This article describes the recommended method to setup DNS for full-site acceleration when using the StackPath Secure CDN with an apex domain.
StackPath recommends using an ANAME or ALIAS Records as opposed to using the traditional A Record. An ALIAS also known as ANAME record is a virtual record type that provides CNAME-like behavior for apex (root) domains. Using an ALIAS or ANAME record will allow your DNS to automatically update with any changes made on the StackPath platform (i.e. migrating your site to another IP to mitigate a DDOS attack).
For example, if your domain is example.com and you want it to point to a host name like site.company.stackpathdns.com, then you cannot use a CNAME record. However, if you use an ALIAS record it will automatically resolve your domain to one or more A records at resolution time and resolvers will see your domain as if it had A records.
Most modern DNS providers support ALIAS or ANAME record types, such as:
- DNS Made Easy
- DNSimple
- CONSTELLIX
- DYN DNS
- Easy DNS
- NS1
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DNS Made Easy
This Article explains the benefits of using ANAME record and how it functions in their infrastructure.
It also provides detailed step by step directions of how to create ANAME records for APEX domains.
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DNSimple
DNSimple instruct their users to use an ALIAS record if they are trying to alias the root domain (apex zone) or if they need other records for the same name
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CONSTELLIX
This Article explains how CONSTELLIX designed their ANAME record option specifically to be used for CDN use case.
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DYN DNS
Alias records are not enabled by default for Dyn clients. If you are a Dyn client please contact Dyn Technical Support to review the requirements for adding Alias to your zone.
Once this feature is enabled you can follow the instructions in this article to configure your Alias.
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Easy DNS
As of June 2016 Easy DNS supports the creation of ANAME records on all service levels.
The following Article will takes their customers through the step by step directions of creating ANAME records for their Apax domains.
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NS1
NS1 supports Alias records out of the box. NS1 Clients can simply select the alias from the record type drop down and set the Answer to their Secure CDN URL.
The following article explains this process in detail.
Not all DNS providers have the option for creation of ALIAS records. Please make sure your DNS provider has this feature available.
Please note that traditional A records are different from (ANAME and ALIAS) records mentioned in this article. A Records are the most basic type of DNS record and are used to point a domain or subdomain to an IP address. We do not recommend the use of A records with your Secure CDN service as they eliminate the option for load balancing on CDN Edge servers and could result in unintended downtime for your visitors.