The Domain Name System (DNS) is a essential building block of the internet. By converting domain names to IP addresses, DNS ensures that each web resource can be found without remembering the location of the server that currently hosts it.

Using the Nexcess Global DNS allows you to use Nexcess nameservers to host your websites’ DNS data — and comes with many inherit benefits. This configuration ensures fast record translation and eliminates needing third-party DNS services. In addition, my.nexcess.net has a built-in interface for creating and editing DNS information, which allows you to manage all technical aspects of website hosting from one dashboard.

Adding and editing DNS setup in the Nexcess Client Portal in 3 steps

You can easily manage your websites’ DNS from the Nexcess user interface and tools.

Point your domain name to Nexcess DNS

Before you can begin managing DNS for your website in the Nexcess Client Portal, you must ensure that Nexcess nameservers are set up as authoritative for your domain name.

Remember to review and follow the steps with regard to logging in to your domain registrar portal and updating the domain registration information.

Please verify that your website’s correct nameservers are configured by browsing its WHOIS information. You should see the following lines:

Name Server: ns1.nexcess.net
Name Server: ns2.nexcess.net
Name Server: ns3.nexcess.net
Name Server: ns4.nexcess.net

For more information related to WHOIS searches, refer to the What is WHOIS and why is it important in web hosting? article.

Create a DNS Zone in the Nexcess Client Portal

Using your Nexcess Client Portal credentials, log in my.nexcess.net. If you cannot locate this information, click the Forgot Password? option.
Navigate to the DNS tab by choosing DNS from the main menu. A new screen will appear in the user interface containing a list of all DNS Zones you have configured. So, if you’re wondering what is a DNS Zone in the Nexcess Client Portal, it is simply a list of records hosted on the Nexcess Global DNS infrastructure, represented in a user-friendly way.
To create a new DNS Zone in the Nexcess Client Portal, click the Plus button in the top right corner.
Click the Add button after entering your domain name. A new DNS Zone will appear on the list:

Edit DNS Configuration in the Nexcess Client Portal

To view or edit an existing DNS Zone, click the domain name it has been configured for from the DNS tab. The requested DNS Zone will open in a new window, showing you the records it stores. For example, if you have just created a new DNS Zone for your website, it will contain just four NS records, each pointing to one of the four Nexcess nameservers.

Filter DNS records

When there are many DNS records added to your website, you can filter the list by choosing the DNS record type from the dropdown menu on the top right corner of the Zone Records section.

Modify or remove a DNS record

To change an existing DNS record or remove it, click the three dots icon to the right of the record in the user interface and choose the appropriate action.

Add a new DNS record

To add a new DNS record, click the Plus button next to the dropdown menu where you filter the list of existing DNS records. Next, a new screen will appear, in which you must select the type of DNS record you would like to create, its name, and its value. Once you are ready to save the new record, click the Add button.

DNS record types

You can add the following DNS records in the Nexcess Client Portal:

A record. A records are used to map a domain name to an IP address. Provide the IP address of the Nexcess host that your website should resolve to. You can locate the IP address in the Plans menu of the Nexcess Client Portal.
AAAA record. AAAA records serve the same purpose as A records but allow you to add an IPv6 address instead of IPv4.
CNAME record. CNAME records allow you to add an alias for a domain name — for example, the www version of the website. At Nexcess, we recommend you use a CNAME record for pointing your domain name to the temporary domain name assigned to it by Nexcess.
Adding a CNAME target for your website has multiple benefits, including quicker migrations and attack mitigation — among many others.
MX record. MX (mail exchange) records allow you to point your domain to the email services you have configured for your website. You will typically have multiple MX records pointing to mail servers with different priorities.
NS record. NS records reflect the authoritative nameservers for your website, which Nexcess includes by default once a new DNS Zone is created. However, you may want to use another set of nameservers as authoritative for a subdomain. In this case, just add new NS records for the chosen subdomain.
SPF record. An SPF record, which stands for Sender Policy Framework, allows you to manage your email reputation by configuring a list of IP addresses and hosts that can send email on behalf of your website’s email accounts.
SRV record. SRV records allow you to add the host and IP address of a specific service your website uses. This DNS record, however, is used very rarely nowadays.
TXT record. TXT records are custom DNS records that are often used to confirm the ownership of a domain name. SSL providers can ask you to add a TXT record as part of the verification process. You will use this record type if you wish to add a DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail).

Hostname

If you want to add a DNS record for a subdomain configured for your website, enter it in the Hostname field. If and when a new record needs to be generated for the main domain name, check the Root Domain option.

TTL (Time to Live)

The TTL value of a DNS record represents the amount of time in seconds that DNS resolvers worldwide need to store the record in its cache. If you need to facilitate DNS propagation, lower the TTL value, setting it to 3600 (one hour) or less. Nexcess Client Portal defaults TTL to as low as 300 seconds (18 minutes) for each new record.

Checking DNS

After a new DNS is created, or you add records to an existing one, you should track the process of DNS propagation — having DNS records updated across the internet. Our free DNS checker allows you to perform DNS lookups without using the command line interface.

With our convenient tool, simply enter a domain name and choose the record you want to see. And then, click the Look Up DNS button. The output will show you what results from nameserver checks done all over the world answer with:

Conclusion

DNS is one of the most critical components of today’s global network. By connecting a large number of nameservers globally, DNS ensures that all web resources on the internet can be identified by both a domain name and location — the host server’s IP address. Running a website is only possible with DNS, and Nexcess offers a great way to manage it from the Nexcess Client Portal.

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