This tutorial explains how to create customized DNS records for registered domain names in Hover. 

Please note that your domain needs to be pointed at the Hover name servers (ns1.hover.com and ns2.hover.com) in order for changes to your DNS records to take effect.   Click here for instructions on how to change your domain name servers.

This is an advanced solution for technical users.  You should not change your DNS records unless directed by your hosting company, or if you are familiar with configuring zone files.  If you are unsure whether or not you need to edit your DNS records, don't hesitate to contact a customer adviser for assistance at help@hover.com or by phone at 1-866-731-6556.

To manage DNS records, follow the steps below:

1. Log into your Hover account online at https://www.hover.com/login.
2. If you have more than one domain name listed in your account, click on the domain name that you want to use with customized DNS records.  This will take you to its Domain Details page.
   
   
3. Click on the DNS tab to manage records for the selected domain name.
   
   
    

The next steps depend on the record type that you want to edit or create.  Details for each type can be found below. 

Please note that the Hostname is the prefix before the domain name.  An @ in the Hostname represents the blank record for the root domain (awesomelawncare.com, for example).  An * (asterisk) in the Hostname is a wildcard.  For example, creating a record for *.awesomelawncare.com will point <anything>.awesomelawncare.com at the IP address provided.   
 

A Records

An A Record is used to point a hostname at an IP address. This record type can be used to point your domain name at your web host or for creating subdomains which point directly to an IP address.

To create a new A Record, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Add Record button.
   
   
   
   Enter your hostname, select A from the Record Type drop down list, and then type the appropriate IP address in the Value text box.
2. Click the Save button to the right of your new record.
   
   
    

CNAME Records

A CNAME record, or Canonical Name record, is a pointer of one name to another.  A CNAME record points a hostname to another name that is already created for a server or system.  Canonical means expected or real name.  These records are pointing a name you created at the "real" name for the server or system.

This is useful when running multiple services (such as an FTP and a webserver) from a single IP address. Each service can then have its own entry in DNS (such as blog.mydomain.com or ftp.mydomain.com).

You may also be requested to enter a CNAME record to verify domain ownership for online services such as Google Apps

CNAMEs should only be used if you can't use an A Record.

To add a new CNAME record, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Add Record button.
   
   
   
   Enter your hostname, select CNAME from the Record Type drop down list, and then type the appropriate target hostname in the Target Host text box.
2. Click the Save button to the right of your new record.
   
   
    

MX Records

A MX record or Mail Exchange record specifies how e-mail should be routed.  The MX record points to the servers that should receive e-mail for the domain.

In simple terms, the MX record allows the rest of the world to know where your email needs to be delivered.  The default setting points your domain to Hover's mail system.

Each MX record contains a host name and a numeric priority.  The lower numbers have higher priority.  Priority 0 is highest priority.  Setting priority is useful if the e-mail service uses secondary servers.  Secondary servers are usually given lower priority because they may be operated externally, not have direct access to the primary e-mail storage, have less Internet bandwidth, among other reasons.

To create an MX record for your domain enter @ as the hostname.  If you are creating an MX record for a sub domain, then you can enter your sub domain into the Hostname field.

To add a new MX record, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Add Record button.
   
   
   
   Enter @ as the Hostname (unless you want to use a sub-domain for your email services), select MX from the Record Type drop-down list, enter a priority, and then type in the Hostname of your email service (your email provider will be able to tell you what hostname should be used).
2. Click the Save button to the right of your new record.
   
   

TXT Records

TXT records allow users to associate some text with a hostname.   Originally TXT records were created to add arbitrary human-readable text to DNS records. Today TXT records have a number of practical uses, one of which is to define Sender Policy Framework (SPF) information which can be used by multiple e-mail technologies to assist in identifying the actual sender of an email. 

To add a new TXT record, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Add Record button.
   
   
   
   Enter the Hostname for your TXT record, select TXT from the Record Type drop-down list, and then type in the value of your TXT record.
2. Click the Save button to the right of your new record.
   
   

SRV Records

An SRV record is a service record which specifies information on available services.    Services such as Google Apps may require you to create SRV records.  

SRV records have the following form:  _Service._Protocol.DomainName TTL Class SRV Priority Weight Port Target

The Class is always set to IN and the TTL is set automatically by our DNS server.

To add a new SRV record, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Add Record button.
   
   
   
   The example above will create an SRV record with the following values:
   
   Hostname:  _xmpp-sever_.tcp (xmpp-server service over the tcp protocol)
   Record Type:  SRV
   Priority:  5
   Weight:  0
   Port:  5269
   Destination Hostname:  xmpp-server.l.google.com
2. Click the Save button to the right of your new record.
   
   
    

Edit and Delete Existing DNS Records
 

To edit an existing record follow these steps:

1. Mouseover the record that you want to modify and click on the edit link.
   
   
    
2. Enter the new record and then click Save.
   
   

To delete an existing record, follow these steps:

1. Mouseover the record that you want to delete and click on the delete link.
   
   
2. Click Yes when asked Are you sure you want to delete?
   
   
   

Bulk DNS Management

DNS records can be edited in bulk for multiple domain names instead of editing records for each individual domain name.  To edit DNS records in bulk, follow these steps:

1. Log into your Hover account and select the DNS tab.
   
   
2. Put a check next to the DNS records that you want to modify, select Edit from the drop-down list, and then click on the Edit button.
   
   
   
   To reset DNS records to the Hover default setting, or delete existing records in bulk, you can select Reset or Delete from the drop down list instead of the Edit option.
3. Enter the new DNS value and then click Save.