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If I have two servers, each with their own domain name and I wish to swap those domains so the opposing server recieves it, all I have to change is the @ A records to the other IP, right?

Thanks.

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1 Answer

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Yes, changing both A records should be sufficient as long as you haven't also defined the MX records by IP instead of hostname. CNAME records are aliased to the A record hostname, so they will automatically follow to the new IP when the A record changes.

If you have Apache virtualhost configs that reference the old hostnames, you will need to change those, of course.

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Okay great, what exactly does the A record do and why do the other records stay the same? – mcfan42 Aug 11 '11 at 13:15
@mcfan42 The A record maps a hostname directly to an IP. If you have CNAME records, those alias other hostnames to the A record so as long as the A record resolves correctly they will as well. If you have defined an MX record by IP address rather than hostname, you would need to change that too. – Michael Aug 11 '11 at 13:17
So basically, all other records will stay the same... only the @ A record needs to be changed to do what I'm trying to achieve? – mcfan42 Aug 11 '11 at 13:18
@mcfan42 It should be enough. It will take a few hours before DNS caches around the world expire and they reach the new IP – Michael Aug 11 '11 at 13:22
sounds good... no need to worry about backing up my servers, right? No concern for losing data? – mcfan42 Aug 11 '11 at 13:23
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