Nameserver and NSEntry Data
How to ensure the availability of your .de domain
Two ways to connect the domain:
Via Name server
During delegation, the domain is linked to one or more name servers. These store the important DNS entries (also known as resource records, or RRs for short).
When someone enters your domain in their browser, the .de name servers forward the request to the relevant servers.
For this to work, the name servers and the associated zone must meet certain technical requirements.
The .de zone itself then only contains the name server entries (references to your name servers) and, if available, the DNSSEC keys for additional security.
Via NSentry
Alternatively, you can store your domain entries directly in the .de zone.
This means you do not need your own name servers.
However, this option has some limitations:
- A maximum of five DNS entries (resource records) per domain are possible (at least one).
- Only the following types are supported
- A (IPv4 address),
- AAAA (IPv6 address) and
- MX (Mail server).
- All entries are automatically checked for technical accuracy.
Structure for nameserver-entries
The syntax of an NSentry must follow the following structure:
example-domain.com. IN A <IPv4 address>
subdomain.example-domain.com. IN A <IPv4 address>
example-domain.com. IN AAAA <IPv6 address>
subdomain.example-domain.com. IN AAAA <IPv6 address>
example-domain.com. IN MX <preference> <mail server hostname>
*.example-domain.com. IN MX <preference> <mail server hostname>
Rules for A and AAAA entries (addresses)
- You can specify any number of subdomains – as long as they are valid hostnames according to RFC952 and RFC1123.
- Wildcards (e.g., *) are not permitted.
- Reserved IP addresses (according to RFC 6890) may not be used.
- Load balancing is possible: You can enter the same name with different IP addresses.
Rules for MX entries (mail server)
- Preference values can range from 0 (highest priority) to 999 (lowest priority).
- Wildcards are allowed here.
- The mail server name must be a valid host name (according to RFC952/RFC1123).
- The mail server must be resolvable in the public DNS.
- A suitable A or AAAA entry is required for the mail server.
- If it is part of the requested domain, this entry must be included in the request.
Example:
- de-exampledomain.de. IN MX 10 mailer.de-exampledomain.de.
- mailer.de-exampledomain.de. IN A 192.0.2.42
Further information
You can find detailed technical information in the official DENIC documentation 23p. Further basic information on .de domains and registration can be found in the section Register a .de domain.