A record

WHAT IS THE A RECORD?

A records can be used to assign computers to domain names using IP addresses. A record is an abbreviation for Address. When you visit a web site or send an email, you can use the client name resolution to find the IP address for that domain name. Subsequently, the client sends the request to the IP address specified in record A.

For example, you need to enter dotroll.com in the browser to access the DotRoll website. During the name resolution, the server for dotroll.com sends the record back to the name server, which in this case will be 185.33.52.64, and the browser will forward the commands for retrieving the contents of the web page to the 185.33.52.64 IP address.

Records are the simplest DNS records and one of the primary records used in DNS servers.

In fact, more records can be given for a domain name, thus ensuring redundancy. Of course, several domain names may show the same IP address.

QUERYING A RECORD

For example, you can use the nslookup command in Windows to access record A, while under Linux the host command.

Example of a Windows-based nslookup query:

nslookup -q=A dotroll.com
Server:  google-public-dns-a.google.com
Address:  8.8.8.8

Non-authoritative answer:
Name:    dotroll.com
Address:  185.33.52.64

Example of Linux based host query:

host -t A dotroll.com
dotroll.com has address 185.33.52.64

A RECORD FORMAT

ADDING A RECORD

1. Sign in with https://admin.dotroll.com with your username and password
2. In the top menu bar, click the Domains / My Domains menu.
3. Select the domain name for which you want to make the change and then click on it.
4. In the Manage box on the left, select Manage DNS.
5. At the bottom of the page, click Add.
   • In the first field, you can enter a subdomain name, or leave blank
   • the TTL value can be selected in the second field, but typically the default is 1 hour
   • select A from the next drop-down list.
   • enter the IP address in the last field.
6. Then click Save Changes.