What is an MX Record, and How Do They Work?

What is an MX Record, and How Do They Work?

Quickly verify the correctness of any domain’s MX records by MX Lookup. If you wish to utilize a custom email address with your domain, you’ll need to add MX records to the domain’s DNS to set up the internal and external email servers.

What is an MX record in the Domain Name System, and how does it work?

Hosting providers use a specific kind of DNS record called an MX record to establish the domain’s email servers. Nearly 4.66 billion people worldwide were online as 2020 came to a close. Most of them are linked to the internet 24/7 through their digital gadgets. There are now more than 2 billion websites online. If we type a URL into our browser’s address bar, we are instantaneously sent to that address. You can estimate the daily volume of internet searches based on the total number of internet users and websites.

In any case, accurate estimates of DNS searches are in the billions, but nobody has them. Domain Name System (DNS) is solely responsible for the system’s proper operation by directing data to its intended server. DNS records are stored in the DNS servers. Each domain has its own set of DNS records, which serve as the “mapping files” that direct users to the appropriate service on that domain.

Over 3.99 billion people worldwide use email, which is only expected to grow.

The DNS MX record is a DNS record that delivers the email to the correct email server. By going for the MX lookup for a domain, you may find out which mail server handles messages for that domain and forwards them using the SMTP protocol. When a user sends an email to an address, the MX record is queried automatically. The MTA (Message Transfer Agent) program sends the query to identify the MX record. If an MX record is found, SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) contacts the mail servers listed in order of preference.

Multiple MX records

In many circumstances, several MX records are added to a domain name, enabling primary and secondary (backup) mail servers and load balancing.

Lower priority records are usually tried first when attempting to deliver mail. In the instance that the mail server mentioned in the record with the lower value gives an error when trying to send mail, the next highest priority MX record will be utilized. If numerous entries have the same priority, one will be picked randomly as a technique to disperse the load over multiple email servers.

What is a backup MX record?

In MX records, the number denotes the priority. Before sending an email, the email servers verify the domain’s MX records. The servers will utilize the preferred lower-valued mail server if the record exists. If it fails to send an email to the first mailing server, it will go for the second one. The backup MX record is another MX record of the mail server with a more excellent value.

Are CNAME and MX used for the same hostname?

You may find the server’s name in charge of mail delivery to a domain in its MX record. No IP address will resolve to an MX record. The mail server will reject the message if the MX record contains an IP address. Furthermore, the RFC documents restrict setting the MX record to point to the CNAME alias.

What is the process of querying an MX record?

The MX lookup is the responsibility of the message transfer agent (MTA) program. When a user composes and sends an email, the MTA initiates a DNS query to find the recipients’ mail servers. The MTA creates an SMTP connection with the appropriate mail servers from the list of priority domains.

Can a domain have multiple MX records?

The domain can have many MX records, each with its priority value (the lowest value is given the most precedence). The server will first attempt to send the email through the server with the highest priority record. When one mail server fails, the next on the list gets a go at delivering the message.

If any MX records share the same priority, then the selection is made at random.

How to perform MX Lookup?

Performing a Mailserver Lookup, also known as an MX Lookup, enables you to discover a domain’s designated email servers. Proceed with the instructions below.

  • Open the MX Lookup
  • Put the domain name in the box provided for it.
  • If you want to find out which servers handle email for the domain you provided, click the “CHECK NOW” button.
  • The application runs a Mailserver lookup and returns the results to you.
  • Type of record, domain name, priority, MX (mail servers), and TTL (time to live) will all be displayed in the final output (time to live).
Admin
Known for his amazing writing and technical blogging skills, Edward Thompson is the admin of the Techenger. Joined back in 2019, after moving from San Francisco to Chicago to switch from his role of staff writer to a guest blogger. Since then, he never looked back to his past. In nutshell, he is a tech enthusiast who loves to write, read, test, evaluate, and spread knowledge about the growing technology that surrounds mankind.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply