This article discusses type A DNS records in detail. For a general guide to DNS records and their settings in the customer administration panel, see the article DNS – Domain Records.

In this article, you will learn:

• What are type A records for
• How to find the IPv4 address of a service
• How to enter type A records correctly
• Examples of type A records
• Frequently asked questions

You use type A records to indicate the IPv4 address of the server that hosts your website. Almost all WEDOS services have this address. If you run a website elsewhere, find out whether you direct the domain to the service using an A record or another (typically AAAA, CNAME).

An IPv4 address is a numerical designation of a computer on a network. It consists of four period-separated integers (0-255), such as 46.28.105.2. Although this version of addressing is now deprecated, it is still widely used, and some services do not yet offer an alternative, which is the newer IPv6 address assigned via type AAAA records.

Type A records only support the IP address, it does not allow to specify the port at the same time.

All WEDOS hosting services have an IPv4 address, with the exception of VPS SSD servers, where the IPv4 address is an add-on service. You can find the address in the customer administration panel in the service details. If you already know it, continue with the chapter Type A Record Entry.

Follow these steps to open the service detail:

1. Log into the customer administration panel.
2. In the navigation bar, select: Web & Email Hosting >> Webhosting, WMS or WebSite, alternatively Server Hosting >> VPS ON, VPS SSD or Dedicated.
3. Choose the service you want to learn the IPv4 address of.

Open the Detail of:

Then continue according to service type.

For Webhosting (including WMS Webhosting) and WebSite, you can find the IPv4 address in the Service Addresses table.

For VPS HDD, VPS SSD and Dedicated servers, you can find the address in the IPv4 Addresses table.

For VPS ON, you can find the IPv4 address in the Assigned IP Addresses table.

If the service whose IPv4 address you want to learn is not with WEDOS, look for the service manual or contact its provider’s support.

For general instructions on setting up DNS records in the customer administration panel, see the article DNS – Domain Records.

If the domain uses another provider’s DNS servers, automatic or manual changes to WEDOS records will not affect its behavior.

Basic type A records typically contain one entry for the main domain (with an empty name) and one entry for all subdomains not specified elsewhere in the records (with an * in the name):

Name      TTL    Type Data
(empty)   300    A    (server IPv4 address)
*         300    A    (server IPv4 address)

Whenever you list any record for a subdomain (except a CNAME), if that subdomain directs to an IPv4 address, create a corresponding type A record for it as well. If no other record exists for a subdomain, it will direct to the IPv4 address of the server listed in the record named *.

List a subdomain’s type A record according to this template:

Name              TTL    Type Data
(subdomain-name)  300    A    (server IPv4 address)

The system can set type A records automatically in certain circumstances (only on WEDOS DNS servers).

You can set DNS records automatically, when you:

• Check DNS settings while creating or renaming a Webhosting or WebSite, alternatively while setting up aliases.
• Direct a domain to a service according to the guide Domains – Direct DNS to Service.

Example: The domain and all subdomains direct to the IP address 46.28.105.1:

Example: The domain and almost all subdomains direct to the IP address 46.28.105.1, but the eshop subdomain directs to the address 46.28.105.3:

Example: The domain directs to the WEDOS default server via records of both type A and AAAA:

Question: My web hosting provider has not given me any IPv4 address, what should I do?
Answer: If you have an IPv6 address, set it in the domain’s AAAA records. Some older devices do not support it, though. Many providers also use a CNAME record – but this only works for subdomains (such as www), not for the main domain.

Question: What is the relation between type A and AAAA records?
Answer: Records of both types should direct to the same server. Otherwise, visitors may see different websites. Some servers do not use IPv4 or IPv6 addresses – therefore, list only those records for the domain that actually lead to the desired server.

Question: How do I know that A records direct to my web host?
Answer: The correct website is displayed. If you run the same version of the website on multiple servers, use diagnostic tools, such as domain or web hosting diagnostics in the customer administration panel. If you have changed DNS servers in the last 48 hours, the information in the diagnostics may be inaccurate due to propagation latency.

Question: How to direct the eshop subdomain to a different server than where the rest of the website is directed?
Answer: Create an A or AAAA record for it. Alternatively, use a CNAME record.