SiteHost

DNS Zones

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical distributed naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to a network. DNS is used to associate host names and their Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.

Using DNS means that human friendly names, such as "www.example.co.nz" can be used to locate a host, rather than using the IP address (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx or xxxx:x:xxx:xxx::xx).

DNS data is divided into manageable sets of data called zones. Zones contain name and IP address information about one or more parts of a DNS domain. A server that contains all of the information for a zone is the authoritative server for the domain - often referred to as the Name Server.

In practical terms DNS Zones allow you to link your domain with email servers, web servers, and as addresses for hosts and devices.

Creating DNS Zones

With SiteHost you can control the DNS settings for any domain that is using the SiteHost Name Servers. Follow these steps to create a DNS Zone:

  1. Log in to the SiteHost Control Panel.
  2. Click the DNS Zones module from the menu on the left.
  3. Click the Add Zone option at your top right-hand side.
  4. Enter the Domain Name you wish to set up the Zone for.
  5. Select the DNS Template you want to use. These are templates for a Zone with pre-defined DNS records. The default option is Manual DNS Settings which has no pre-defined DNS Records.
  6. Click Add DNS Zone.

Deleting DNS Zones

Always be careful when deleting a DNS Zone, they can't be restored and any existing services using the zone will stop working. When you're ready you can follow these steps:

  1. Log in to the SiteHost Control Panel.
  2. Click the DNS Zones module from the menu on the left.
  3. Locate the Zone Name you want to delete from the list of DNS Zones, put your mouse cursor over the correspondent line and click the red delete icon.
  4. Click on the button to confirm and delete the Zone you have selected.

Deleting a DNS Zone will stop all services linked to the domain if it is using the Sitehost Name Servers.

Importing DNS Zones

After creating a zone, its possible to use the Control Panel to import records rather than entering them manually yourself. To do this simply click the Import Zone button when viewing your zone and follow the prompt and the tool will do its best to find any existing records for your domain. Currently, the following record types can be imported:

  • A
  • CNAME
  • MX
  • TXT

The way this works is by issuing a series of DNS requests for common host names (e.g: www.example.com, staging.example.com) and adding records for the results. As a result, this process can't catch every possible record that may exist for your domain and you should review the results before saving them.

Transferring DNS Zones

DNS Zone records can be transferred automatically from one account to another. This can be done if the following requirements are met:

  • The domain must registered and in your account in the SiteHost Control Panel.
  • There must be no additional services attached to the current domain (for example, websites or email services).

If the requirements are met then the following steps can assist in creating the DNS Zone records:

  1. Log in to the SiteHost Control Panel.
  2. Click the DNS Zones module from the menu on the left.
  3. Click the Add Zone option at the top right-hand side.
  4. Enter the Domain Name you wish to set up the Zone for.
  5. The default option is Manual DNS Settings which has no pre-defined DNS Records.
  6. Click Add DNS Zone.

The DNS Zone records should then be transferred from the previous account to yours.