We have recently received several requests for the ability to add SRV DNS records to domains, and we were happy to oblige. For those who don’t know, DNS stands for Domain Name System and is how a computer translates a domain name like heartinternet.uk to the address of the actual computer that the website lives on.
There are many types of DNS records that describe how to find different services such as the web, and email servers. SRV records let some more modern programs find out how and where to connect to potentially any service. SRV records have only been widely adopted in relatively new protocols like SIP and XMPP, but it is expected that they will become more commonplace as additional protocols are developed.
With an SRV record you can specify different servers for the same service and split the requests between them in whatever ratio you decide. This is called load-balancing and is mostly only used for services with a high volume of users. It is also possible to specify two servers and have the second only be used if the first becomes unreachable. This is called redundancy and helps to prevent downtime on important services.
Our DNS management page now includes sections for managing your SRV records, but you should only use them if you need the records and are confident with what you are doing. You could potentially break your entire site in just a few wrong clicks. If you need an SRV record and are confident of your ability then click on the link, choose the domain to manage and click on the shiny new DNS Management icon.
Our support database has a more technical description of SRV records, which is advised reading if you are going to be adding records.
Ahhh so its nothing to do with the late great Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Records….. :p
Any change of getting the ability to add multiple TXT records for the same node (e.g. root domain)? This is required if you want to specify both SPF v1 and v2 rules. I submitted a request, but never heard anything back.
That’s just brilliant!Forward thinking guys…This makes the move from Fasthosts to you even sweeter.If only you could integrate Exchange mailboxes you would have me sold!!
Thanks so much,
David
Very helpful, esopecially with Microstfs implementation of the autodiscover feature. An SRV record can bypass alot of security name mismatches when setting up SBS 2008