
Value = newdomain.com. (DFTFD!)
TTL = 14400

MX (Mail eXchange) Record

The MX record is used to tell people sending email to you where they can find you. It uses a canonical record similar to CNAME records so make sure you DFTFD (See above)
Type = MX
Name = Do NOT enter a vaue in the Name field!
Value = mail.newdomain.com. (DFTFD!)
Priority = 10
TTL = 14400

You may notice after adding the MX record, the value simply shows mail instead of mail.domain.com. Do not be alarmed by this. This is the standard behavior for ServerPortal mail records.

acnamemx

After you have added the A, CNAME and MX records, you’re done! Click the Create Records button to save the records.

 

After creating or changing a zone record, please allow between 4 – 12 hours for the changes to propagate. Do not make changes and expect immediate results!

 

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