Edit DNS Zone

This feature allows you to edit the records in a domain’s DNS zone file.

Note: You may only edit zone data for one domain at a time.

Warning: You should exercise caution when editing a DNS zone, as improperly configuring DNS data can prevent visitors from accessing a domain.

To edit a DNS zone:

1. Click the domain whose zone you wish to edit.
2. Click Edit.

WHM will display the Edit DNS Zone screen. At the top, this screen shows the following information about the domain:

• Editing zone — Displays the name of the domain whose zone record(s) you are currently editing.
• cPanel first — Shows the cPanel version and build number installed on your server when you created the zone.
• latest — Shows the most recent cPanel version and build number installed on your server.
• Cpanel:: ZoneFile::VERSION — Shows which zonefile version cPanel is using.
• mtime — The date and time (in Unix time) the zone file was last edited.
• $TTL — The default time to live, in seconds. This specifies how long zone data should be cached (saved in memory) by clients (for example, a visitor’s web browser), if not specified for each record below.

The Edit DNS Zone Screen with Zone File Information.

Beneath this information, the Edit DNS Zone screen displays a table of editable text fields containing the DNS entries for the domain.

The column headings are:

• Domain — The name of the domain associated with the entry.
• TTL — The time to live, or length of time that the DNS entry should be cached by the client.
• Record type —The type of DNS record.
• Note: While the Class field field may be editable, changing this field to anything other than “IN” will result in an error.

There are several DNS record types you may see here. The following are the most common; for more information on DNS record types, click here.

• SOA — The start of authority record. This contains authoritative information — that is, information on record with an accredited domain name registrar — about the domain. It includes:
  • The authoritative nameserver’s hostname.
  • The server administrator’s contact email with a period [.] in place of the @ sign.
  • Time information and several settings dictating how clients should store the domain’s DNS data:
    • Serial number — This number is comprised of the year, month, date, and time the record was last edited.
    • Refresh — The time interval which should elapse before the client should refresh zone data.
    • Retry — The time interval which should elapse before the client should try again after a failed refresh attempt.
    • Expire — The time interval after which the record is no longer authoritative.
    • Minimum TTL — The minimum time to live, or length of time that any DNS information from this zone should be cached.
• NS — A nameserver record. This specifies the hostname that clients will refer to when they look for your domain.
• A — An address record. This matches your domain name to an IP address.
• MX — A mail exchange record. This matches your domain name to a list of servers which handle mail for your domain, tagging each with a priority (the highest priority is 0).
• CNAME — A “canonical” name record, which matches your domain name to an alias. This is useful if you are running a server besides Apache, such as an FTP server, on a separate port.

Editable Entries on the Edit DNS Zone Screen.

You may add new entries to the DNS record using the empty text fields at the bottom of the screen.

Warning: Be very cautious when adding DNS entries, as an incorrectly configured DNS record may prevent visitors from accessing the domain.

When you are finished entering the information, click Save.

Empty Text Fields for New Entries on the Edit DNS Zone Screen.