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Managing DNS

This guide walks you through creating DNS zones, managing records, and deleting zones in the NetActuate portal.

Prerequisites​

  • An active NetActuate account
  • A domain name registered with any registrar
  • Ready to delegate your domain's nameservers to NetActuate (ns1–ns4.netactuate.com)

Creating a DNS Zone​

  1. Navigate to Networking → Domains → DNS Zones.
  2. Click + Add.
  3. Enter the Zone name (e.g., example.com).
  4. Optionally toggle Create default records (A, MX, CNAME). If enabled, you will be prompted to enter a target IP address.
  5. Click Add DNS Zone.

The zone appears in your zone list. Click on it to open the zone details sidebar.

Default Records​

When you create a zone with default records enabled and a target IP, the following records are created automatically:

TypeNameContent
A@ (root)Your target IP
CNAMEwwwPoints to the root zone
CNAME* (wildcard)*.yourdomain.com pointing to the root
MX@mail.yourdomain.com
TXT@Basic SPF record

You can edit or delete any of these records after creation.

Note: To use NetActuate as your authoritative DNS, update your domain's nameservers at your registrar to point to ns1.netactuate.com, ns2.netactuate.com, ns3.netactuate.com, and ns4.netactuate.com. DNS will not resolve through NetActuate until this delegation is in place.

Adding Records​

  1. Open a zone by clicking on it in the zone list.
  2. Under DNS Zone Records, click + Add.
  3. Select the Type:
    • A — IPv4 address
    • AAAA — IPv6 address
    • CNAME — alias to another hostname
    • MX — mail exchange server (includes a Priority field)
    • NS — nameserver delegation
    • PTR — reverse DNS pointer
    • SPF — sender policy framework
    • SRV — service locator
    • TXT — arbitrary text (commonly used for SPF, DKIM, domain verification)
  4. Enter the Name:
    • Use @ for the root zone (e.g., example.com itself)
    • Type a name to create a subdomain (e.g., www becomes www.example.com)
  5. Enter the Content — the record's target value (IP address, hostname, or text depending on type).
  6. Select the TTL.
  7. For MX records, enter the Priority (lower numbers indicate higher priority).
  8. Click Create DNS Zone Record.

Note: Some record types display additional fields. For example, MX records include a priority field, and SRV records include priority, weight, and port fields.

Editing Records​

  1. Open a zone by clicking on it.
  2. In the records table, click the edit icon under Actions for the record you want to modify.
  3. Update the fields and save.

Deleting Records​

  1. Open a zone by clicking on it.
  2. In the records table, click the delete icon under Actions for the record you want to remove.
  3. Confirm the deletion.

Deleting a Zone​

  1. Navigate to Networking → Domains → DNS Zones.
  2. Find the zone in the list.
  3. Click the three-dot menu next to the zone.
  4. Select Delete Zone.
  5. Confirm the deletion.

Note: Deleting a zone removes all records within it. This action cannot be undone.

Next Steps​

Need Help?​

Contact support@netactuate.com or open a support ticket from the portal.