How to add, edit or delete an ALIAS record

What is an ALIAS record?

DNS is like a phone book for the internet. It turns a website name into a number that computers understand. Each entry in the book is a record.

Sometimes you want your main domain, such as example.com, to follow another name, such as myshop.example-host.net. A CNAME record does this, but the rules do not let a CNAME sit on the main domain (the "root" or "apex").

An ALIAS record solves this. It acts like a CNAME on the root domain. The DNS service looks up the target name for you and returns its current IP address. Some services call this ANAME or "CNAME flattening".

Not every DNS service offers ALIAS records. Ask Hostvento support whether yours does.

Before you start

Edit DNS where your domain's nameservers point. Write down your current records before you change anything.

Add an ALIAS record

1. Log in to the client area.
2. Open the DNS settings for your domain.
3. Click the button to add a new record.
4. Set Type to ALIAS.
5. In Name or Host, type @ for the root domain, or a name like www.
6. In Target or Value, type the name you want to follow, for example myshop.example-host.net.
7. Keep the default TTL. TTL is how long others may remember the answer.
8. Click Save.

Edit or delete

1. Find the ALIAS record in your list.
2. Click Edit to change the target, then save.
3. Click Delete to remove it.

Test it

Wait a few minutes, then run this command:

nslookup example.com

It should return the IP address of your target name.

Quick recap

• An ALIAS record lets a root domain follow another name.
• It works like a CNAME, where CNAME is not allowed.
• Choose type ALIAS, use @ as the name, and enter the target.
• Remove clashing A records first.
• Not all DNS services support it. Ask support if unsure.