What is a CName DNS entry? 1

[JFoushee]

Can someone explain what a CName DNS entry is?

Background:
I requested a DNS entry "myDNS" to point at some IP 1.2.3.4 for a SQL Server database. Lots of SQL Server databases are on this IP. So lots of existing DNS entries are out there.

Instead, the tech admin responds back that he set up a CName to another DNS on the same server.

I got concerned that if that "other database" moves to a different SQL Server and the DNS for it is updated, then the one I requested above will start failing.

 

[smah]

A fairly good an brief explanation copied from

http://www.domaindirect.com:

Aliases (CNAME Records)
Aliases or "CNAME records" are mostly used when you want a subdomain to point to a computer outside of your domain. For example, you might want "news.DOMAINNAME.XXX" to go to your ISP's newsserver. Instead of putting in the IP address, you could set up "news.DOMAINNAME.XXX" to alias to "news.myisp.com", so that if the IP address of the newsserver changed, you wouldn't have to make any changes.

Important Note: Aliases should only be used when absolutely necessary, unless you are very familiar with DNS, since they can cause lots of problems if not used properly.