Receive mail with MX records

Add an MX record that names your mail servers and their priorities in Edge DNS, from Azion Console, the Azion CLI, or the API, and check the answer with dig.

Last updated

View as Markdown Agent setup

You can add an MX record to a zone in Edge DNS from Azion Console, the Azion CLI, or the Azion API. The record below names two mail servers for example.com, each with a priority, so that mail sent to addresses at the domain reaches them. To add another type of record, refer to Add, edit, or delete a record.

Choose the interface you work in. The prerequisites and the steps to add the record follow that choice.

Prerequisites

  • A zone for your domain in Edge DNS. To create one, refer to Create, edit, or delete a zone.
  • The hostname and the priority of each mail server, as your mail provider gives them.
  • The Edit Edge DNS permission. Refer to Teams permissions.
  • The Azion CLI installed and authorized, and the ID of the zone.

Add the MX record

One MX record holds every mail server for a name, one value per server, up to 10 values. Each value is a priority, a space, and the mail server’s hostname. The record goes on @, the zone apex, to receive mail for addresses such as user@example.com. For the rules of the value, refer to MX.

To add the record with the Azion CLI, repeat --rdata once per mail server. Replace <zone-id> with the ID of your zone:

Shell
01azion create dns-record --zone-id <zone-id> --name @ --type MX \
02 --rdata "10 mail.example.com" --rdata "20 mail2.example.com" --ttl 3600

The command prints the ID of the record:

Created DNS record with ID 100775

To read the record, list the records of the zone:

azion list dns-record --zone-id <zone-id>

The MX record shows both values in one row, separated by a comma:

Text
01ID NAME TYPE TTL RDATA
02…
03100775 @ MX 3600 10 mail.example.com, 20 mail2.example.com
04…

The zone holds one MX record on @ with two mail servers.

To add the record with the Azion API, send a POST request to the zone’s records endpoint. Replace <zone-id> with the id of your zone:

Shell
01curl -X POST https://api.azion.com/v4/workspace/dns/zones/<zone-id>/records \
02 -H "Authorization: Token [TOKEN VALUE]" \
03 -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
04 -d '{"name":"@","type":"MX","rdata":["10 mail.example.com","20 mail2.example.com"],"ttl":3600}'

A 201 returns the record, with one item in rdata per mail server:

JSON
01{
02 "state": "executed",
03 "data": {
04 "id": 100178,
05 "description": "",
06 "name": "@",
07 "ttl": 3600,
08 "type": "MX",
09 "rdata": ["10 mail.example.com", "20 mail2.example.com"],
10 "policy": "simple",
11 "weight": 255
12 }
13}

The zone holds one MX record on @ with two mail servers.

To add the record in Azion Console:

Open the Edge DNS page

Access Azion Console > Edge DNS.

Open the zone's Records tab

On the Zones page, select the row of the zone, then select the Records tab.

Select + Record

The Create Record drawer opens.

Enter the record name

In Name, enter @. The Console adds the domain for you, so the record answers for example.com.

Select the MX record type

In Record Type, select MX - Mail exchange.

Keep the TTL

Keep TTL (seconds) at 3600.

Enter one mail server per line

In Value, enter 10 mail.example.com on the first line and 20 mail2.example.com on the second.

Select Save

The Console shows Edge DNS Record has been created, and the record appears in the Records table with both values.

A second MX record on the same name is refused with 19004 Record Already Exists. To add a mail server later, edit the existing record and add a value.

Check the answer

Ask Azion’s nameserver directly, without your resolver’s cache, for the MX record of the domain. Replace example.com with your domain:

dig +short @ns1.aziondns.net example.com MX

The nameserver returns one line per value, with the priority first:

Text
0110 mail.example.com.
0220 mail2.example.com.

If the command prints nothing, refer to A new record returns NXDOMAIN. A change to an existing MX record can take a few minutes to reach every nameserver. For the reasons, refer to Caching and propagation.

Next steps

Verify a domain with a TXT recordAdd the TXT value a service asks for on your domain.Record typesThe value format and rules of each record type.Migrate nameservers to AzionDelegate your domain to Edge DNS so mail servers find the record.Query a zone with digRead the status and flags of an answer, and compare resolvers.