If you have a specific question or issue you’re troubleshooting, use the table of contents to jump to the appropriate section below. If however, your goal is just to learn more about DNS in general, this guide will provide you with a greater understanding as well as some useful tips.

What is DNS? A Beginner’s Guide

DNS stands for Domain Name System. A Domain Name is a human language representation of an IP address. An IP Address is what every computer on the internet uses to address itself when interacting with other computers, using a network protocol called TCP/IP. IP (v4) addresses look like a series of numbers and decimal points, such as 123.123.123.12.

When someone types in a domain name like www.domain.com, their browser communicates with a series of root domain name servers that act as a reference book, providing the IP address associated with that domain name. The browser then uses that IP to communicate directly to the server that the website is hosted on.

In this way, DNS acts as a middle-man, translating user requests into IP addresses. This is what allows people to connect to websites over the internet. Without DNS, people would be required to memorize and enter long IP addresses when connecting to other websites instead of just typing in the website’s name.

DNS Terminology

The following is a list of important terms and concepts related to the Domain Name System.

• TLD (Top Level Domain) – the TLD is the last part of a domain name, such as .com, .net, .org, a two letter country domain, or one of several other TLDs out there.
• SLD (Second Level Domain) – the SLD is the most human readable part of the domain name. In a domain name like www.domain.com, “domain” is the SLD. An SLD can contain any alphanumeric character in it (a-z, 0-9), dashes or minuses ( – ), or underscores ( _ ), but it cannot have spaces between characters.
• Sub-Domain (Third Level Domain) – sub-domains are technically called Canonical Domains (or CNAMEs) for short. A sub-domain is like having an extra domain name and can be almost anything you like. In a domain name like www.subdomain.domain.com, “subdomain” is the sub-domain. Other than that, it works the same as a regular domain name.
• Addon Domain – an addon domain is a separate domain, hosted on your primary domain and controlled through the same control panel, which appears to visitors as a completely separate website. Addon domains allow site owners to host multiple websites without requiring separate control panels for each. To use addon domains, you must have registered domain names for each and they should all use the same name servers as your primary domain.
• Parked Domain – a parked domain is a secondary domain name that points to your primary domain. These domains display the same website as your primary domains and do not have separate web statistics, but can have their own email boxes.

  For example, if you’re the owner of mywebsite.net, you can purchase mywebsite.com and set it up as a parked domain. In this example, should a user then search for your website with the “.com” instead of the “.net”, your parked domain would show them the same content as if they had gone to your primary domain.

• A-Records (Address Records) – A-records are the most important part of a DNS record. A-records point to a specific IP address. Your short domain name (without the www), NS, and FTP should all have A-records. Subdomains sometimes have A-records too. An A-record can point to any IP-address.
• CNAME-Records (Canonical Domain Records) – CNAMEs include subdomains and Aliases, and are used to point to a domain name or to a file within a domain. However, CNAMEs should always point to an A-record, not another CNAME. It is a common practice to create a CNAME for www and for subdomains that are actually hosted by your domain. CNAMES can also be used as temporary aliases to point your domain to another domain.

  *Note: when pointing a CNAME, always put a period after the domain (ie: ftp -> CNAME -> domain.com.)

• MX-Records (Mail Exchange Records) – MX-records point to the name of an email server and hold a priority number for that server. MX-records must point to an A-record or in some situations an IP-address.

  For more information on MX-records, check out our guide on Configuring an MX Record.

• PTR Record (Reverse DNS Record) – A PTR record is a reverse mapping from IP to name. For instance, when a lookup is made on the IP of 1.2.3.4, it should come back with host.mydomain.com. It is a very good idea to have the hostname of your server match the PTR record assigned to it’s IP. This can only be changed by the owner of the IP address.
• DNS Cluster – A DNS cluster is a network of nameservers that share records between each other. This allows for a greater degree of physical separation between servers without sacrificing DNS functionality. When established correctly, it can even allow visitors faster access to a website by provided multiple outlets for processing DNS requests.

  For more information on DNS Clusters, check out our guide on Setting DNS Clusters in WHM.

• Round Robin DNS – Round robin DNS is a method by which a DNS record has more than one value. The result is, when a request is made to the DNS server which serves this record, the answer given alternates for each request. For instance, if you had two webservers that you wished to distribute requests between, you could set up your DNS zone like this:

  www IN A 1.2.3.4

  IN A 2.3.4.5

  In this instance, when a query is made to the DNS server, it will first give the IP of 1.2.3.4 for the www host. However, the next time a request is made for the IP of www, it will serve 2.3.4.5. This process will alternate back and forth for each subsequent query.

  While a round robin DNS setup allows for greater load balancing, it should be noted that if one of the hosts becomes unavailable, the DNS server will not know this. Should this happen, the DNS will continue to alternate giving out the IP of the downed server.

Example DNS Record

The following is an example of what a sample DNS record might look like.

*Note: Don’t forget to put a period after the domain name like in the examples above.

How to Install and Configure DNS

Now you know more about the Domain Name System and what it does, but before you can start using it, you’ll need to know how to install and configure DNS. for the purposes of this guide we’ll be covering the DNS configuration and installation procedure specifically for an older Windows Server 2003. For information on installing DNS onto newer server models, check out our guide on How to Setup DNS Server on Windows Server 2012.

Preliminary Requirements for DNS Configuration

Before you can configure your DNS, you’ll need to gather some basic information. Some of these requirements must be pre-approved by InterNIC for use on the Internet. If you’re configuring your server for internal use only, you can decide which names and IP addresses to use yourself.

To start, you must have the following information:

• Your domain name (approved by InterNIC)
• The IP address and host name of each server that you want to provide name resolution for

*Note: Your servers may include mail servers, public access servers, FTP servers, WWW servers, and others.

Additionally, before you can configure your computer as a DNS, you’ll need to verify that the following conditions are true:

• First, you’ll need to ensure that your operating system is configured correctly. In the Windows Server 2003 family, the DNS service relies on the correct configuration of the operating system and its services, such as TCP/IP. If you have a new installation of a Windows Server 2003 operating system, you can use the default service settings, removing the need to take additional action.
• Next, make sure you’ve allocated all the available disk space.
• Lastly, check that all existing disk volumes use the NTFS file system. FAT32 volumes are not secure, and do not support file and folder compression, disk quotas, file encryption, or individual file permissions.

DNS Installation

To install DNS, just follow these 4 steps:

1. First, you’ll need to open the Windows Components Wizard. To locate the Windows Components Wizard:
   1. Click Start, -> Control Panel, and then click on Add or Remove Programs.
   2. Click Add/Remove Windows Components.
2. In Components, select the Networking Services check box, and then click Details.
3. In Subcomponents of Networking Services, select the Domain Name System (DNS) check box, click OK, and then click Next.
4. If you are prompted, in Copy files from, type the full path of the distribution files, and then click OK.

Once this process is completed, DNS should begin installing.

DNS Configuration

To configure your DNS server, follow these 5 steps:

1. First, you’ll need to start the Configure Your Server Wizard. To do so, click Start -> All Programs -> Administrative Tools, and then click Configure Your Server Wizard.
2. On the Server Role page, click DNS server, and then click Next.
3. On the Summary of Selections page, view and confirm the options that you have selected. The following items should appear on this page:
   • Install DNS
   • Run the Configure a DNS Wizard to configure DNS

   If the Summary of Selections page lists these two items, click Next.

   If the Summary of Selections page does not list these two items, click Back to return to the Server Role page, click DNS, and then click Next to load the page again.

4. When the Configure Your Server Wizard installs the DNS service, it first determines whether the IP address for this server is static or is configured automatically. If your server is currently configured to obtain its IP address automatically, the Configuring Components page of the Windows Components Wizard will prompt you to configure the server with a static IP address. To do so perform the following actions:
   1. In the Local Area Connection Properties dialog box, click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties.
   2. Next, click Use the following IP address, and then type the static IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway for this server.
   3. In Preferred DNS, type the IP address of this server.
   4. In Alternate DNS, either type the IP address of another internal DNS server, or leave this box blank.
   5. When you’ve finished setting up the static IP addresses for your DNS, click OK, and then click Close.
5. After you Close the Windows Components Wizard, the Configure a DNS Server Wizard will start. In the wizard, follow these steps:
   1. On the Select Configuration Action page, select the Create a forward lookup zone check box, and then click Next.
   2. To specify that this DNS hosts a zone containing DNS resource records for your network resources, on the Primary Server Location page, click This server maintains the zone, and then click Next.
   3. On the Zone Name page, in Zone name, specify the name of the DNS zone for your network, and then click Next. The name of the zone is the same as the name of the DNS domain for your small organization or branch office.
   4. On the Dynamic Update page, click Allow both nonsecure and secure dynamic updates, and then click Next. This makes sure that the DNS resource records for the resources in your network update automatically.
   5. On the Forwarders page, click Yes, it should forward queries to DNS servers with the following IP addresses, and then click Next. When you select this configuration, you forward all DNS queries for DNS names outside your network to a DNS at either your ISP or central office. Type one or more IP addresses that either your ISP or central office DNS servers use.
   6. On the Completing the Configure a DNS Wizard page of the Configure a DNS Wizard, you can click Back to change any of your selected settings. Once you’re happy with your selections, click Finish to apply them.

After finishing the Configure a DNS Wizard, the Configure Your Server Wizard displays the This Server is Now a DNS Server page. To review the changes made to your server or to make sure that a new role was installed successfully, click on the Configure Your Server log. The Configure Your Server Wizard log is located at:

%systemroot%\Debug\Configure Your Server.log

To close the Configure Your Server Wizard, just click Finish.

Setting Up a DNS Forward Lookup Zone

Forward lookup zones are the specific zones which resolve domain names into IP addresses. If you’ve followed the configuration instructions above, your forward lookup zone should already be set up. If for some reason you need to set up a forward lookup zone after configuring your DNS, you can follow these instructions:

1. First, open up DNS by navigating to the Start menu -> Administrative Tools -> DNS.
2. Expand the server and right click Forward Lookup Zones and click New Zone.
3. Click Next and select the type of zone you want to create.
4. Select the method to replicate zone data throughout the network and click Next.
5. Type in the name of the zone.
6. Select the type of updates you want to allow and click Next.
7. Once you’ve completed everything, click on Finish.

Changing the DNS Server for Network Interfaces

If you need to change the DNS server for different network interfaces, you can do so using the following:

1. In Network Connections, right-click the local area connection, and then click Properties.
2. In Local Area Connection Properties, select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties.
3. Click Use the following DNS server addresses, and in Preferred DNS server and Alternate DNS server, type the IP addresses of the preferred and alternate DNS servers.
4. To add more DNS servers, click the Advanced button.

Flush the DNS Resolver Cache

A DNS resolver cache is a temporary database created by a server to store data on recent DNS lookups. Keeping a cache helps speed up the lookup process for returning IP addresses. You can use the command ipconfig /displaydns to see what entries are currently stored in your server’s cache.

Sometimes though, a virus will hijack a servers DNS cache and use it to re-route requests. This is sometimes referred to as cache poisoning, and is one of several reasons why you may want to flush the DNS cache.

To do so, enter the following command:

ipconfig /flushdns

When completed successfully, you should receive a message that says “Windows IP configuration successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.”

Creating a DNS Entry for the Web Server

Obviously, one of the most important things about running a website is ensuring that it is accessible to users. Part of this process involves creating alias or CNAME (Canonical Name) records for the DNS server on which you’ve configured IIS (Internet Information Services). This step is important, because it makes sure that external host computers can connect to your Web server by using the “www” host name.

To create a new DNS entry, just follow these steps:

1. First, you’ll need to open the DNS snap-in. To do this, click Start -> Administrative Tools -> DNS.
2. Once you’ve opened DNS, expand “Host name” (where “Host name” is the host name of your DNS server).
3. Expand the option labelled Forward Lookup Zones.
4. Within the Forward Lookup Zones, right-click the zone you want (for example, domain_name.com) and then click New Alias (CNAME).
5. In the Alias name box, type “www.”
6. Lastly, in the Fully qualified name for target host box, type the fully qualified host name of the DNS server on which IIS is installed (for example, dns.domain_name.com).
7. When you’ve finished, click OK to finalize your changes.

Creating a DNS Entry Using cPanel, WHM, or Plesk

Depending on your server’s setup, you may prefer to create your DNS entries using your server’s GUI control panel. The following is a list of links to articles that deal specifically with making new DNS entries using cPanel, WHM, or Plesk. If you use any of these three control panels, you might want to look over the corresponding article for more information on using DNS alongside your preferred control panel.

• For instructions on creating DNS entries using cPanel, check out our guide on How to Create DNS Records in cPanel.
• For instructions on creating DNS entries using WHM, check out our guide on How to Create DNS Records in WHM.
• For instructions on creating DNS entries using Plesk, check our our guide on How to Create DNS Records in Plesk.

Secure Recursive DNS

A recursive look up is when a DNS server gets queried for a domain which it isn’t authoritative. For example, if you queried your nameserver for the domain yahoo.com, that would be a non-authorative or recursive lookup.

Based on this principle, DNS recursion, also known as having an open DNS server, is when your DNS server is available for DNS lookups for the general public. If you have an open DNS server, chances are higher your server will get abused by spammers. In addition, open DNS recursion is very resource consuming.

To lighten the load on your server and reduce potential risk, the following changes can be made to restrict recursive and caching lookups to only the IP blocks listed in the configuration. This can help reduce the risk associated with DNS exploitations used by hackers and malicious actors online.

First, you’ll need to follow the set of instructions specific to your server’s OS. We’ve included instructions for both Linux and Windows server users.

Linux Servers

To secure recursion on Linux servers running Bind, you’ll need to modify the file /etc/named.conf. *Note: before making any changes, please be sure to back up the file to ensure nothing is lost.

If you look at the example below, you’ll notice that the first line of “allow-recursion” is set up for the IP address 127.0.0.1. What this does is allow the local Linux machine to query this specific IP address (127.0.0.1), assuming the server has a nameserver 127.0.0.1 with which to query. Additionally, if you wanted to lock your DNS down even further, you can edit these lines to include only your required or preferred subnets.

options {
 recursion yes;
 allow-recursion { 127.0.0.1/32; };
 allow-query-cache { 127.0.0.1/32; };
}

After making any changes, you’ll need to restart Bind with the following command:

service named restart

or

/etc/init.d/named restart

Windows Servers

For Window Servers, if the local DNS server is not used for caching, then recursion needs to be disabled. Luckily, this is an easy change to make, involving a simple check mark in the DNS servers configuration settings.

If you need to turn DNS recursion off for your Bind installation, follow these steps:

1. First, log in to your Windows server via Remote Desktop.
2. Open the Windows DNS server console, by navigating to Start -> Administrative Tools -> DNS.
3. In the console tree, right-click on the name of the DNS server you are making changes on.
4. Select Properties which will open a new window, and then select the Advanced tab.
5. Under Server Options select the Disable Recursion checkbox, then click the application’s OK or Apply buttons.

Now, recursion has been turned off for your DNS server. Should you ever wish to change this setting, simply repeat the above process and deselect the Disable Recursion checkbox.

In Closing and Further Reading

Now, you should have a better understanding of what DNS is and what it does, as well as the processes necessary to install and configure it. In addition, we’ve covered several more advanced DNS features including setting recursion and creating CNAMEs.

For further information on DNS, we’ve included a series of links to related articles in the list below. If you are facing issues not covered in this article, feel free to look over these or reach out to our support team for assistance.

DNS Related Links:

• How to Setup DNS Server on Windows Server 2012
• How to Create DNS Records in cPanel
• How to Create DNS Records in WHM
• How to Create DNS Records in Plesk
• Setting DNS Clusters in WHM
• How to Create DNS Records in myVelocity

Popular Links

Looking for more information on DNS? Search our Knowledge Base!

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• What is the DNS Trailing Period?
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• How to Resolve Error 421 Service Not Available and Other Issues with FTP Service

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Don’t see what you’re looking for? Use the search bar at the top to search our entire Knowledge Base.

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The post DNS Configuration: Everything You Need to Know appeared first on Hivelocity Hosting.

In this guide we’ll cover the process for creating and editing DNS record within Plesk as well as covering how to add additional domains, subdomains, and domains aliases. If you have a specific issue you are trying to address, feel free to use the table of contents listed below to jump to the appropriate section.

*Note: If you need information on DNS records but aren’t a Plesk user, check out our guides on How to Create DNS Records in cPanel, WHM, or, for more general DNS information, take a look at our DNS Configuration Guide for an overview of basic DNS terminology as well as some more advanced troubleshooting techniques.

Creating DNS Records in Plesk

To create DNS records using Plesk, follow these steps:

1. First, you’ll need to log in to your Plesk control panel using your username and password. You can access your Plesk account by entering the following URL into your web browser:

   https://(your server’s IP address):8443

   alternatively, if A records are already propagated for the server, you can use:

   https://mydomain.com:8443
   

2. Once you’ve logged in, on the left side of the screen, under Hosting Services, locate and click on the option for Domains.

   

3. Next, on the right side of the screen, you will see the list of domains currently hosted on your server. Locate and click on the domain you want to make changes to the DNS records for.

   
   

4. After clicking on your desired domain, you will be shown a list of control options. Click on the option labelled DNS Settings, as shown in the image below.
   
   
   
5. On the next screen, you will see a list of available tools and options related to your DNS settings. Your options include the ability to Switch Off the DNS Service, Add Records, Restore Defaults, and more. If you need to add a new DNS record, you can do so by clicking on the option to Add Record, selecting the record type, then filling out the required information for the record you are trying to create.

   *Note: if you are unsure what type of record you need to create or are unclear about their inherent differences, check the terminology section in our DNS Configuration Guide. Still unsure? Feel free to use one of the methods listed at the bottom of this post to reach out to our support team with any questions you may have.

   
   

6. To change an existing DNS record, on the DNS Settings screen, scroll further down the page until you see a list of all current DNS records for the domain you’ve selected. Click on any of the records here to start making changes.

   
   

7. On the next screen, you’ll have the option to change the Record type, Domain name, and IP address.

   
   

8. Depending on which type of record you are trying to create, you will need to fill in different information.
   1. For MX Records:
      1. Make sure you’ve selected MX as your Record Type.
      2. Leave Mail Domain blank, but set the Mail Exchange Server to match the name of your mail server.
      3. Lastly, if your mail exchange server uses a specific priority number, enter that as well. If not, set the priority number to very high (0).
   2. For A records:
      1. Make sure you’ve selected A as your Record Type.
      2. For Domain Name, enter the name of the subdomain you wish to host.
      3. For IP Address, set it to your desired server’s IP address.
   3. For CNAME records:
      1. Make sure you’ve selected CNAME as your Record Type.
      2. For Domain Name, enter the name of the subdomain you wish to host.
      3. For Canonical Name, set it to your desired server’s name.
9. After making any necessary edits, click the OK button to finalize your changes.

Adding Domains, Subdomains, and Domain Aliases in Plesk

Creating a New Domain or Subdomain

To create a new domain within Plesk, just follow these steps:

1. First, log in to Plesk using your username and password.
2. Locate and click on the Website & Domains tab on the left side panel.
3. Click on the option labelled Add Domain.

   *Note: for instructions on how to create a new subdomain, see below.

4. Follow the on-screen instructions and fill out the necessary form fields with the details of your new domain.
5. When you’ve finished, click OK to finalize your changes.

*If you’d like to create a new subdomain, follow the first two steps listed above, but on step 3, instead of clicking the option to Add Domain, instead, click on the option labelled Add Subdomain. Fill in the necessary information like above, and when you’re finished click OK to create your new subdomain.

Creating a Domain Alias

To create a domain alias using Plesk, follow these steps:

1. After logging in to Plesk, locate and click on the Website & Domains tab.
2. Next, click on the link labelled Show Advanced Operations.
3. Click on the Domain Aliases icon.
4. Locate the domain you’d like to create a new alias for, and to its right, click on the option labelled Manage.
5. Click the Add Domain Alias icon.
6. A form with blank fields will be shown. Fill out the form with the necessary information related to the domain alias you are trying to create.

   *Note: fields marked with a red asterisk are required.

7. When you’ve finished, click OK to finalize your changes.

And there you have it! Your DNS records are set, your server is ready to go, and you now know how to create domains, subdomains, and domain aliases as needed.

The post How to Create DNS Records in Plesk appeared first on Hivelocity Hosting.

If you don’t have access to WHM, or if you’re more familiar with cPanel and prefer to use it for modifying DNS records, you can do so using cPanel’s DNS Zone options. For instructions on creating and editing DNS zones in cPanel, check out our article on How to Create DNS Records in cPanel.

Creating DNS Records in WHM

Finding the Domain’s DNS Records

To create DNS records using WHM, follow these steps:

1. First, you will need to log in to the WHM control panel using your username and password. You can access your WHM panel on your cPanel server by entering the following URL into your web browser,

   https://(my server’s IP address):2087

   or, if A records have already been propagated for your server, you can use

   https://mydomain.com:2087.

2. Once logged into WHM, navigate to Home -> DNS Functions -> DNS Zone Manager. This will open a new page.
3. On the new page that opens, you will see a list of all the zones already on the server. Find the domain you wish to edit, select it, and click the “Manage” button.
   *Note: If you have a large number of accounts on your server, you can use the text box to filter domains.

   

4. After selecting your desired domain and clicking the “Manage” button, a new page will open where you can edit and create records.

   

Creating and Editing DNS Records 

1. Starting at the top of the page as per the previous section, you will see all the records currently in place for your selected domain. If you need to edit any of these records, you can do so here by pressing the “Edit” button to make the required changes.
   1. By default, cPanel will include records for DKIM and SPF, unless set otherwise on the server, but will list these records as TXT files.
2. To add additional DNS records, proceed to press on the “Add Record” button at the top of the page and select the desired record type.

   

3. A new line will be created with the record type of choice for you to fill it out as needed.

   If you are looking to add SPF or DKIM records to the domain, you must select the TXT option. Then, fill out the records with the appropriate information during creation.

   1. If you are unsure what type of record you need to create or are unclear about their inherent differences, check the terminology section in our DNS Configuration Guide.
   2. One of the most common mistakes in creating or editing records is not including the trailing ” . ” at the end of the record. All records with top-level domains should include the trailing period at the end of their domain names.

      

4. Once you’ve added/edited a record, click “Save Record” to finalize the changes.

   A prompt will display at the top right of the webpage for a successful change alert. If the change fails, it will show an error message, as demonstrated in the two images below.

   

   

5. At this point the DNS records are set and ready to go. 

Further Assistance

For any further assistance involving DNS records within WHM, do not hesitate to reach out to the Hivelocity Support team. You can contact them via chat, support ticket, or by phone at 888-869-4678.

The post How to Create DNS Records in WHM appeared first on Hivelocity Hosting.

In this guide we’ll cover the step-by-step process for creating DNS records within cPanel as well as the steps necessary to create and remove subdomains, addon domains, and parked domains, all from within your cPanel interface. Read on or use the table of contents below to jump to specific sections as needed.

*Note: While DNS records can be created and edited from within cPanel for individual accounts on a server, if you have access to WHM, you can use its interface to edit and create records for all accounts on the server. For instructions on creating and editing DNS zones in WHM, check out our article on How to Create DNS Records in WHM.

Creating DNS Records in cPanel

To create DNS records using cPanel, follow these steps:

1. First, you will need to log into your cPanel account using your username and password. You can access your cPanel account by entering the following URL into your web browser:

   https://(your server’s IP address):2083

   or, alternatively, if A records are already propagated for the server, you can use:

   https://mydomain.com:2083

2. Once you’ve logged in, locate the Zone Editor option under the Domains section of the cPanel main page. Clicking this icon will open a new page.

   

3. On the new page, in the middle of the screen, you will see the name of your domain as well as options to create A records, CNAME records, and MX records. To create a new version of one of these records, simply click on your desired selection and fill in the pop-up box with the required information. If you need to manage records or create a different record than the options you see listed here, click on the Manage option on the far right.

   *Note: if you are unsure what type of record you need to create or are unclear about their inherent differences, check the terminology section in our DNS Configuration Guide. Still unsure? Feel free to use one of the methods listed at the bottom of this post to reach out to our support team with any questions you may have.

   

4. After clicking the Manage button, you’ll be brought to a new page. On this page, you will see a list of all the records currently set on this account. Using the Edit buttons on the right side of the screen, you can adjust individual records that have already been created as needed.

   

5. If you need to create additional records besides A, CNAME, and MX records, click on the blue Add Record button in the middle of the screen. This will create a new blank record with spaces to be filled in.

   

6. You will notice here we have access to records besides A, CNAME, and MX selections. If you do not have these selections available it is because your server does not have Zone Editor (AAAA, CAA, SRV, TXT) enabled within WHM. You can locate this option in WHM by going to Home -> Packages -> Feature Manager -> Feature Lists.

   *Note: If you are on a shared server and do not have root access, you will need to contact your host to have this feature enabled. Alternatively, they may ask you for the record you wish to create so they can create it for you on their end.

   

7. Once you’ve activated the Zone Editor option in WHM (or if it’s already active), you can now add new DNS records of any type. Returning to cPanel, fill in the blanks for the new record you’re creating with its necessary information. Once you’ve finished, click Add Record on the right side to apply the new record.
   

How to Create, Remove, and Redirect a Subdomain in cPanel

Creating a Subdomain

To create a subdomain within cPanel, follow these steps:

1. First, you’ll need to log in to your cPanel account using your username and password.
2. Under the Domains category, locate and click on the option labelled Subdomains.

   

3. On the next page, in the dropdown window, select the domain you would like to create a subdomain for from the list of available domains.
4. In the box labelled Subdomain, enter the name of the subdomain you’d like to add.

   

5. Click on the box labelled Document Root, which will automatically populate the appropriate values.
6. When you’ve finished, click on the Create button to Finalize your changes.

Removing a Subdomain

To remove a subdomain within cPanel:

1. If you’re not already logged in to cPanel, be sure to do so, and click on the Subdomains option.
2. This will bring up a list of subdomains. Scroll down and locate the subdomain you’d like to remove.

   

3. Under Actions, click on Remove to remove the selected subdomain.

Redirecting a Subdomain

To redirect an existing subdomain within cPanel:

1. Like in the procedures above, you’ll first need to log in to your cPanel account and locate the Subdomains option on your cPanel dashboard.

   

2. You will see a list of all your subdomains. Scroll down and locate the subdomain you’d like to redirect.

   

3. Under Actions, click the option to Manage Redirection for your selected subdomain.

   

4. Next, you must enter the URL (e.g. https://redirect.com) for the specific page you would like your subdomain to redirect to.

   

5. Once you’ve entered the desired URL, click on Save to finalize your changes.

How to Create and Remove an Addon Domain in cPanel

Creating an Addon Domain

To create an addon domain in cPanel, just follow these steps:

1. First, log in to your cPanel using your username and password.
2. Under the Domains category, locate and click on the option labelled Addon Domains.

   

3. This will bring up the Create an Addon Domain form.

   

4. Fill out the form fields including the New Domain Name and Password. Clicking on the box labelled Document Root will cause it to automatically populate with the directory name.
5. Once you’ve filled out the form, click on the Add Domain button to finalize your changes and create your new domain.

Removing an Addon Domain

To remove an addon domain in cPanel:

1. Make sure you’re logged in to your cPanel account and locate and click on the Addon Domains option.

   

2. You will be shown a list of available addon domains. Scroll down and locate the addon domain you’d like to remove.
3. To the right, under Actions, locate the option to Remove the selected addon domain.

How to Create and Remove a Parked Domain in cPanel

Creating a Parked Domain

To create a parked domain in cPanel, just follow these steps:

1. First, log in to your cPanel using your username and password.
2. Under the Domains category, locate and click on the option labelled Parked Domains.

   
   

3. This will open the Create a New Parked Domain form. In the empty form field, enter the name of the domain you would like to park on top of your primary domain.

   

4. Once you’ve entered the name of the domain, click the Add Domain button to finalize your changes.

Removing a Parked Domain

To remove a parked domain:

1. First, make sure you’re logged in to your cPanel account and locate and click on the Parked Domains option.

   

2. You will be shown a list of your parked domains. Scroll down and locate the parked domain you’d like to remove.
3. After locating the domain you’d like to remove, under Actions, select the option to Remove the parked domain.

And there you have it! Your DNS records are set and you now know how to add, remove, and redirect subdomain, addon domains, and parked domains all from within cPanel.

The post How to Create DNS Records in cPanel appeared first on Hivelocity Hosting.

*Note: If you’re using Hivelocity’s nameservers, you will want to set the custom nameservers for the domain to ns1.hivelocity.net and ns2.hivelocity.net at your registrar.

Adding Domains with myVelocity

To add a domain using myVelocity, just follow these steps:

1. First, you’ll need to log in to your myVelocity portal using your username and password. You can access the myVelocity login page using the following link:
    
   https://my.hivelocity.net/auth/login
    
2. Once you’ve logged in to the myVelocity portal, locate the navigation menu near the top of the page and click the DNS button.
    
   
    
3. On the new page that opens, you will be brought to the Domains section of the DNS tab.
    
4. To add a new domain to the portal, click on the Add Domain button. A box will open with a space to fill in your domain. Once you’ve done so, click the Add Domain button to the right and your DNS zone will be added.
    
   

Creating DNS Records in myVelocity

Now that we’ve added the domain to the portal we can add records to the DNS zone. To add DNS records, just follow these steps:

1. First, click on your newly added domain to open the record configuration interface. On this page you’ll be able to create all the records you need for your domain and its supporting services, such as email.
    
   
    
2. To start, let’s go ahead and configure an A Record for the domain.
    
   1. Under the A tab click Add A record to begin.
       
   2. A pop up box will open showing an entry for Hostname, IP address, and TTL.
       
   3. By default, TTL will be filled with 3600. This does not have to be changed but you are welcome to set any TTL you see fit.
       
   4. For the Hostname, if you are using the root domain, use @.
       
   5. Finally, add the IP Address of the server the domain is configured to respond to.
       
3. Once all that information is filled in, click Add Record to submit your newly created record. You will need to select which record by pressing the relevant tab to the left.
    
   
    
   *Note: As with any DNS changes, it takes time for propagation to finalize. Once it has completed and the A record shows across the world, you’ll be able to ping the domain the record was created for and return the correct IP address.

And there you have it! Your DNS zones are established and you now know how to create records using the myVelocity portal.

The post How to Create DNS Records in myVelocity appeared first on Hivelocity Hosting.

*Note: if you’re a WHM user looking for more specific information on setting up DNS records on your server, check out our guide on How to Create DNS Records in WHM.

New to DNS? Check out our beginner’s guide, DNS Configuration: Everything You Need to Know, for more general information on the Domain Name System, related terminology, and few advanced DNS settings.

What is a DNS Cluster?

A DNS Cluster is a cPanel and WHM feature that allows users to group multiple nameservers together. Server clusters allow nameservers to share records, regardless of physical separation. In other words, if you have nameservers set up in different geographic locations, DNS clustering can allow you to maintain DNS functionality should one of your servers fail. In this way, not only can you safeguard your website, ensuring it remains accessible, but additionally, with multiple nameservers, you can even reduce the time between when your users make a URL request to when they access your site.

Configuring a DNS Cluster

To set up a DNS cluster in WHM, just follow these steps:

1. First, you will need to log in to the WHM control panel using your username and password. You can access your WHM panel by entering the following URL into your web browser:

   https://(my server’s IP address):2087

   or, if A records have already been propagated for your server, you can use:

   https://mydomain.com:2087

2. On the main page of your WHM panel, locate and click on the option for Cluster / Remote Access.
3. Click on Configure Cluster.
4. To enable DNS clustering for this server, click the checkbox next to Enable DNS Clustering, then click on Change.
5. After your changes have been saved, click the link to Return to Cluster Status.
6. Scroll down the page until you see a section labeled Add a new server to the cluster. Type in the IP address of the server you wish to add to the cluster in the blank space next to Server IP Address.
7. Click on Configure.
8. This will bring up a new screen, which will be used to create a Trust relationship between this server and the others in the cluster. To establish the relationship, you’ll need this server’s Remote Access Key. This is how your servers will communicate once the cluster is established.
9. Scroll down until you see a link that says “You can quickly fetch the Remote Access Key from” followed by a URL. Click on this link.
10. On the new page that opens, you’ll see a long list of numbers and letters forming the Remote Access Key for your server. Select all, either by highlighting all the text or by using CTRL+A. Once you’ve selected everything, copy it by right-clicking or using CTRL+C, and return to the previous page.
11. On the Trust Relationship page, paste the Remote Access Key into the appropriate field, either by right-clicking or by using CTRL+V.
12. Once you’ve finished filling in the fields, click on the Submit button to finish establishing the trust relationship.
13. Return to the Configure Cluster page, locate the nameserver you just added to this cluster, and click on the DNS Role drop-down menu. Change the DNS Role to Synchronize Changes.

    *Note: this does not enable reverse synchronization between the servers. If you want all of your nameservers to send DNS changes back to your main server as well, you’ll need to repeat this process for all applicable nameservers, setting their DNS Roles to Synchronize Changes.

14. Now that your main server is set up, to finalize your cluster, you must repeat this process for all the nameservers you are adding to the cluster.

    *Note: if you don’t want DNS changes made to your external nameservers to automatically update your main server, you can set the DNS Roles for these servers to Standalone. So long as your main server is set to Synchronize Changes, any DNS changes made to the main server will be automatically updated on your other nameservers, but changes made to those servers will not effect the other servers in the cluster.

15. Once you’ve added all your nameservers to the cluster and set their corresponding DNS Roles, your cluster is ready to go.

And there your have it! Your nameservers are connected and your DNS records will now update automatically across your cluster.

The post Setting DNS Clusters in WHM appeared first on Hivelocity Hosting.

If you are like me, proper DNS formatting was elusive and challenging to wrap your head around, particularly because of the trailing period. I would consistently create incorrect DNS records because I did not understand the DNS trailing period and how it was interpreted by different UI systems. My records would end up looking like this:

domain.com.domain.com. A 1.2.3.4
domain.com. NS ns1.domain.com.domain.com.

I never needed domain.com repeated, and could never understand why it was happening.

The Reason

If you are using a system that assumes the root zone for you and you entered something like the following, you would end up with duplicate domains:

domain.com. NS ns1.domain.com

Note how there is no trailing period at the end of ns1.domain.com. What this does is cause the backend to append the domain.com along with trailing period which is the root zone. Depending on the UI you are using, you will either want to specify just ns1 and let the the backend assume the root zone .domain.com. for you, or specify the FQDN yourself as ns1.domain.com.

If in doubt what your systems UI expects, using the FQDN ns1.domain.com. with the trailing period should almost always give the intended results.

The post What is the DNS Trailing Period? appeared first on Hivelocity Hosting.

To install and setup DNS server on your Windows Server 2012, just follow these 11 easy steps! To begin:

1. Log in to your Windows server with the administrator user.
2. Open Server Manager

   
   

3. Click the Manage menu and then select Add Roles and Features. On the next screen click on Next.

   

4. For DNS servers, select the Role-based or feature-based installation. Click on Next.

   

5. Choose the option to Select a server from the server pool and click on the name of your local server where the DNS server will be installed.

   

6. On the Server Roles screen, click on DNS Server from the list of available roles. This will open an additional window showing required features.
   
7. Click on Add Features. Once done you will see DNS Server is now selected on the Server Roles screen. Now click on Next.
   

   

8. The next window will ask if you’d like to add additional features. Since you’ve already added the features for DNS server, you can leave these as is.

   

9. The next screen will show information about DNS servers and what it does. You can read over the information or simply click Next.

   

10. On the Confirm installation selections screen, you’re given a final chance to look over the features you’ve selected before installing. You can select the option to Restart the destination server automatically if required or simply restart the server manually at a later time. It is however recommended that you restart the server immediately after installing DNS.

    When you’re ready, click on Install to begin installing the DNS server.

    

11. The Installation progress screen shows the progress of your DNS installation. Once the installation is complete, you can Close the window.

    

And there you have it! Your DNS server has been successfully installed. Now that you’ve setup DNS server, you’re ready to start surfing the internet.

Popular Links

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Interested in more articles about Web Hosting? Navigate to our Categories page using the bar on the left or check out these popular articles:

• DNS Configuration: Everything You Need to Know
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• How to Resolve Error 421 Service Not Available and Other Issues with FTP Service

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The post How to Setup DNS Server on Windows Server 2012 appeared first on Hivelocity Hosting.

First find the owner of the domain, enter the following command:

/scripts/whoowns example.com

If no results are found, enter the following command:

grep example.com /var/cpanel/users/*

You should see something like below

root@server [~]# grep example.com /var/cpanel/users/*

/var/cpanel/users/exam:XDNS1=example.com

Edit the following files with the corresponding user and remove the lines associated with the domain (example.com) you have problem with.

/var/named/example.com.db

Remove the virtualhost for example.com from /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf

/var/cpanel/users/username [remove entries related to domain]

/etc/userdomains

/etc/localdomains

vim /etc/named.conf [remove entries related to domain]

Remove DNS entry in WHM

Run /scripts/updateuserdomains as root on the server

That’s it J

The post How to fix “Error from park wrapper: Sorry, you do not control the domain” appeared first on Hivelocity Hosting.

1) Login to WHM >> Dns Functions >> Delete a DNS Zone

Delete the addon domain’s zone in question.

2) Login to the server as root user and delete the virtual entry for the same addon domain from the /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf

3) Login to the Cpanel and add the addon domain with same directory name as it was earlier..

The post How to correct the error for addon domain not getting listed in cpanel? appeared first on Hivelocity Hosting.

This means that a DNS Zone File already exists for this domain. Simply click to the “Delete a DNS Zone” link (in the WHM left-hand menu) and remove the domain name you are trying to add. Now you can reattempt the account creation.

The post FIX: “Account Creation Status: failed.” appeared first on Hivelocity Hosting.