Previous section: Rackspace Cloud DNS available features

Implementation of Rackspace Cloud DNS is available through our RESTful API. To use our API, you should have a general understanding of Domain Name Systems (DNS) management and be familiar with the following elements:

• RESTful web services

• JSON or XML data serialization formats

For the full list and technical details of all available Cloud DNS API operations, see the Cloud DNS API reference.

Currently available domain and record operations include those shown in the following chart: {{< table “table table-striped table-bordered” >}}

Domains	Records
List domains	List records
Lists all domains and subdomains manageable by the specified account and displays the IDs and names.	Lists all records that are configured for the domain or lists the details for a specific record.
List domain details	List record details
Lists the details of the specified domain and displays all details, including records. It cannot return details for a domain that has been deleted.	Lists the details of the specified record.
Create domain	Add record
Based on the configuration defined in the request object, provisions one or more new DNS domains under the account specified. Failures in the validation process are non-recoverable and require the caller to correct the cause of the failure and POST the request again.	Adds new records to the domain.
Modify domain	Modify record
Modifies DNS domain attributes. Records cannot be added, modified, or removed. Only the Time To Live (TTL) and email address attributes of a domain can be modified.	Modifies the configuration of a record in a domain.
Delete domain	Remove record
Removes the specified domains from the account. When a domain is deleted, its immediate resource records are also deleted from the account. By default, if a deleted domain had subdomains, each subdomain becomes a root domain and is not deleted. When a domain is deleted, purges any and all configuration data immediately. The domain cannot be recovered by using the API. In a request to remove multiple domains, a failure on a single part of the request causes the entire request to fail.	Removes a record from a domain.
Import domain	Export domain
Provisions a new DNS domain under the account specified by the BIND9-formatted file configuration contents defined in the request object. Failures in the validation process are non-recoverable and require the caller to correct the cause of the failure and POST the request again.	Provides the BIND9-formatted contents of the requested domain. This operation is intended for a single domain only, so no subdomain information is provided.
{{< /table >}}

The Cloud DNS API service provides support for Name Server (NS), TXT and SRV records. The following detailed information describes each of these record types:

• NS records indicate where the domain’s DNS hosting services are located. They effectively delegate a domain to use a set of name servers.

• TXT records are used primarily for Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) records. An SPF record allows administrators to specify which hosts are allowed to send email from a domain by creating a specific SPF record in the public DNS. Mail exchangers then use the DNS to check that mail from a given domain is being sent by a host sanctioned by that domain’s administrators. DKIM records are used to associate a domain name to an email to allow an organization to take responsibility for a message in a way that can be validated by a recipient.

• SRV records are used to define the location (hostname and port) of servers used for a specific service.

For a full list of record types and their definitions, click here.

Next steps: Rackspace Cloud DNS API example