Understanding DNS Records: A, CNAME, MX and TXT Explained

DNS — the Domain Name System — is the internet's phonebook: it translates human-friendly domain names like yourbusiness.co.tz into the IP addresses that servers actually use to find and connect to each other. Understanding DNS records helps you confidently manage your domain and keep email, websites, and third-party services running smoothly.

What Is a DNS Record?

Every domain has a DNS zone — a set of instructions stored on nameservers that tell the internet where to send different kinds of traffic. Each individual instruction is called a DNS record. When someone types your domain into a browser or sends you an email, their device queries the DNS zone and follows whichever record applies to that request.

If your domain uses Momo Cloud nameservers (ns1.momo.tz and ns2.momo.tz), all your DNS records are stored on our infrastructure and you can edit them directly inside cPanel.

The Main DNS Record Types

A Record — Points a Name to an IPv4 Address

The A record is the most fundamental DNS record. It maps a hostname to an IPv4 address (four numbers separated by dots, such as 196.216.1.10). When someone visits www.yourdomain.co.tz, their browser performs an A record lookup to find out which web server to connect to.

yourdomain.co.tz.      A    196.216.1.10
www.yourdomain.co.tz.  A    196.216.1.10

You can create multiple A records for the same hostname to distribute traffic across several servers.

AAAA Record — Points a Name to an IPv6 Address

The AAAA record works exactly like an A record, but for IPv6 addresses — the newer, longer address format (eight groups of hexadecimal digits). Most websites run both A and AAAA records so visitors on IPv4 and IPv6 networks can both reach the site. If your hosting server has an IPv6 address, Momo Cloud will provide it for you.

yourdomain.co.tz.  AAAA  2001:db8::1a2b:3c4d

CNAME Record — An Alias to Another Name

A CNAME (Canonical Name) record does not point to an IP address — it points one hostname to another hostname. The DNS system then looks up that target name to find the final IP. This is useful when a service provider gives you a hostname rather than a raw IP, or when you want multiple subdomains to follow a single address automatically.

shop.yourdomain.co.tz.  CNAME  stores.example-platform.com.

Tip: You cannot use a CNAME for the bare root domain (e.g., yourdomain.co.tz itself) because DNS rules forbid it. Use an A record for the root and a CNAME for subdomains like www or shop.

MX Record — Routes Your Email

MX records (Mail Exchanger) tell the internet which mail server should receive email addressed to your domain. Without a correct MX record, email sent to you@yourdomain.co.tz will never arrive. Every MX record has a priority number — the lower the number, the higher the preference. If the primary mail server is unavailable, senders try the next-lowest priority.

For domains hosted on Momo Cloud Business Email, your MX record should point to mail.momo.tz:

yourdomain.co.tz.  MX  10  mail.momo.tz.

If you use a third-party email provider (such as Google Workspace), they will supply their own MX hostnames and priorities to use instead.

TXT Record — Verification, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC

TXT records store plain text information in your DNS zone. They serve several purposes:

• Domain verification — Google, Microsoft, and other services ask you to add a TXT record to prove you own the domain before activating their services.
• SPF (Sender Policy Framework) — Tells receiving mail servers which IP addresses are authorised to send email on behalf of your domain. This reduces spoofing and improves deliverability.
• DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) — A digital signature added to outgoing mail. The public key lives in a TXT record so receiving servers can verify messages genuinely came from you.
• DMARC — Builds on SPF and DKIM to instruct receiving servers on what to do (quarantine or reject) when a message fails authentication checks.

A typical SPF record for Momo Cloud email looks like this:

yourdomain.co.tz.  TXT  "v=spf1 mx include:momo.tz ~all"

NS Record — Nameservers

NS records (Name Server) declare which servers are authoritative for your domain's DNS zone. When you register a domain with Momo Cloud or transfer one to us, the NS records are set to our nameservers:

yourdomain.co.tz.  NS  ns1.momo.tz.
yourdomain.co.tz.  NS  ns2.momo.tz.

As long as these NS records point to Momo Cloud, all other DNS records for your domain are managed through your cPanel account. If you change NS records to point to an external DNS provider, records inside cPanel will no longer be active.

What Is TTL?

TTL (Time To Live) is a number — measured in seconds — that tells DNS resolvers around the world how long they should cache a record before checking for updates. A TTL of 3600 means resolvers cache the record for one hour; a TTL of 86400 means one full day.

• High TTL (e.g., 86400): Changes take longer to propagate globally, but DNS queries are faster day-to-day because more resolvers serve the cached answer.
• Low TTL (e.g., 300): Changes propagate within minutes, but generates slightly more DNS traffic.

Tip: Before making significant DNS changes — such as migrating to a new server or switching email providers — lower your TTL to 300 seconds at least 24 hours in advance. This shortens the propagation window during the cutover. Raise it back to 3600 or higher once you have confirmed everything is working.

Summary Table of Record Types

How to Edit DNS Records in cPanel

If your domain uses Momo Cloud nameservers, follow these steps to add or edit a DNS record:

1. Log in to your cPanel account at your hosting control panel URL.
2. Scroll to the Domains section and click Zone Editor.
3. Find the domain you want to edit and click Manage.
4. To add a new record, click Add Record and choose the record type (A, CNAME, MX, TXT, etc.) from the drop-down menu.
5. Fill in the Name (hostname), TTL, and Record (value) fields, then click Add Record to save.
6. To edit an existing record, find it in the list and click Edit. Make your changes and click Save Record.

Tip: Changes to DNS records inside cPanel take effect on Momo Cloud's nameservers within seconds, but global propagation — the time it takes for all DNS resolvers worldwide to see the change — can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours depending on the old TTL value.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Using the wrong record type: A very common error is creating a CNAME when you need an A record, or adding an MX record that points directly to an IP address (MX records must point to a hostname, not an IP).
• Missing or extra trailing dot: In DNS notation, a fully qualified domain name ends with a dot (e.g., mail.momo.tz.). cPanel Zone Editor handles this automatically, but if you import zone files manually, a missing trailing dot can cause the hostname to be appended to your domain name unexpectedly — resulting in broken records like mail.momo.tz.yourdomain.co.tz.
• Leaving a high TTL during changes: If your TTL is set to 86400 (one day) and you make a sudden change, visitors may be directed to the old server for up to 24 hours. Always lower TTL well before a planned migration.
• Setting a CNAME on the root domain: As noted above, the bare apex domain (e.g., yourdomain.co.tz) cannot be a CNAME. Use an A record for the root and CNAME for subdomains.
• Duplicate or conflicting MX records: Having multiple MX records is fine (and recommended for redundancy), but make sure the priorities are set intentionally and that no old MX records from a previous email provider remain active.

DNS is the foundation that connects every part of your online presence — your website, email, subdomains, and third-party integrations all depend on it. Taking a few minutes to understand these record types will save you a great deal of troubleshooting time down the road. If you ever need help reviewing or correcting your DNS zone, the Momo Cloud support team is available to assist you.