> When I setup MX records for another domain, it makes sense to have
> those records point to the mail server, which is in our domain.
> However, it seemed circular to me to have the MX records point to
> a FQDN.
Ah, but that's what the RFCs require. The logic behind it is that the MX record tells
you which mail server should be used for E-mail, but lets the owner of that mail
server choose where the mail server is. For example, if you have a domain
"my_domain.com" with an MX record of "mail.my_isp.com" (your ISP's mail server), you
could control your zone (my_domain.com) without having to worry about the ISP changing
the IP address of their mail server.
> A system wants to resolve an address, such as
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] So it looks up the MX record for
> bcwebhost.net, which you say should show what? mail.bcwebhost.net?
Yes.
> How does it resolve that? Does it go to the A record
> for mail.bcwebhost.net and thus find the right IP address?
Yes (the DNS server may return the A record along with the MX record, but if it
doesn't, the DNS resolver will look up the A record).
> It can't go to the MX record for mail.bcwebhost.net, because that
> would resolve to mail.bcwebhost.net, leading to a circle.
You are right again. It goes to the A record, which returns the IP address of
mail.bcwebhost.net.
> I thought if the MX record pointed directly to the IP address,
> resolution could be settled in one step.
And that is where you were mistaken. It's too bad that your DNS server allows you to
enter an IP address, when they are not allowed there.
--
-Scott
Declude: Anti-virus and Anti-spam solutions for IMail. http://www.declude.com
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