Root domain redirect, otherwise A record redirect

Question

I would like to redirect every incoming request via A record to another server (url-shortening service) unless the root is requested.... Is this possible? If so, how? If not, why not?

A simple example of what I'm talking about:

• User requests short server website root: http://exmpl.com/
  • User is then redirected to much longer desired site: http://www.TheMostAwesomeExampleWebsite.com
• User requests specific short url: http://exmpl.com/randomPath
  • User is then redirected to desired server (where parsing is performed -> URL shortening/expanding service) via A record in DNS settings: 98.87.76.65

Answer 1

No; DNS cannot do HTTP redirects.

A DNS name is always resolved before HTTP communication even starts, and has no visibility into what URL is being requested.

However, I don't see why an HTTP redirect wouldn't work just fine for this case.

Can you clarify why you want DNS to be involved in the redirect?