Wholesale domain registration and internet services -- OnlineNIC Inc.

Quick links

What is DNS?

DNS stands for Domain Name Service. It is the Internet-wide system for connecting domain names, like customerdomain.com, to their respective web servers. DNS translates domain names to their corresponding IP Address. Without DNS, people would have to visit their favorite web sites by typing in numbers instead of their names.

What are OnlineNIC's DNS Power Tools?

With DNS Power Tools, you have the power to manage your domain's complete DNS record; set and change the domain's corresponding IP address (A Records), have e-mail forwarded to your ISP's mail server (MX Records), configure name aliases (CNAMES), and set up subdomains (service.customerdomain.com).

How can I use OnlineNIC's DNS Power Tools?

Note: To use OnlineNIC's "DNS Power Tools" you must have ns000.onlinenic.com set as the name server for the domain. If you are using your own nameserver you can not use OnlineNIC's DNS Power Tools. First, you must create a DNS record that will forward your domain to its corresponding IP Address. Choose "Create DNS Record" under DNS Power Tools. For security reasons, you will be asked to re-enter your reseller_id and password. Enter the domain you wish to manage along with the IP Address of the valid, accessible web server that hosts your site. This will create a basic DNS record for your domain. Within approximately 48 hours, your domain should resolve properly on the Internet. If you wish to configure additional DNS settings for this domain (CNAMES, MX Records) or wish to change a domain's IP address, use the "Manage DNS Record" link under DNS Services in the control panel.

How much does it cost to use DNS Power Tools?

DNS Power Tools are currently free of charge for a limited time. OnlineNIC will inform you when we begin to charge for this service. Please note that E-mail forwarding and URL forwarding services are not part of the DNS Power Tools package and are currently fee-based services.

What is an A-Record?

The A-Record, also called the "address record", is the most important part of the DNS record. It is used to link your domain to its corresponding IP Address.

What is an NS Record?

The NS-Record indicates the authoritative name server for that domain. If there is some question about the IP Address for a particular domain, other name servers know where to ask for a definitive answer. Note that to use OnlineNIC's DNS Power Tools you must use ns000.onlinenic.com as your primary name server. This is the default setting when you register new domains with us.

What is an MX Record?

MX Records specify what servers on the Internet are responsible for handling e-mail sent to your domain. You can assign more than one server with priority rankings, so that you can still get mail if the primary server fails. Successful use of an MX Record requires cooperation with your ISP. They must properly configure the mail server to receive e-mail from your domain. If you do not have an ISP who can do this, try our e-mail forwarding service instead.

What is e-mail forwarding?

E-mail forwarding allows you to have all e-mail sent to your domain to be forwarded to a private e-mail address that you specify. For example, mail sent to anything@customerdomain.com, could be configured to go to:customermail@hotmail.com. To do this, we set up your MX Record to point to one of our mail servers, then configure the server to forward mail to your account. The cost for this is 1 US dollar per domain per year.

What is URL forwarding?

URL forwarding will automatically send visitors to a URL that you specify whenever they type your domain name in their browser. The URL (in the form http://www.otherdomain.com/directory/file.html) can be cloaked or uncloaked. A cloaked URL will not show up in the browser's location bar. Instead, your domain, www.yourdomain.com, will appear in the browser location bar. An uncloaked URL will be visible in the location bar instead of your domain.