Date:  Sat, 3 Nov 2007 02:40:07 +0200
From:  Michael Stauber <bq (at mark) solarspeed.net>
Subject:  [coba-e:11068] Re: Server admin - System Settings - TCP/IP - Host and Domain Name
To:  coba-e (at mark) bluequartz.org
Message-Id:  <200711030140.08408.bq (at mark) solarspeed.net>
In-Reply-To:  <5fa041b20711021539o7ed5c11et6ce4575c3b5dd8d8 (at mark) mail.gmail.com>
References:  <5fa041b20711021539o7ed5c11et6ce4575c3b5dd8d8 (at mark) mail.gmail.com>
X-Mail-Count: 11068

Hi Reg,

> In Server admin - System Settings - TCP/IP - Host and Domain Name you
> can set a server host name and domain name, e.g.:
>
> anyname   .    example.com
>
> My question is: do you have to create an A record for
> anyname.example.com and point it to the server IP? I always do but why
> is that actually?

That fully qualified host and domain name is the name under which the server 
identifies itself to the outside world. Regardless of which IP or other 
hostname you use to connect to it, it will always talk back 
as "anyname.example.com" (to remain with your example). 

This is especially true when the server sends or receives emails. 

So you really *need* all the usual DNS records for it:

A Record
MX Record
Reverse Record (for the primary IP)

Otherwise you will have problems sending and receiving emails. When you send 
emails from this server and don't have records for "anyname.example.com", 
then the email server that the receiving party uses may reject your emails as 
SPAM if your host and domain name don't resolve correctly.

-- 
With best regards,

Michael Stauber