DNS & Domain Setup

Quick reference for FiniteLoopClub

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1. Domain Basics

A domain is the human-readable name of a website (like mysite.com).

When you buy a domain you get:

  • Nameservers (NS)
  • DNS Records
  • Renewal settings
  • Registrar dashboard

2. Nameservers (NS)

Nameservers decide who controls your DNS.

Cloudflare example:

ada.ns.cloudflare.com brad.ns.cloudflare.com

How it works:

  1. Buy domain
  2. Set Cloudflare NS in registrar panel
  3. Cloudflare becomes your DNS manager

Propagation: 2 min – 2 hours

3. DNS Record Types

A — IPv4

Points domain to an IPv4 address.

A | @ → 192.168.1.1

AAAA — IPv6

Points domain to an IPv6 address.

AAAA | @ → 2001:db8::1

CNAME — Alias

Points one domain to another.

CNAME | www → example.com

MX — Mail

Mail server destination.

MX | @ → mail.example.com

TXT — Verification

  • Google verification
  • SPF: v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all
  • DKIM keys

4. Cloudflare Setup

Step 1 — Add Site

Login → Add site → Cloudflare scans DNS

Step 2 — Replace Nameservers

Update NS at your registrar

Step 3 — DNS Management

Add records: A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT

5. Connecting Hosting

Vercel / Netlify / Pages

CNAME | www → cname.vercel-dns.com

VPS (DigitalOcean, Linode, AWS)

A | @ → <server-ip>

6. WHOIS Lookup

Shows: registrar, nameservers, expiry, status.

7. TTL

DNS cache duration. Common: Auto, 300, 3600, 86400.

Recommendation: Auto or 300 for fast updates.

8. Troubleshooting

Check DNS Resolution

nslookup example.com

Propagation Checker