Domain Management

1. Domain options
2. Mail settings
   
   • SMTP - I want mail to this domain to be delivered to my static IP by SMTP
   • POP3 - I want to collect my mail using POP3
     
3. I want to specify DNS records for hosts under this domain
4. Using mailboxes with domains
5. Domain hosting only
6. Domain hosting settings
7. Directory /htdocs/
8. Additional DNS records (Advanced users only)
9. Renewing your domain
10. Changing DNS records (Advanced users only)
    
    • Address record
    • Canonical name (CNAME) records
      
11. MX records

 

1. Domain options

You can change the way that your domain handles email and web visitors. If you are an advanced user you can modify the DNS records which provide greater control over your domains.

2. Mail settings

SMTP - I want mail to this domain to be delivered to my static IP by SMTP.
Advanced users, who have accounts with static IP addresses can have mail directed to their own email server. Recommended only for experienced users.

POP3 - I want to collect my mail using POP3.
This is the default setting. Any email sent to your domain name is automatically delivered to your default mailbox.

3. I want to specify DNS records for hosts under this domain
This option is only suitable for advanced users. This allows domain records, which control how web and email traffic work with your domain, to be manually edited

4. Using mailboxes with domains
You can use your mailboxes on your account with your domain. This allows you to manage emails that are sent to your domain better. Note: you can't have separate mailboxes for different domains that you host, unless you use your own mailserver via SMTP.

E.g. You have a mailbox called 'sales' and you have 3 domains hosted on your account. An email addressed to sales@ will be directed to the mailbox, regardless of which domain to which it is sent.

5. Domain hosting only
Register a domain through a third party. They will handle billing and administration, but host the domain on your PlusNet account. How hosting works.

6. Domain hosting settings
Default - I wish to have this domain hosted automatically under my webspace. Visitors to your domain will go to the webspace root, which is what you see at www.your-username.plus.com/

7. Directory /htdocs/
You can use this feature to point your domain to a separate subdirectory of your webspace. This is handy if you are hosting several domains and want each of these to have a separate website. To use this feature:

1. Connect to your webspace and create a new directory.
2. Then put your web pages into the new directory.
3. Once you've done this you can add the directory name in the Directory box. Visitors to your domain will then arrive in the directory.

8. Additional DNS records (Advanced)
Any new DNS records that you add will appear here. You can add records by clicking on Configure DNS records, at the bottom of the screen. We suggest that you only change DNS records if you are an experienced user. This is because any small errors can cause problems with your domain.

9. Renewing your domain
Most domains are registered for either 1 or 2 years. After this time they must be renewed, at the same price as when they were registered. PlusNet automatically register all domains that are due for renewal. Use this tool to confirm you want your domain renewed, or that you want to allow the domain to expire.

Domains that are not renewed remain suspended. They will then become available for other Internet users to register.

10. Changing DNS Records (Advanced users only)

Address record
Address, or 'A' records, map the name of a machine to its numeric IP address. In basic terms, this record says "for this hostname go to this IP address".

You should avoid - placing another hostname in the Right Field. 'A' records will only work when pointed to an IP address.

Canonical name (CNAME) records
'CNAME' records allow a machine to be known by more than one hostname. There must always be an 'A' record for the machine before 'C' names can be added.

You should make sure:

• That the canonical name (nominated on the right) is fully qualified (FQDN)
• If the canonical name doesn't have the full stop at the end, the DNS will add the Top Level Domain on again. This will make the domain name wrong. (E.g. 'house.domainname.co.uk' would become 'house.domain.co.uk.uk').

11. MX records
MX records specify a mail exchanger for a domain name: a host that will either deliver or forward mail for the domain name (e.g. through a firewall).

Each MX record should be assigned a priority (from 0 to 65535). An attempt is made to deliver mail to each server from 0 first and then to the next highest priority number.

We will automatically include an MX record for your domain, for the server mx.last.plus.net. This will allow you to have a mail relay for your domain if you only have a single mail server.

Note: This is only a relay server for incoming email, it cannot be used for sending email, nor retrieving email directly.

If you should wish to remove this entry, then you can do so using the 'Configure DNS records' option for your domain, just go to the Domain names section of the portal and click the configure button next to your domain to do so.

You should make sure:

• The right hand side of the record doesn't contain an IP address.
• The right hand side of the record doesn't contain a CNAME.
• A host shouldn't be named in both a CNAME AND MX record.
• Also, avoid a lack of MX records, or records that declare priority when they probably shouldn't (because the host being pointed to isn't accessible).

The most common problem is a lack of full qualification. You should look for the full stop at the end of the hostname (you can find this on the right-hand side).

 

Page last updated 3rd August 2007