Manage DNS records
A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, SRV, TXT and more: what the types mean, with examples for Minecraft and TeamSpeak.
4 min read
On this page
The editor
The domain's DNS tab lists the records of the zone one by one, with a search and a filter by type. Add record opens a dialog with type, name, value and TTL, plus the priority for MX and SRV. Each record has edit and remove next to it.
Changes first collect in the list, marked "new" or "changed". They take effect with Save changes; after that they are live on ns1 and ns2 within seconds. Discard undoes everything unsaved.
The name is relative to the domain: www stands for www.yourdomain.com, @ for the domain itself, * for all subdomains. We manage the SOA and the NS records at @; everything else is yours.
Templates, import, export
Template adds ready-made records for common cases: website on CitexNode Deploy, Minecraft server, TeamSpeak server, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, no email sending, and allow Let's Encrypt (CAA). Import reads a zone file in BIND format, for example Cloudflare's DNS export; you choose whether existing records stay or are replaced. Export downloads the zone as a file. Templates and imports also land in the list as unsaved changes first.
The types
| Type | Purpose | Value |
|---|---|---|
| A | IPv4 address | 94.249.187.52 |
| AAAA | IPv6 address | 2a01:4f8::1 |
| CNAME | Points to another name | target.example.com (nothing else may exist at that name, not at @) |
| ALIAS | Points to another name, also at @ | target.example.com (not with DNSSEC) |
| MX | Mail server | mail.example.com, priority separate, lower number wins |
| SRV | Service record | weight port target, for example 5 25565 mc.example.com, priority separate |
| TXT | Free text | SPF, DKIM, verifications; we add the quotes |
| CAA | Allowed certificate authority | 0 issue letsencrypt.org |
| NS | Nameserver of a subdomain | ns1.example.com (not for @) |
| PTR | Reverse DNS | a hostname |
TLSA, HTTPS, SVCB, SSHFP and DS are available too; the dialog explains the expected format for each type.
TTL is how long resolvers keep a value. One hour is the default; before a planned change, set it to one minute for a while so the switch takes effect quickly.
Minecraft under your own address
So that players can type play.yourdomain.com without a port: Template, Minecraft server, enter subdomain, target and port. By hand this is:
- An A record
playpointing to your node's IP (node3.citexnode.defrom the server's overview can be resolved withping). - An SRV record with name
_minecraft._tcp.play, priority0, value5 25505 play.yourdomain.com– where25505is your port.
The Java client looks up the SRV record and finds the port by itself. Bedrock does not support SRV records; there the port stays in the client.
TeamSpeak under your own address
The easiest way is Template, TeamSpeak server. By hand: SRV with name _ts3._udp (for the domain itself) or _ts3._udp.ts (for ts.yourdomain.com), priority 0, value 5 <port> <address of your server>.
Website and email
For a website on CitexNode Deploy, use the template Website on CitexNode Deploy; for web hosting, A and AAAA for @ and www pointing to the address the web hosting shows. For email with Google or Microsoft there are dedicated templates; for any other provider, enter their MX records, an SPF as TXT (v=spf1 include:… -all) and the DKIM records the provider specifies.
DNSSEC
In the DNSSEC tab you turn on Sign zone. With our registrar Tausio, however, DNSSEC cannot be set at the registry; the page says so and shows the DS records you would otherwise have to enter yourself. If you need it, send a ticket. NS records at @ are the delegation, see Nameservers.