Managing DNS records in DirectAdmin – partners.one

In this guide, we discuss DNS records and how to manage them. This guide applies to managing DNS records on a hosting package. At the end of this step-by-step guide, you will find an explanation of DNS records and a list of our standard DNS records.

DNS Management in DirectAdmin

You can manage DNS records in DirectAdmin.

1. Log in to DirectAdmin.

2. In the menu, go to 'Account Manager' → 'DNS Management'.

3. Click the green 'Add record' button. Select the desired record type, enter the required information, and click 'Add'.

After making a DNS change, it may take some time before the update becomes effective due to technical processes. If you don’t see the change take effect right away, please allow some time for it to propagate.

Removing records

You can delete records by checking the box next to an existing record and then clicking 'Delete'.

DNS Management for aliases and pointers

It is also possible to edit DNS records for alias domains (or domain pointers).

2. In the menu, go to 'Account Management' → 'Domain Pointers'.

3. Next to the domain name whose DNS you want to manage, click 'View' (in the 'DNS' column).

4. You can now manage the DNS records in the same way as for your primary domain.

Disable local mail handling

If you are using an external mail server (for example, Google Workspace), our server must be informed not to handle e-mail for this domain. Failure to do so may result in emails from contact forms or other sources on your website not being delivered.

You can enable or disable local mail handling as follows:

1. In the menu, go to 'E-mail Manager' → 'MX Records'.

2. Uncheck 'Use this server to handle my e-mails' and click 'Save'.

Explaining DNS

DNS records are used to define how different services for your domain name are managed. For example, DNS can specify which provider handles your e-mail, while your domain points to a website hosted by another provider.

DNS records also translate your domain name into an IP address. While devices cannot understand domain names, they can recognise IP addresses. This allows your device to determine which IP address corresponds to a given domain name.

DNS records always consist of three components.

Name – This usually indicates which part of the domain the record applies to.
Type – This specifies the type of DNS record.
Value – This contains the information associated with the record. For instance, the IP address of the server which handles your mail.

In general, you should avoid changing your DNS records unless another provider specifically instructs you to do so. Incorrect changes can cause your website to stop working or prevent e-mails from being delivered.

Types of DNS records

Each type of DNS record serves a specific purpose. In most situations, you will only need to modify one of the following records:

A – Points your domain or subdomain to a specific IP address.
CNAME – Redirects one domain or subdomain to another domain name.
MX – Directs e-mail for your domain to the correct mail server.

These are the most commonly adjusted records when configuring your domain.

A Record

An A record is used to point a domain name or subdomain to an IPv4 address. It is also used to define how certain parts of your domain should be handled.

yourdomain.com. A 123.45.67.89

AAAA record

There are two types of IP addresses. An A record handles IPv4 addresses (recognised by a sequence of numbers only), while an AAAA record does the same for IPv6 addresses (which contain both numbers and letters).

example.com. AAAA 2a03:4c56:a789:1234::5

CNAME-record

With a CNAME record, you can point a subdomain to another location. This is often used for 'www', which then redirects to the main domain.

www CNAME example.com.

Often, when your website is hosted elsewhere, you will be provided with a CNAME record.

MX-record

MX records specify which server(s) are used to handle e-mail. It is even possible to designate multiple e-mail servers. By assigning different priorities, the system first attempts to deliver mail to the server with the highest priority. If that server is unavailable, it will try the server with the next highest priority, and so on.

example.com. MX 10 mail.example.com.

For the record above, mail will be directed to mail.example.com. If you want another provider to handle your e-mail instead of Antagonist, you must disable local mail handling.

TXT-record

This record is used, among other things, for SPF records (to validate email) and for domain verification. Services such as G Suite or Office 365 often require adding a TXT record.

example.com. TXT google-verification-abc123def456ghi789

DNS rules

In the world of DNS records and their specific notation, a number of rules apply. The notation is quite precise.

Entering Domain Names

Fully qualified domain names are always terminated with a dot (for example, example.com.). If you do not do this, your own domain name will be appended automatically. The following happens if you do not put a dot at the end of an MX record value:

DNS record:

example.com. MX 10 mail.example.com

Result:

example.com. MX 10 mail.example.com.example.com

An extra example.com is appended. The following is correct:

example.com. MX 10 mail.example.com.

An external domain name can be specified by ending it with a dot: example.com.
IP addresses are entered with dots in between but do not have a dot at the end: 123.45.67.89

Conflicting records

DNS supports many different types of records, but not all types can coexist with the same name. For example, you cannot have a CNAME, AAAA, and A record all using the same name. This creates a conflict and is therefore not allowed. To resolve it, first delete the existing record with that name, then add the new record.

Example: The `www` Record

You can create an A record and an AAAA record with www in the name to point to an IPv4 and IPv6 address, respectively. However, if you need to add a CNAME record with www in the name, you cannot do so while the A and AAAA records for www still exist.

Procedure:

Delete the existing A and AAAA records with www in the name.
Add the new CNAME record with www in the name.

Following this procedure ensures your DNS records remain unambiguous and conflict-free.

DNS propagation delay

After adding or modifying a DNS record, it can take several hours for the change to take effect globally. This delay occurs because DNS records are cached: devices store DNS information to avoid repeatedly looking up the IP address for a domain, such as google.com.

Important:

DNS changes are typically propagated within an hour.
Some DNS resolvers may take up to 24 hours to update.
This propagation time is automatic and cannot be shortened manually.

Understanding this delay helps prevent confusion when newly added DNS records do not work immediately.

Nameservers

Nameservers play a crucial role in directing traffic for your domain. Nameservers determine where you need to configure the DNS records for a domain, or where your device should retrieve the information for that domain. If your domain is using external nameservers, any changes need to be configured with the provider of the external nameservers.

Important points:

Nameservers control the location where DNS records are stored and managed.
Changing DNS records in the system only affects domains that are using the provider's nameservers.

By ensuring your domain uses the correct nameservers, you can effectively manage your DNS records and ensure all services point to the right destinations.

List of Standard DNS Records

When you register a domain with us, DNS records are automatically configured by default. These default records assume that all services for the domain will point to our platform.

A and AAAA Records

A records always point to the assigned IPv4 address. Replace 123.45.67.89 in the examples below with your own assigned IP address.
AAAA records point to the assigned IPv6 addresses. Replace the example IPv6 addresses with your own as needed.

This ensures that your domain correctly resolves to the services hosted on our servers.

ftp A 123.45.67.89
mail A 123.45.67.89
yourdomain.com. A 123.45.67.89
pop A 123.45.67.89
smtp A 123.45.67.89
www A 123.45.67.89

ftp AAAA 2a12:3c34:a561:7890::1
mail AAAA 2a12:3c34:a561:7890::1
yourdomain.com. AAAA 2a12:3c34:a561:7890::1
pop AAAA 2a12:3c34:a561:7890::1
smtp AAAA 2a12:3c34:a561:7890::1
www A 2a12:3c34:a561:7890::1

MX record

The MX record is configured to direct mail traffic to the A record that uses 'mail' in its name. This ensures that all incoming emails are correctly routed to the server specified in the corresponding A record.

yourdomain.com. MX 10 mail

TXT Records

There are two standard TXT records: the DKIM record and the SPF record.

SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record: Defines which mail servers are authorised to send e-mails on behalf of your domain. This helps prevent spammers from sending e-mails that appear to come from your domain.
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) record: Adds a digital signature to outgoing e-mails, allowing receiving servers to verify that the message was not altered and that it truly comes from your domain.

Both records are essential for improving e-mail deliverability and protecting your domain from spoofing and phishing attacks.

_dmarc TXT "v=DMARC1; p=none"

yourdomain.com. TXT "v=spf1 a mx ip4:195.211.72.0/22 ip4:141.138.168.0/21 ip6:2a03:3c00:a001::/48 ip6:2a03:3c00:a002::/48 ~all"

CNAME records

Several CNAME records are configured:

autoconfig CNAME mail.antagonist.nl.
autodiscover CNAME mail.antagonist.nl.
whs1._domainkey CNAME abcdef12345hijklmnop.whs1.dkim.webhostingserver.nl.
whs2._domainkey CNAME abcdef12345hijklmnop.whs2.dkim.webhostingserver.nl.
whs3._domainkey CNAME abcdef12345hijklmnop.whs3.dkim.webhostingserver.nl.

What is TTL?

The TTL (time-to-live) defines how long (in seconds) a DNS record may be stored in cache. A shorter TTL means records are refreshed more frequently, while a longer TTL reduces lookups but can delay the visibility of changes.

In DirectAdmin, the TTL cannot be modified.
By default, the TTL is set to 1 hour.

Negative TTL

The TTL for 'negative' results (when a record does not exist) is defined in the SOA record. Customers cannot change this value. It typically ranges from 100 seconds (about 1.5 minutes) to 3600 seconds (1 hour).

Need assistance?

If you are unsure how to apply a DNS change, our support team can assist you. Please provide:

The exact DNS records you want to add or modify, written as plain text (not as a screenshot).
A link to any help page from the service that requires the DNS change (if available).

With this information, support can guide you more quickly and accurately.