Alibaba Cloud DNS:Guide for Beginners

This topic provides an operation guide and FAQ for users who are new to Alibaba Cloud DNS. It helps you quickly configure Domain Name System (DNS) settings for your website and mailbox.

Step 1: Add a domain name

Log on to the Alibaba Cloud DNS console. On the Authoritative Domain Names tab of the Authoritative DNS Resolution page, click Add Domain Name.

• If you register a domain name with Alibaba Cloud, you do not need to add the domain name. Skip this step and go to Step 2.

• If you register a domain name with a third-party DNS service provider, Enter a primary domain name in the dialog box, and then click OK. Select an instance from the Bind Instance drop-down list. If no free trial edition is available, click Go to purchase an instance for plan to go to the buy page. After you purchase an instance, select the new instance from the Bind Instance drop-down list, and click OK.

Step 2: Check the DNS server address for the domain name

Step 3: Add DNS records

1. On the Authoritative DNS Resolution page, click DNS Settings in the Actions column of the domain name to go to the DNS Settings page.

   

   Note

   If the domain name is bound to a free Alibaba Cloud DNS instance and marked with , you can click the mark to quickly bind a paid Alibaba Cloud DNS instance.

   If the domain name is bound to a free Alibaba Cloud DNS instance and not marked with , you can click Free Version. On the pop-up window, click Activate Official Edition to go to the buy page. After you purchase an Alibaba Cloud DNS, the paid Alibaba Cloud DNS instance is activated.

2. On the DNS Settings page, click Quick Start.

   

3. Configure DNS settings: you can select Add DNS Records for Website or Add DNS Records for Mailbox based on your business requirements.

   Add DNS records for website

   1. In the Quick Start page that appears, click Add DNS Records for Website as illustrated below:

      Business Requirement: Select one based on your website deployment and business requirements. Example: Resolve the website domain name to server IPv4 address. Select Domain Name: The domain name that you configure for the website (that is, the address of the domain name used to access the website). You can select the primary domain name of the current domain name or any subdomain. If you select two or more domain names, multiple DNS records will be automatically created after clicking OK. Example: Select a primary domain name and a subdomain with the hostname as www. Website IP Address: The IP address refers to the public IP address of the server where your website is deployed. Example: 192.0.2.0. If your website is hosted on an Alibaba Cloud Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance, log on to the Alibaba Cloud ECS console to find the public IP address. If your website is hosted on a third-party service provider, contact them to obtain the public IP address.

   2. Click OK, and Alibaba Cloud DNS automatically creates DNS records for your website.

      

   Add DNS records for mailbox

   1. In the Quick Start page that appears, click Add DNS Records for Mailbox as illustrated below.

   2. Select an email provider you need from the Add DNS Records for Mailbox options.

      

   3. Click OK, and Alibaba Cloud DNS automatically creates DNS records for your mailbox.

      

   Note

   After you complete the DNS settings for your mailbox, you must contact your email service provider to verify the mailbox.

FAQ

• What is a hostname, and how can I set a subdomain?

  A hostname is the prefix of a domain name when creating a subdomain. For instance:

  • If you want to create a DNS record for the subdomain name www.example.com, enter www.

  • If you want to create a DNS record for the domain name example.com, enter @.

  In the Add DNS Records for Website tab of Quick Start page, the domain name and a subdomain with the hostname set to www are provided by default. You can select one of them. To customize a subdomain, select the appropriate option and enter your desired hostname.

• What is the IP address for DNS resolution and where can I obtain it?

  The IP address of website refers to the public IP address of the server hosting your website.

  • If your website is hosted on an Alibaba Cloud Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance, log on to the ECS console to find the public IP address.

  • If your website is hosted on a third-party service provider, contact them to obtain the public IP address.

• What should I do if a DNS record conflict arises when adding a DNS record for email or website?

  The priorities of DNS records that are used during DNS resolution vary based on the types of DNS records. Some types of DNS records that have the same host record and resolution line cannot be used at the same time. If these types of DNS records are used at the same time, DNS configuration risks may occur and services may become unavailable. You can delete the involved DNS records or change the host name to resolve record conflicts.

• When do the updates take effect after I modify the DNS server address?

  The cache timeout period varies with local DNS servers. It usually takes 24 hours for DNS records to take effect. A maximum of 48 hours is required for the updates to DNS records to take effect.

• Why does domain name resolution not take effect?

  This issue may be caused by one of the following causes:

  • Domain name is newly registered

  • Domain name has expired

  • Subdomain is not hosted by Alibaba Cloud DNS

  • DNS record was modified

  • DNS server for a domain name was modified

  • DNS server is not assigned by Alibaba Cloud DNS

  • No default DNS line is specified for the domain name

  For detailed descriptions and solutions, see Why does domain name resolution not take effect?

• Why can't I access the website after the updates to DNS records take effect?

  Configuring DNS settings is only one step in building a website. You must complete other steps before the website becomes available. Here are some suggestions:

  • Ensure that ports 80 and 443 (for HTTPS websites) are enabled in the security group where the server is deployed. For Alibaba Cloud ECS servers, see Check the security group rules of the ECS instance for configuring security group.

  • Check if the server is running and the server port is listened. For more information, see Check the status of the service and the listening status of the port of the service.

  • Check whether restrictions are configured on the firewall of the server and the necessary port is allowed by the firewall. For more information, see Check the firewall settings of the ECS instance.

  If the issue persists after the above inspections, contact technical support of the server IP or website for troubleshooting.