Summary: How do I create, edit, or delete records using the Zone Manager?
Keywords: 3948, unix, windows, zone, manager, file, examples, zone, file, editor, edit, remove, delete, A, MX, CNAME, NS, SRV, record
Description: a description goes here
Note: Your DNR and Zone Manager applications contain internal help files. From within your DNR or Zone Manager application, you can click on this help icon:
Our internal help system appears, enabling you to view help topics concerning the application.
The following image is how the Zone Manager appears after you have chosen a domain to view or edit. This form is used to create, edit, or delete zone file records as described below.
Changing an "A" Record
Let's assume that you are going to host your Web site on your own internal Web server. In order to do this, you may need to change the IP address that is currently associated with your domain name to a different IP address that was issued by your ISP. Below is an example of the default zone:
To change the A records for test-the-salesperson-column.com. and www.test-the-salesperson-column.com., perform the following:
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From the Zone Manager Form, in the first two rows, click to select the Repl check boxes.
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In the Name text boxes, enter forexampledomain.com. and www.forexampledomain.com. (remember to add the period "." at the end of the name).
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In the Class Type drop-down menus, click to select A for each record.
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In the Record Data text boxes, enter the new IP addresses, (for example, 10.123.123.255).
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Click Continue.
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Click Save.
Your new zone file, after it is updated on the name servers, will look similar to this:
Important: If you do not click Save after clicking Continue, your changes will not be saved and they will not propagate over the Internet.
Note that propagation must take place in order for the rest of the Internet to see the changes that you have made. Propagation usually takes about 24-48 hours for all ISPs to update with your new changes. Verio does not control propagation.
Changing an MX Record
Mail records [MX] can be tricky. Mail cannot go directly to an IP address. It must first go to a host name [mail.forexampledomain.com or mailhost.forexampledomain.com]. However, that hostname does not have to be attached to the parent domain name [forexampledomain.com]. As long as the mail server that is attached to that address will pick up and deliver mail for you, you can point your mail anywhere. The hostname to which your MX is attached to MUST resolve to an IP somewhere. You cannot have your MX hostname resolve to a CNAME record. If the host name is part of your domain [mail.forexampledomain.com], you must resolve the hostname to an IP address in your zone file. If the host name goes someplace else [mail.forexample-domain.com], the zone files that are authoritative to this domain name would resolve the IP address.
Finally, all MX records must have a priority number [15, 50, 100]. The priority can be any number between 0 and 1000. The closer a number is to 0, the higher the priority. The priority used by default is 50. You can use this number or any other number.
For information on how to prioritize mail servers using the Zone Manager, go to Prioritizing Mail Servers Using the Zone Manager.
Because of the uniqueness of our mail servers, and their configurations, we cannot act as a backup mail server for any other remote mail servers.
Let's assume you have your own internal mail server and you want to handle all incoming and outgoing mail by using your new mail server. To change from the default MX record to your new mail server, we are going to change two records and add one new record. Let's look at the default zone file again:
Note that there are two MX records by default for test-the-salesperson-column.com. and www.test-the-salesperson-column. To allow your new mail server to send and receive your e-mail, do the following:
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From the Zone Manager Form, in the MX record rows, place your cursor in the Name field.
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In the Name fields, type forexampledomain.com. and www.forexampledomain.com. (Remember to add the period "." at the end of the name), where forexampledomain.com is the domain where you want to send your mail.
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In the Class Type drop-down menus, click to select MX.
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In the Spec text boxes, select the priority for the MX server and type the new mail server machine name, such as "mail.forexampledomain.com." (remember the period "." at the end of the machine name), where forexampledomain.com is the domain where you want to send your mail.
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Click Continue.
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Click Save.
Your new zone file, after it is updated to the name servers, will look similar to this:
Important: If you do not click Save after clicking Continue, your changes will not be saved and they will not propagate over the Internet.
Note that propagation must take place in order for the rest of the Internet to see the changes you have made. Propagation usually takes about 24-48 hours for all ISPs to update with your new changes. Verio does not control propagation.
Creating CNAME Records
Verio recommends the use of "A" records instead of CNAME records. If you intend to use a CNAME record, this is allowed to occur within the parent zone (in this case, forexampledomain.com).
Important: Verio will not be held responsible for incorrect CNAME usage. Incorrect CNAME usage can result in failure of your services, such as e-mail and Web site resolution by domain name.
For example, let's say that you want to point news.forexampledomain.com to forexampledomain.com. To do this, you need to create the CNAME record. Let's again look at the default zone file:
Now, create the CNAME record:
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In the Name text box, enter news.forexampledomain.com.(remember to add the period "." at the end of the name), where forexampledomain.com is the domain where you want to send your mail.
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In the Class Type drop-down menu, click to select CNAME.
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In the Spec text box, type forexampledomain.com. (remember to add the period "." at the end of the name), where forexampledomain.com is the domain where you want to send your mail.
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Click Continue.
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Click Save.
Your new zone file, after it is updated on the name servers, will look similar to this:
Important: If you do not click Save after clicking Continue, your changes will not be saved and they will not propagate over the Internet.
Note that propagation must take place in order for the rest of the Internet to see the changes you have made. Propagation usually takes about 24-48 hours for all ISPs to update with your new changes. Verio does not control propagation.
Changing NS Records
The NS records in your zone file should never be changed using the Zone Manager. If your domain name was registered through or registrar transferred to Verio, then please access the "Edit DNS" link in your Domain Manager tool to change the name server records. If your domain name is not with Verio, please contact the correct Registrar for assistance in changing the name servers for your domain name.
TXT Records
Currently, we do not support TXT records. Using these record types will void your service contact and break your domain and/or mail.
SRV Records
Currently, we do not support SRV records. Using these record types will void your service contact and break your domain and/or mail.
Using the Form Type Cut-n-Paste:
You may select this form type at the top of the Zone Manager in order to more easily copy and paste all of your Zone Manager records and back them up in your local computer. You may also use this interface to make changes to your Zone Files, but they must be carefully formatted.
Checkmark this box in order to change the Zone Manager interface into a single text box.
Deleting Records
You can delete records if you are no longer using them. However, you cannot delete any of the default records for your zone file. You can delete any overrides you have made to a default record (such as a different IP address) but this will cause the record to go back to the original configuration. Custom and additional records can be fully deleted by performing the following steps:
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Open your Zone Manager.
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Find the record you want to delete.
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Delete the NAME and RECORD DATA information.
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Change the drop-down menu to be blank.
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Click Continue.
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If you receive errors, return to your Zone Manager and be sure the record has been removed correctly and that the drop-down menu is blank.
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If you do not receive any errors, click Save.
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Important: If you do not click Save after clicking Continue, your changes will not be saved and they will not propagate over the Internet.
Note that there cannot be blank rows between your records in the editor. If the record you are deleting will leave a blank row between your other records, all you will need to do is transpose a record from the bottom of the editor into the space where the old record was located.