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FAQsDNS
What is DNS? DNS stands for Domain Name Service. It is the system by which all Internet addresses are converted into IP numbers and back again. Without it, you would have to remember IP numbers instead of your favorite website names, such as www.covad.com. top How does it work? If you have a domain with Covad (such as www.mycompany.com) special DNS servers convert your website address (www.mycompany.com) into an IP address. top What is a Registrar? A Registrar facilitates the process of purchasing new domain names across the Internet. There are many Registrars, such as Network Solutions, Register.com or easyDNS. Covad has a relationship with Network Solutions, but we do not recommend one over the other. top Do I need to contact a Registrar? If your domain is already active, there is already a Registrar who has made an entry for your domain, and this Registrar will or has billed you directly. If you want to register a new domain, then Covad will set up your account with Network Solutions and the registry fees will appear on your Covad bill. top What is a DNS server? A DNS server (sometimes called a name server) is a server connected to the Internet that identifies unique domain names or Internet sites. As a Covad customer, having the correct name for Covad's DNS server is critical to successfully being located on the Web. top What are my options for making Covad's DNS servers authoritative for my domains? Customers have two choices:
top How do I bring up an unregistered domain on Covad's servers? You have the choice of letting Covad manage the entire process or you can register the domain yourself through any Registrar of your choice. If you use your own Registrar, you must request that they set the DNS servers to point to ns1.covad.net and ns2.covad.net. top How do I bring up a registered domain on Covad's servers? You have the choice of moving the domain to Covad, or of just setting the DNS servers to point to ns1.covad.net and ns2.covad.net. You are responsible for making changes to your domain name record through your Registrar after you have pointed an existing domain name to Covad's DNS servers. Covad DNS servers will be authoritative for the your domain, but only after you make changes to the domain name record through the Registrar and point the domain name record's DNS server settings to ns1.covad.net and ns2.covad.net. top I prefer to use my own Registrar. How can I still use Covad's DNS servers? If you want to have Covad manage your DNS, your servers should be set to ns1.covad.net - 66.134.199.11 ns2.covad.net - 66.134.199.12 If Covad is not hosting the domain name explicitly, then the DNS server settings cannot point to Covad DNS servers. top Can I register more than one domain? Yes, so long as you pay for the registration fees. top What is an "A" record? An "A" record in DNS links a hostname to an IP address. For every computer name you see on the Internet, there must be an "A" record linking it to an IP address. top What does an "A" record look like? The basic form looks like this: my_hostname.my_domain.comIN A 1.2.3.4 This would link a computer called my_hostname to an IP of 1.2.3.4. top What is an MX record? An MX record is a "mail exchange" record. An MX record tells the Internet which computer handles email for a domain. For every domain on the Internet that receives email, there must be an MX record. top What does an MX record look like? An MX record looks like: my_domain.comIN MX my_mail_computer.my_domain.com. This would tell the Internet that my_mail_computer controls the email for my_domain.com top Do I need to have an "A" record before I can add an MX record? Yes. MX records point to hosts. A host is created when you add an "A" record. You can't add an MX record if you haven't created a host first. top How do I add an MX record? 1) Click on Manage My DNS in My Covad Account 2) In Website OS, select Website Management and then DNS Manager 3) Select the Edit Zone File button and click Next 4) Click on Add Record under Mail Exchange Information 5) Under Domain enter the domain name 6) Under Mail Host, enter the hostname. This must be already set up under the A records 7) Click on Save. Now all email for this domain will be delivered to the host name computer that you indicated. If Covad will be hosting your email service, then the MX record and "A" records for the POP, SMTP, IMAP, and Webmail servers will automatically appear listed in your DNS record. In addition, only one MX record is allowed per domain. If you will be using some other ISP MX record you cannot use the MX record from Covad. top What is a CNAME? CNAME records are domain name aliases. The most popular use of the CNAME record type is to provide access to a web server using both the standard "www.domain.com" and "domain.com" (without the www). This is usually done by creating an A record for the short name (without www), and a CNAME record for the www name pointing to the short name. A CNAME record should always point to an A record to avoid circular references. top Is it possible to have reverse domain services? Forward DNS lookup uses a domain name to find an IP address. Reverse DNS lookup uses an Internet IP address to find a domain name. Forward DNS lookup is more common since most users think in terms of domain names rather than IP addresses. For reverse DNS requests, Covad requires that a forward "A" record already be in place that matches the reverse request. If you require reverse domain services, please make an online request to have a representative add one for you. The request should include the IP address, and the domain name you wish it to resolve to. Once the request is completed we will notify you by email. If Covad is hosting the services no reverse DNS delegation is necessary. You will need a reverse DNS delegation if you or a third party is hosting your email and/or website. If you require reverse delegation, please be advised that Covad does not support the NS method of delegation. Covad grants delegation via the CNAME method outlined in RFC 2317 paragraph 5.2. This method requires you to provide Covad with a domain name that you host. Covad will then create a CNAME record in the format: IN CNAME h-172-31-201-18.yourdomain.com. Instead of placing the response record in a reverse zone file on our DNS server, you will place a PTR record in the forward zone file for yourdomain.com in this format: h-172-31-201-18.yourdomain.com IN PTR example.yourdomain.com where example.yourdomain.com can be what ever you wish the server to respond with. The response does not have to be a sub-domain of yourdomain.com and can be any domain you are hosting. top How do I register a new domain through Covad?
top How do I move an existing domain?
top What TLDs (top-level domains) can Covad register? At this time, Covad can help you register domain names ending in .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info and .us. However, we do allow other TLDs that have been registered directly through a Registrar, including .cc, .tv and .ws. If you need to move a domain with some other TLD, please consult a sales person for help. top Can I manage my DNS if Covad is not hosting my domain? You cannot use My Covad Account to manage your DNS settings if Covad is not hosting the domain. top If I use a Registrar other than Network Solutions, should they still point to the same DNS servers? Regardless of the Registrar, the DNS servers need to point to ns1.covad.net and ns2.covad.net for Covad to provide your hosted services. |