How a domain name works (DNS, DNS Zone, A Record, MX Record)

This guide explains how a domain name works.

3 basics to understand

1. When you surf our website https://www.infomaniak. com, infomaniak.com is our domain name
2. Each domain has DNS (Domain Name System), which indicate where the DNS zone of the domain name is
3. The DNS zone is then used to entrust the management of various services related to the domain name to different providers. For a single domain name, it is possible, for example, to entrust web hosting to provider X (via the A Record) and Email Service to provider Y (via the MX record)

Example: the infomaniak.com DNS are ns1.infomaniak.com and ns2.infomaniak.com, which indicates that the DNS zone of the domain name infomaniak.com is managed by Infomaniak.

In administrative terms,

• Each domain name is reserved and managed by a registrar. Infomaniak is, for example, one of the cheapest registrars in Switzerland: https://www.infomaniak.com/fr/domaines/tarifs
• The DNS for a domain are configured with the registrar that manages the domain
• The DNS zone can be supported by the registrar or another service provider
• Web Hosting and Email Service can be supported by any host

In the most complex case, it is possible to have 1 different provider for the following services: reservation of the domain name and DNS management, management of the DNS zone, Web hosting, Email Service.

As a registrar and web host, Infomaniak can manage all these services. This is the simplest solution.

For more information:

• An MX record is used to point a domain name (ex .: your-site.com) to an email server
• An A record is used to point a domain name (ex .: your-site.com) or a subdomain (ex .: example.your-site.com) to a Web server that has a static IP address