Creating proper MX Records
example.com = Placeholder for my domain
mail.example.com = Placeholder for my A record for mail
I have encountered a new issue once I began setting up my MX records on Linode. I am trying to setup my MX records so that emails written to "name@example.com" are sent to "mail.example.com", which ultimately resolves to the server's IP address. I am confused on what the "Subdomain" section of the MX records refers to. I have reviewed the Linode documentation and looked at existing community support, but they have still not solved my issue. Currently, the MX record for "mail.example.com" resolves to "10 example.com", which is not what I am looking for.
What I would like is below:
$ dig example.com mx +short
10 mail.example.com.
Currently I am seeing this:
$ dig example.com mx +short
[no output]
However, if I run this:
$ dig mail.example.com mx +short
10 example.com.
I would really like to know what I need to put into the "Mail Server" and "Subdomain" textboxes in the MX record editor.
3 Replies
asilverman
Linode Staff
Hey there,
I'm happy to help and point you in the right direction. In your DNS Manager for the domain, I added what you would need to enter for MX records and A records to achieve what you're looking for.
Create an A Record for your mail server
Hostname - mail
IP Address - 12.34.56.78
TTL - Default
Create an MX Record with the following information.
Mail Server - mail.example.com
Preference - 10
TTL - 5
Subdomain - Leave this blank
After you update the records, make sure to wait for the records to propagate, then you should see the following:
$ dig example.com mx +short
10 mail.example.com.
I also want to add the guide for using our DNS Manager, in case you need help editing, deleting, or adding a record.
This got me too. Seems backwards. You want to put the actual mail server in the "Mail Server" field i.e. your-domain.mail.protection.outlook.com or mail.yourdomain.com and not your actual domain name. If you want to set a mail server for a subdomain that's what the subdomain is for, your actual subdomains.
Hope this helps someone wondering why their email isn't routing to office365.
