What is an MX Record?
Posted by Daniel Naval on 05 May 2019 04:24 PM
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Mail Exchanger Record or MX Record is a resource record in the Domain Name System (DNS) that specifies the Mail Server who is accepting email messages from receiver’s domain. It simply tells the whole internet where your emails will be sent. Use of MX RecordsThe main use of the Mail Exchange Records of a domain name is to specify how the emails should be routed using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). Where, the SMTP is the Internet standard of email transmission, which is the most commonly used today. Setting up Manual MX Record in the DNS Zone (in cPanel)To setup or add an MX Record manually, you need to login to your cPanel and follow steps below. 1. In the Domains Section, click on “Zone Editor”. 2. Look for the domain name for which you want to Add New MX Record, then click + MX Record.
4. The lowest number is the highest priorities. Zero (0) is the highest Priority.
6. The FQDN consists of two parts; the hostname and the domain name. For example, mymail.ukhost4u.com. 7. Click on Add an MX Record, the cPanel will then add the mx record. To edit an existing MX Record1. In the Domains Section, click on “Zone Editor”. 2. Select the domain you wish to edit an MX Record and then click on Manage. To delete an MX Record1. In the Domain Section, click on “Zone Editor”. 2. Select the domain you wish to delete an MX Record and then click on Manage. 3. Locate the MX from the “Type” column and click on Delete. You can also select the MX from the filter on top the list.
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ukhost4u.com | MX preference = 20, mail exchanger = fallback.ukhost4u.com |
ukhost4u.com | MX preference = 10, mail exchanger = mx.ukhost4u.com |
For Mac OS X and Linux Users:
*Mac OS X users: Open your Applications folder, then Utilities. Double click on the Terminal application.
*Linux Users: Just open your usual Terminal application.
Type in “dig mx domain.com” then hit enter. It will show the MX Records of the domain you are trying to check.
Note: For our query, we are checking ukhost4u.com’s Mail Exchange Records.
On the image above, it shows that the MX Records for the domain “ukhost4u.com”. See below.
Domain Name | TTL (Time To Live) | Class | DNS Record Type | Priority | MX Destination |
ukhost4u.com | 899 | IN | MX | 20 | fallback.ukhost4u.com |
ukhost4u.com | 899 | IN | MX | 10 | mx.ukhost4u.com |
Multiple MX Records
For this query we used gmail.com for our domain.
Domain | TTL (Time To Live) | Class | DNS Record Type | Priority | MX Destination |
gmail.com | 3599 | IN | MX | 30 | alt3.gmail-smtp-in.1.google.com |
gmail.com | 3599 | IN | MX | 40 | alt4.gmail-smtp-in.1.google.com |
gmail.com | 3599 | IN | MX | 5 | gmail-smtp-in.1.google.com |
gmail.com | 3599 | IN | MX | 20 | alt2.gmail-smtp-in.1.google.com |
gmail.com | 3599 | IN | MX | 10 | alt1.gmail-smtp-in.1.google.com |
The numbers in the priority field tells us which server will be the first one to be used. The lowest number is the Highest Priority.
If a mail server is trying to send an email to gmail.com and unable to reach the 1st priority, then it will try to reach for the 2nd Priority with the lowest number.