Webville Networks Knowledge Base

DNS, MX records and related info

There is no charge for hosting the DNS for your domain and we're happy to do it. Normally when we host the DNS we host both the email and web site for your domain. You need to let us know whether we'll be hosting your DNS.

If Webville will be hosting your domain and providing the name servers (DNS), you will need to give your domain name registrar (Network Solutions, GoDaddy, Register.com, etc.) the following information: 

If your domain is hosted elsewhere, and Webville will be hosting only the email, you will need to configure MX records, AutoDiscover SRV record, Sender ID SPF record and optionally, shortcuts to Outlook Web Access. Details follow.

MX Records:

Please include both MX records in your DNS configuration and use the preference numbers shown. These must be the only MX records present in your configuration. Remove any other MX records and create these. See below for an explanation of MX preference settings.

AutoDiscover

If Webville hosts the DNS (name servers) for your domain name we will create the appropriate AutoDiscover SRV Record record in the DNS zone for your domain. If your DNS is hosted elsewhere, you need to create the AutoDiscover SRV Record.

Service: _autodiscover
Protocol: _tcp
Port Number: 443
Host: mail.webville.net

A properly configured AutoDiscover SRV record is not optional. This must be configured properly or the users will get multiple errors in Outlook. This big topic has been promoted to its own KB article. Please click the following link...

AutoDiscover

Sender ID

If we host the DNS for your domain, we'll take care of this for you and create appropriate Sender ID (SPF) records for your domain. If the DNS is hosted elsewhere, and we host your email, the Sender ID (SPF) record for your domain name needs to contain authorization for our servers to send outbound email for your domain. There are several ways to do that. Here is a short, simple SPF record you could use if our servers will be sending the outbound email for your domain:

v=spf1 mx ip4:65.115.231.128/27 -all

See the following resources for more about configuring Sender ID and SPF records:

Overview of Sender ID
Sender ID Framework SPF record wizard (anti-spamtools.org)

Shortcuts to Outlook Web Access

If we host the DNS for your domain, we'll take care of this for you and create appropriate owa and webmail host records in your DNS zone. If your DNS is hosted elsewhere, you have the option of creating these shortcuts. If these host records exist, your browser will redirect from owa.yourdomain.com to our Outlook Web Access logon screen.

Splitting up the email and web hosting for a domain

Yes, you can have your web site hosted with one provider and your email with another provider. A lot of our customers do that. They're happy with their ISP, and the ISP hosts the web site. But the ISP does not offer Exchange Hosting, so the ISP simply changes the DNS MX records and SPF records for the domain, and the incoming email for the domain comes here to our Exchange servers. 

Domain sharing - hosting some of the users @ yourdomain.com

Yes, you can migrate users to our service gradually. This is accomplished by forwarding their incoming mail from your old server to their @webville.net address.

We can make the reply addresses on your mailboxes @yourdomain.com to keep up the desired appearance, while the mailboxes also have secondary addresses @webville.net to receive the forwarded mail.

Contact us for more details and to discuss individual situations.

DNS Primer

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a fascinating subject to systems people. But let's say you're not a network engineer, you're just a guy with a web site and email for his domain name, and you're interested in using Exchange Hosting Service. What do you really need to know?

Basically, all domain names are registered with the central Internet authority that operates the so-called root servers. Your domain name is registered with them. They have a record for your domain that provides the addresses of two or more DNS servers which are responsible for your domain.

Those DNS servers have several records relative to your domain.  They have "host" records which give IP addresses for named computers within the domain. For example, a couple of host records might look like this:

www.company.com.    IN A     127.127.127.127
mail1.company.com.    IN A     127.127.127.128
mail1.company.com.    IN A     127.127.127.129
mail2.company.com.    IN A     127.127.127.130

Basically, the www record tells web browsers where to go to find your web site. But the mail is a little more complicated. It depends on the MX record or records. They might look like this:

company.com.      MX 10       mail1.company.com.
company.com.      MX 20       mail2.company.com.

Those records tell email servers on the internet where to go when they want to send mail to someone at your domain.

MX Preference Settings Explained

The difference between the two MX records above, the 10 versus the 20, is a way to set priority between multiple mail servers for a domain. The lower number is the higher priority. Servers with the higher priority numbers will be contacted only if servers with lower priority numbers are unavailable. This allows us to build in redundancy and let mail flow automatically through backup systems if -- and only if -- primary systems are unreachable.

So understanding all of that, you see how we can host the email for your domain while the web site stays put right where it is.

Of course, we can also host the web site and the DNS for the domain, if you like. We have nothing against web hosting! This business started out doing web hosting in 1997 - hence the name Webville.net. We've just found that a number of our customers are happy with their current web hosting provider and curious about whether they can use Exchange Hosting Service for their email without disrupting the web hosting. The answer is yes, you can.

NSLOOKUP

To test the DNS for your domain name, use the "NSLOOKUP" tool, available from the command prompt of Windows machines. Type the following at a C:\ prompt:

nslookup
set type=mx
yourdomainname.com

Type exit to leave nslookup and return to the command prompt. Type a "?" at the nslookup prompt to find out more about what the nslookup tool can do.

See Q203204 "How to Obtain Internet Mail Exchanger Records with the Nslookup.exe Utility."