Hi

Currently I’m running a few servers at my home and I own a domain. I’d like to access those servers from outside my network (right now that happens through a VPN) but I don’t know anything about A records and MX records and as I understand, that’s what’s needed to do this. So would there be a tutorial that explains this like I’m 5 years old?

  • @foggy
    2•1 year ago

    Not sure about a good resource. Do you know what both of those records do?

    Your domain needs a nameserver. It… Serves the name associated with your IP. Or vice versa idk. This can be GoDaddy or namecheap, google, amazon, or you can host your domain locally, but the it’s not on the internet. This part is difficult for me to explain, so here’s ChatGPT with the assist:

    To clarify the two different aspects:

    Local Nameserver: This is a DNS server that runs on your local network and is used by devices within your network to resolve domain names to IP addresses. Setting up a local nameserver allows you to control DNS resolution for devices within your local network. You can configure your devices to use this local nameserver for DNS resolution instead of relying on public DNS servers.

    Public DNS: When you lease a domain (purchase or register a domain name), you need to set up DNS records for that domain on public DNS servers. These public DNS servers are maintained by your registrar or a DNS hosting provider. They are responsible for translating your domain name into the corresponding IP address and making it accessible from the internet.

    So, if you have a domain registered with a registrar, you need to set up DNS records for that domain with the registrar’s DNS servers or a DNS hosting provider. This is necessary for your domain to be reachable from the internet. Additionally, you can still set up a local nameserver for your local network to handle DNS resolution within your network.

    If you want to experiment with DNS and test how DNS works locally, you can set up a local nameserver on your network. However, to make your domain accessible to the public, you must still configure DNS records with your domain registrar or DNS hosting provider. Keep in mind that managing public DNS requires knowledge of DNS configuration and security practices to ensure your domain functions correctly and remains secure

    Now that that’s kinda clearer than I can make it… What is an A record? What is an MX record? If you already know, ignore me.

    An A record is an address. It’s the main resolution of your ip. An A record for example.com is example.coms IP address

    A CNAME is a “canonical name” and is how you build subdomain. “WWW” is a common CNAME that usually points to the domain. “Mail” is also popular, it usually points to an e mail client.

    MX records are mail exchange records. This tells email which servers to go to to get delivered.

    Hopefully that helps a bit. I’m not an excellent resource but I do know me some dns.