The Domain Name System (DNS) is the internet's phonebook. When you type trinico.cloud into a browser, your computer asks a DNS server, "What IP address do I send this request to?" The DNS server replies with something like 196.41.124.10 and your browser then connects to that server to fetch the page. The whole exchange happens in milliseconds, every time you visit a website.
Common DNS record types
- A record - points a domain (or subdomain) at an IPv4 address. The most common record type.
- AAAA record - same as an A record but for IPv6 addresses.
- CNAME record - aliases one domain to another. Often used for subdomains like
wwwpointing to the bare domain. - MX record - tells the world which mail server to deliver e-mail for the domain to. If your MX records are wrong, you will not receive any e-mail.
- TXT record - a free-form text record. Used for SPF, DKIM and DMARC e-mail authentication, and for verifying domain ownership with services like Google.
- NS record - lists the authoritative name servers for your domain. Changing these effectively moves DNS hosting to a different provider.
Propagation - why DNS changes are not instant
DNS responses are cached by every server in the chain - your ISP, your browser, your operating system - for the duration of the record's TTL (Time To Live). When you change a record, those caches need to expire before the new value is visible everywhere. Typical full propagation takes 4 to 24 hours, sometimes a little longer for ISPs that ignore short TTLs. If you know in advance you will be making a DNS change, lower the TTL to 300 seconds (5 minutes) a day or two beforehand and most users will see the change within minutes.
Where do you manage DNS for a Trinico Cloud domain?
Every domain registered with us comes with free DNS hosting on our nameservers. You manage records via the Domains section of your client area, or via cPanel if you have hosting with us too. The interface is the same whether you have one domain or fifty.
Register a domain (DNS included) Manage your existing domains
Need a hand?
The Trinico Cloud team is in South Africa and replies during local business hours. Reach us via WhatsApp, e-mail or a support ticket - whichever suits you best.
