unable to set google apps

7/30/2009 19:35

I have read all comments in this forum regarding setting CNAME & MX records to use email when no web hosting domain is available.
There's one issue that I'm having and am not seeing it resolve in this fourm

Under the Advanced section to set CNAME and Target host instructions are as follows:
==========================
Domain Record
(required)
yourdomain.com CNAME ghs.google.com
-----------------------------

My problem is were "yourdomain.com" in Domain Record should be my url, but currently it reads "name.ext" and there's no field to enter my url.

Any helps would be appreciated.

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Posted By teamdynadot

7/31/2009 11:16

The "name.ext" is used on the page where you set your default name server setting for new domain registrations. You would get to the name server settings for a specific domain from the "Manage Domain Names" page.

How do I set up DNS for my domain?

To set up DNS for your domain, please follow these steps:

Sign in to your Dynadot account.
Select "My Domains" from the left-side menu bar and click "Manage Domains" in the drop-down.
Check the box next to your domain name(s) and click on the "Action" button.
Choose "DNS Settings" from the "Action" list.
On the DNS Settings page, select the "Dynadot DNS" setting from the top drop-down menu.
Choose the "Record Type" you want to use from the drop-down menu, then enter the IP Address or Target Host of your web server in the text box.
If you have an Email Server or MX Record available for your domain email, enter the priority (otherwise known as distance) and the hostname in the subsequent text boxes.
You can also specify subdomain records in the "Subdomain Records(optional)" section the same way you do to the "Domain Record(optional)".
Press the "Save Settings" button to save your changes.

Please be aware that it might take some time for your name server changes to propagate.

There are certain steps for each record type as well, the most common are:

A record:
https://www.dynadot.com/community/help/question/create-A-record

CNAME:
https://www.dynadot.com/community/help/question/create-CNAME

MX record:
https://www.dynadot.com/community/help/question/MX-DNS

TXT Record:
https://www.dynadot.com/community/help/question/create-TXT-record

DKIM:
https://www.dynadot.com/community/help/question/enter-DKIM

SPF:
https://www.dynadot.com/community/help/question/SPF-records

Note: If you have been instructed to add an "@", this simply means that the record should be entered under the "Domain Record (optional)" section. The "@" itself should not be entered.

From Help Section: Account & Domain Management > Domain Settings > How do I set up DNS for my domain?

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Posted By qjawe

8/4/2009 03:33

i had the same problem..

Hope the dynadot support staffs could help me also as i am not very sure with the settings are correct?

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Posted By teamdynadot

8/4/2009 14:44

You shouldn't use 127.0.0.1 as your A record since this tells the web browser to visit your own computer to view your webpage. Any visitor viewing your domain will be redirected to their computer.

If you want to set your DNS to use Google Apps, please follow these steps:

How do I create a CNAME?

A CNAME record is short-hand for Canonical Name record, which allows you to assign a domain or subdomain to another address or hostname. CNAME records should only be used if you can't use an A record.

NOTE: If you already have an A record within the Domain records section, please SKIP step 5!

To create a CNAME, please follow these steps:

Sign in to your Dynadot account.
Select "My Domains" from the left-side menu bar and click "Manage Domains" in the drop-down.
Check the box next to the domain name(s) and select "DNS Settings" from the "Action" drop-down menu.
On the new page, select the "Dynadot DNS" option from the drop-down menu.
In the "Domain Record (optional)" section at the top, select "Forward" as the record type, choose forward type, and enter "https://www.yourdomainname.ext" as the "Target Host". (NOTE: This is optional and please replace the value based on your own domain name.)
Under the "Subdomain Record (optional)" field, enter "www" as the subdomain, select "CNAME" as the record type and enter the CNAME record given to you.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the "Save Settings" button to save your changes.

Please be aware that it might take some time for your changes to propagate.

A CNAME may be necessary for your domain to work with the following: Blogger, Blogspot, TypePad, iweb, MobileMe, zenfolio, ning.

Your settings should look similar to what is shown below:

From Help Section: Account & Domain Management > Domain Settings > How do I create a CNAME?

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Posted By m_peabody_us

9/8/2009 03:49

Boy - this is really getting frustrating! I would think by now this would be a simple answer for both Google and Dynadot but appears no one including Dynadot's technical support staff is in sync.

Following is a GoogleApps Forum post and as you can see the users instructions came from DynaDot. They direct us to use the 127.0.0.1 - exactly the opposite of what this DynaDot posting tells us to do. So PLEASE... I have had this domain for a week now and CAN NOT GET UP AND RUNNING with GOOGLE APPS...

Again, by this time this one should be easy for all the Google and DynaDot techies... HELP PLEASE.

My domain is: www.orbifish.com

Thanks,
Maxine

GOOGLE APPS FORUM RESPONSE:
Thank you both for your help. I ended up getting a response from Dynadot help that cleared everything up. I'll post it, maybe someone else having the same problem can use it. Basically, the bare domain incorrectly set to ghs.google.com was the problem. The bare domain needs to be an A entry, not a CNAME, and needs to point to am IP address. I used 127.0.0.1 at Dynadot's suggestion. I'd found conflicting suggestions on the Dynadot help site, some said it should be ghs.google.com and others said the IP address. Setting up your own domain, that has domain hosting at Dynadot, but no file hosting anywhere, and that you want to use your own subdomains as entries to various Google Apps, should use the following settings in Dynadot's 'Advanced Dynadot DNS' section:

Domain Record
(required)
yourdomain.com A 127.0.0.1

Subdomain Records
www.mydomain.com CNAME ghs.google.com
mail.mydomain.com CNAME ghs.google.com
calendar.mydomain.com CNAME ghs.google.com
docs.mydomain.com CNAME ghs.google.com
sites.mydomain.com CNAME ghs.google.com

MX Records

Mail Host Distance
aspmx.l.google.com 0
alt1.aspmx.l.google.com 1
alt2.aspmx.l.google.com 2

And that should take care of it.

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[quote]m_peabody_us says: Boy - this is really getting frustrating!  I would think by now this would be a simple answer for both Google and Dynadot but appears no one including Dynadot's technical support staff is in sync.

Following is a GoogleApps Forum post and as you can see the  users instructions came from DynaDot.  They direct us to use the 127.0.0.1 - exactly the opposite of what this DynaDot posting tells us to do.  So PLEASE...  I have had this domain for a week now and CAN NOT GET UP AND RUNNING with GOOGLE APPS...

Again, by this time this one should be easy for all the Google and DynaDot techies...  HELP PLEASE.

My domain is:  www.orbifish.com

Thanks,
Maxine

GOOGLE APPS FORUM RESPONSE:   
Thank you both for your help. I ended up getting a response from Dynadot help that cleared everything up. I'll post it, maybe someone else having the same problem can use it. Basically, the bare domain incorrectly set to ghs.google.com was the problem. The bare domain needs to be an A entry, not a CNAME, and needs to point to am IP address. I used 127.0.0.1 at Dynadot's suggestion. I'd found conflicting suggestions on the Dynadot help site, some said it should be ghs.google.com and others said the IP address. Setting up your own domain, that has domain hosting at Dynadot, but no file hosting anywhere, and that you want to use your own subdomains as entries to various Google Apps, should use the following settings in Dynadot's 'Advanced Dynadot DNS' section:

Domain Record
(required)     
yourdomain.com     A       127.0.0.1

Subdomain Records
www.mydomain.com           CNAME     ghs.google.com
mail.mydomain.com            CNAME     ghs.google.com
calendar.mydomain.com      CNAME     ghs.google.com
docs.mydomain.com           CNAME     ghs.google.com
sites.mydomain.com           CNAME     ghs.google.com

MX Records

Mail Host                        Distance
aspmx.l.google.com           0
alt1.aspmx.l.google.com     1
alt2.aspmx.l.google.com     2

And that should take care of it.[/quote]

Posted By m_peabody_us

9/9/2009 02:25

Okay.... DynaDot Tech Support - what do I need to do to get an answer?

Anyone out there.... Did I so something wrong with the posting? Do I need to contact these guys directly... 1 week now since the purchase of my domain name and still can't get my users to the site on Google Apps.

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Posted By m_t_kailua_us

11/25/2009 13:14

I have the same problem. I have contacted Dynadot and provided a screenshot of the 'name.ext' problem and they are not able to provide assistance. Until they fix the dns issue, google apps will work for some and not for others. If one is set on using google apps, I recommend transferring your domain to another provider.

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Posted By teamdynadot

11/25/2009 18:07

m_t_kailua_us: I'm not sure where you are seeing "name.ext" in your Dynadot account. I was also able to visit your domain name using the subdomains that Google Apps typically uses:

mail.domain.com
calendar.domain.com
docs.domain.com

These are the only subdomains you currently have associated with your domain.

In our initial email to you, we indicated that you needed to add a "www" subdomain and then log into your Google Apps account to create your custom domain. Until you do that last step, your website will not show online as www.domain.com

m_peabody_us:

I checked your domain. Both www.domain.com and domain.com are working and I'm assuming your email is working correctly. The rest of your subdomains (mail, calendar, docs) aren't working. I assume because you have them disabled in your Google Apps account.

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Posted By m_t_kailua_us

11/27/2009 00:20

All,

This is very frustrating. I feel like we are going in circles on this one. When I bring up the 'set Name Servers' my settings refer to 'name.ext' instead of hicert.com.

My goals are:
Host my website at Dynadot.
Use Google Apps for Email, Docs, and Calendar.

If I enter the recommended settings my website does not work but the Google Apps features work fine.

I have been trying to reset my settings for two days to get my website back up so my customers can view it but the settings will not reset.

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Posted By m_t_kailua_us

11/27/2009 00:25

As of now my domain is still down.

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Posted By i_s_rotterdam_nl

1/15/2010 01:02

I read lots of posts here and at google about that and nothing worked, until I set everything as below

Domain Record
(required)
mydomain.com A 208.78.242.185

Subdomain Records
www.mydomain.com A 208.78.242.185
mail.mydomain.com CNAME ghs.google.com
calendar.mydomain.com CNAME ghs.google.com
docs.mydomain.com CNAME ghs.google.com
sites.mydomain.com CNAME ghs.google.com

MX Records

Mail Host Distance
aspmx.l.google.com 0
alt1.aspmx.l.google.com 1
alt2.aspmx.l.google.com 1

Everything works as it should. I have basic hosting from dynadot, so the ip address 208.78.242.185 is the address of the webhost.dynadot.com server.

besides, the solution with 127.0.0.1 will not work. Another thing, if you specify any CNAME for Domain record (and not an A ip address) the Mail host addresses will never be active (applied).

Cheers,

[This post has been edited by i_s_rotterdam_nl on Jan 15, 2010 1:07am.]

[This post has been edited by i_s_rotterdam_nl on Jan 15, 2010 1:08am.]

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