Networking Guide
Chapter 6, Configuring the Domain Name Service

CNAME (canonical name) resource record

CNAME (canonical name) resource record

CNAME specifies an alias or nickname for the official, or canonical, name. An alias should be the only record associated with the alias; all other resource records should be associated with the canonical name and not with the alias. Any resource records that include a zone name as their value (for example, NS or MX) must list the canonical name, not the alias.

This resource record is especially useful when changing machine names. In this instance, create a CNAME record with the old name until users are accustomed to using the new name.

Here is an example of a CNAME record:

   aliases   {ttl}   addr-class   CNAME   Canonical name
   volga-cities      IN           CNAME   volga