| DNS & MX
record info
If Junctionbox will be hosting the DNS for your domain,
you will need to give Network Solutions (or a competing
domain name registrar) the following
information:
Name Servers (DNS servers):
DNS1.JUNCTIONBOX.NET
24.73.223.2
PROTOTYPE.PROTOTYPO.ORG
24.164.6.36
Please include both name servers in your DNS
configuration.
Technical Contact:
IFWEEFMTFI
Configuring us as a technical contact gives us
permission to change the name servers when necessary.
If your DNS is hosted elsewhere, and Junctionbox will be
hosting the email, you will need to give the DNS
administrator (probably your web hosting provider) the
following information:
MX records:
@ IN
MX 10
MAIL.JUNCTIONBOX.NET.
@ IN MX
10 EX2.JUNCTIONBOX.NET.
@ IN MX
20 MX3.JUNCTIONBOX.NET.
Please include all three MX records in your DNS
configuration and use the preference numbers shown. See
below for an explanation of MX preference settings.
Splitting up
the email and web hosting for a
domain
Yes, you can have your web site hosted with one
provider and your email with another provider. A lot of
our customers do that. They're happy with their ISP, and
the ISP hosts the web site. But the ISP does not offer
Exchange Hosting, so the ISP simply changes the DNS MX
records for the domain, and the incoming email for the
domain comes here to our Exchange servers.
How DNS works
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a fascinating subject
to systems people. But let's say you're not a network
engineer, you're just a guy with a web site and email
for his domain name, and you're interested in using
Exchange Hosting Service. What do you really need to
know?
Basically, all domain names are registered with the
central Internet authority that operates the so-called
root servers. Your domain name is registered with them.
They have a record for your domain that provides the
addresses of two or more DNS servers which are
responsible for your domain.
Those DNS servers have several records relative to
your domain. They have "host" records which give
IP addresses for named computers within the domain. For
example, a couple of host records might look like this:
www.company.com. IN
A
127.127.127.127
mail1.company.com.
IN A 127.127.127.128
Basically, the www record tells web browsers where to
go to find your web site. But the mail is a little more
complicated. It depends on the MX record or records.
They might look like this:
company.com. MX
10
mail1.company.com.
company.com.
MX 10
mail2.company.com.
company.com.
MX 20
mail3.company.com.
Those records tell email servers on the internet
where to go when they want to send mail to someone at
your domain.
MX Preference
Settings Explained
The difference between the three MX records above,
the 10 versus the 20, is a way to set load sharing and
priority between multiple mail servers for a domain. The
lower number is the higher priority. Two MX records with
the same priority will share the workload equally. The
server with the higher priority number will be contacted
only if the servers with lower priority number are
unavailable. This allows us to build in redundancy and
let mail flow automatically through backup systems if --
and only if -- primary systems are unreachable.
So understanding all of that, you see how we can host
the email for your domain while the web site stays put
right where it is.
Of course, we can also host the web site and the DNS
for the domain, if you like. We have nothing against web
hosting! This business started out doing web hosting in
1997 - hence the name Webville.net. We've just found
that a number of our customers are happy with their
current web hosting provider and curious about whether
they can use Exchange Hosting Service for their email
without disrupting the web hosting. The answer is yes,
you can.
NSLOOKUP
To test the DNS for your domain name, use the
"NSLOOKUP" tool, available from the command prompt of
Windows 2000 or XP machine running TCP/IP. Type the
following at a C:\ prompt:
nslookup
set
type=mx
yourdomainname.com
Type exit to leave nslookup and return to the command
prompt. Type a "?" at the nslookup prompt to find out
more about what the nslookup tool can do.
See Q203204 "How to Obtain Internet Mail
Exchanger Records with the Nslookup.exe Utility."
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