Confirming how to add DNS record for subdomain

DNS & Network
#1

Hi all. I realize this is a simple thing but I feel like I know just enough about DNS to possibly mess things up! And other responses here don’t “quite” answer my questions.

I need to add a DNS record to enable access to a new subdomain (staging site) at my host, titled staging3.[mydomain].com . I’ve added a CNAME record that points to the first of 2 IP addresses provided by them. My questions:

  • Is CNAME the correct type of record to add or should it be an A record? (I chose CNAME)
  • Do I need to add a record for each of the two nameservers? (I’ve just added one)
  • Should the Proxy Status be DNS Only (grey cloud) or Proxied (orange cloud)? (I’ve set it to DNS Only).

Really appreciate any clarity you can provide. Thanks!

#2

Not sure where the CNAME comes in, but you’d just need two additional staging3 A records pointing to the two IP addresses you mentioned. That should be it if I understood you correctly.

As for proxying, that’s really up to you. As long as everything involves only HTTP you can proxy them.

#3

Thanks, so it sounds like A records are fine, no need for it to be a CNAME record? (I see lots of reference online to doing this with a CNAME record.) I’ll make it 2 A records as you suggest, and I’ll go ahead and proxy them.

#4

A CNAME record is an A record with additional steps.

What is it you want to achieve? Point the staging3 hostname to two IP addresses?

#5

Well, I took a closer look at the provided nameserver info from the hosting company, and I realize that the numerical part is identical, it’s just the named part that differs in the usual manner, one starts with “ns1” and one with “ns2”. Here’s an anonymized version:

ns1.123456.host.net (1.234.5.678)
ns2.123456.host.net (1.234.5.678)

So with an A record, that just takes the numerical IP address, it seems clear that one is all I need.

Yes?

#6

Where does a nameserver come in here? Do you want to set up a sub-domain of your domain or just add a new hostname?

#7

Just a subdomain. It’s a staging site I’ve created (using the host’s provided interface) and the address is staging3.[sitename].com .

#8

Just a sub-domain? So you do want to delegate that to a third-party nameserver? In that case you’d need NS records instead.

#9

Hmm. The domain name is registered at GoDaddy; proxied here at Cloudflare of course; and the hosting is at SiteGround (where I created the staging site). But I can’t access it yet, since SiteGround doesn’t handle the DNS.

#10

So same question, sub-domain or hostname? You mentioned the former but your description sounds like the latter. If it is the latter you just need an A record and point it to the desired address, that’s it.

#11

It’s a subdomain, I’m sure of that. If the site were called mysite.com, I created a staging site which has been assigned the address staging3.mysite.com - but I can’t reach it.

#12

A sub-domain involves nameservers and delegation. In that case you need to create NS records and point them to your third-party nameserver and manage everything there.

#13

Sorry, I confess I’m getting more confused (and I thought I had at least a tenuous grasp of this stuff). The setup is:

Site hosted at SiteGround
Domain name registered at GoDaddy
At GoDaddy, nameservers are pointing to Cloudflare
Here at Cloudflare is where I see all the DNS settings for the site (15 different DNS records in total).

So Cloudflare as I understand it is where I “manage everything”… yes?

#14

Can you post all the details about that new setup you have? Addresses, desired hostnames, and so on

#15

And the only A record here at Cloudflare, for the main site, points to the IP address of the SiteGround hosting.

#16

Sure. One moment.

#17

Arrgh, new users in this forum can only put 2 links in a post. I’ll send a visual.

#18

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#19

These nameservers are not configured for staging3 as domain, so that won’t be a sub-domain but a regular hostname as mentioned in the original response.

You just need one A record for that IP address and that’s it.

Keep in mind it won’t work with “www” as the proxy certificates do not cover that and you’d need a paid certificate.

1 Like
#20

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