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Web Hosting•December 10, 2025• 50 views

Create and manage your DNS records on cPanel

Create and manage your DNS records on cPanel

🌐 DNS Records Management on cPanel

OuiHeberg - Technical Documentation
Complete guide for creating and managing DNS records

Introduction

The DNS (Domain Name System) is the system that translates human-readable domain names (like monsite.com) into machine-readable IP addresses (like 192.168.1.1).

DNS records define how your domain should behave: which server it points to, which server handles your emails, etc.

Accessing the DNS Zone Editor

Step 1: Logging into cPanel

  1. Log in to your OuiHeberg client area
  2. Access your hosting and click on Access cPanel
  3. Enter your cPanel credentials if prompted

Step 2: Opening the Zone Editor

  1. In cPanel, look for the Domains section
  2. Click on Zone Editor (or Zone Editor)Image

💡 Tip: Use the search bar at the top of cPanel and type "Zone" to quickly find the tool.

Creating a DNS Record

Quick Method

cPanel offers quick add buttons for the most common records:

Button Action
+ A Record Adds an A record
+ CNAME Record Adds a CNAME record
+ MX Record Adds an MX record

Complete Method (all record types)

Step 1: Select the domain

Click on Manage next to the domain you want to modify.

Step 2: Add a record

  1. Click on the + Add Record button (top right)
  2. Select the desired record type from the dropdown menu

Step 3: Fill in the fields

Depending on the record type, you will need to fill in different fields:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Name          │  monsite.com                                │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  TTL          │  14400                                      │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Type         │  A                                          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Record       │  192.168.1.100                              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Step 4: Save

Click on Add Record to save.

⚠️ Important: DNS changes can take up to 24-48 hours to fully propagate on the Internet (DNS propagation).

DNS Record Types

📌 A Record (Address)

The most fundamental record. It links a domain name to an IPv4 address.

Field Description Example
Name The subdomain or @ for the root www or @
TTL Cache duration (in seconds) 14400
Address Destination IPv4 address 203.0.113.50

Configuration Example:

; Point the root domain to a server
monsite.com.        14400   IN   A   203.0.113.50

; Point www to the same server
www.monsite.com.    14400   IN   A   203.0.113.50

Use Cases:

  • Point your domain to your web server
  • Create subdomains (blog.monsite.com, app.monsite.com)

📌 AAAA Record (IPv6 Address)

Similar to the A record, but for IPv6 addresses.

Field Description Example
Name The subdomain or @ for the root www
TTL Cache duration 14400
Address Destination IPv6 address 2001:0db8:85a3::8a2e:0370:7334

Configuration Example:

monsite.com.    14400   IN   AAAA   2001:0db8:85a3::8a2e:0370:7334

📌 CNAME Record (Canonical Name)

Creates an alias from one name to another. Useful for pointing multiple subdomains to the same destination.

Field Description Example
Name The subdomain to create blog
TTL Cache duration 14400
CNAME The target domain monsite.com

Configuration Example:

; blog.monsite.com points to monsite.com
blog.monsite.com.   14400   IN   CNAME   monsite.com.

; Alias for an external service
shop.monsite.com.   14400   IN   CNAME   shops.myshopify.com.

⚠️ Important Limitations:

  • A CNAME cannot coexist with other records on the same name
  • A CNAME cannot be created on the domain root (@)

📌 MX Record (Mail Exchange)

Defines the servers that handle emails for your domain.

Field Description Example
Name Usually @ (root) @
TTL Cache duration 14400
Priority The lower the number, the higher the priority 10
Destination The mail server mail.monsite.com

Configuration Example:

; Simple mail setup
monsite.com.    14400   IN   MX   10   mail.monsite.com.

; Setup with backup server
monsite.com.    14400   IN   MX   10   mail1.monsite.com.
monsite.com.    14400   IN   MX   20   mail2.monsite.com.

Common Configurations:

Service MX Record
Google Workspace ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM (priority 1)
Microsoft 365 *.mail.protection.outlook.com (priority 0)
OVH Mail mx1.mail.ovh.net (priority 1)

📌 TXT Record (Text)

Stores arbitrary text. Commonly used for domain verification and email security.

Field Description Example
Name The subdomain or @ @
TTL Cache duration 14400
Text The textual content v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all

Main Uses:

1. SPF (Sender Policy Framework)

Defines which servers are allowed to send emails for your domain.

monsite.com.    14400   IN   TXT   "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all"

2. DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)

Cryptographic signature to authenticate emails.

google._domainkey.monsite.com.   14400   IN   TXT   "v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=MIGfMA0GCS..."

3. DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication)

Email handling policy for failed SPF/DKIM emails.

_dmarc.monsite.com.    14400   IN   TXT   "v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:[email protected]"

4. Domain Verification

To prove ownership of the domain (Google, Microsoft, etc.).

monsite.com.    14400   IN   TXT   "google-site-verification=abc123..."

📌 SRV Record (Service)

Defines the location of specific services (VoIP, instant messaging, etc.).

Field Description Example
Name Format: _service._protocol _sip._tcp
TTL Cache duration 14400
Priority Server priority 10
Weight Load distribution 60
Port Service port 5060
Target Target server sipserver.monsite.com

Configuration Example:

_sip._tcp.monsite.com.    14400   IN   SRV   10 60 5060 sipserver.monsite.com.

Full Format: _service._proto.name TTL class SRV priority weight port target

📌 CAA Record (Certification Authority Authorization)

Specifies which certification authorities are allowed to issue SSL certificates for your domain.

Field Description Example
Name The domain @
TTL Cache duration 14400
Flag Usually 0 0
Tag issue, issuewild, or iodef issue
Value The authorized authority letsencrypt.org

Configuration Example:

; Allow only Let's Encrypt
monsite.com.    14400   IN   CAA   0 issue "letsencrypt.org"

; Allow Let's Encrypt for wildcards
monsite.com.    14400   IN   CAA   0 issuewild "letsencrypt.org"

; Notification email in case of violation
monsite.com.    14400   IN   CAA   0 iodef "mailto:[email protected]"

📌 NS Record (Name Server)

Defines the authoritative DNS servers for your domain.

monsite.com.    14400   IN   NS   ns1.ouiheberg.com.
monsite.com.    14400   IN   NS   ns2.ouiheberg.com.

⚠️ Caution: Only modify these records if you know what you are doing. Incorrect configuration can make your domain inaccessible.

📌 PTR Record (Pointer)

Used for reverse DNS (resolving an IP to a name). Typically managed by your hosting provider.

50.113.0.203.in-addr.arpa.    14400   IN   PTR   monsite.com.

Practical Examples

🔧 Complete Configuration for a Website + Emails

; === BASIC RECORDS ===
; Root domain
monsite.com.            14400   IN   A       203.0.113.50
monsite.com.            14400   IN   AAAA    2001:db8::50

; www Subdomain
www.monsite.com.        14400   IN   CNAME   monsite.com.

; === EMAIL CONFIGURATION ===
; Mail server
monsite.com.            14400   IN   MX      10 mail.monsite.com.
mail.monsite.com.       14400   IN   A       203.0.113.51

; Email security
monsite.com.            14400   IN   TXT     "v=spf1 mx a ~all"
_dmar
  •  
    Clear your local DNS cache :
     
    Windows :
     
    ipconfig /flushdns

     
    macOS :
     
    sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

     
    Linux :
     
    sudo systemd-resolve --flush-caches

     
    •  
    ❓ How to test my DNS records?
     
    Use the dig command (Linux/macOS) or nslookup (Windows) :
     
    # Test an A record
dig mysite.com A

# Test an MX record
dig mysite.com MX

# Test a TXT record
dig mysite.com TXT

# Use a specific DNS server (Google)
dig @8.8.8.8 mysite.com A

     
    ❓ Error "CNAME and other data"
     
    This error occurs when trying to create a CNAME on a name that already has other records. First remove the other records or use a different name.
     
     
    📚 Summary of record types
     
      
     Type Main Use Example Value 
           
     A Point to an IPv4 192.168.1.1 
     
     AAAA Point to an IPv6 2001:db8::1 
     
     CNAME Create an alias mysite.com 
     
     MX Configure emails 10 mail.mysite.com 
     
     TXT Verification, SPF, DKIM v=spf1 mx ~all 
     
     SRV Locate services 10 60 5060 sip.mysite.com 
     
     CAA Authorize SSL CAs 0 issue "letsencrypt.org" 
     
     NS Authoritative DNS servers ns1.yeshosting.com 
     
     PTR Reverse DNS mysite.com
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