# CNAME DNS Records

A **Canonical Name** (**CNAME**) **record** is a type of [resource record](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resource_record) in the [Domain Name System](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System) (DNS) that maps one domain name (an alias) to another (the [canonical](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canonical_form) name).[<sup>[1]</sup>](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNAME_record#cite_note-1)

This can prove convenient when running multiple services (like an [FTP server](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_Transfer_Protocol) *and* a [web server](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_server), each running on different ports) from a single [IP address](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_address). One can, for example, use CNAME records to point *ftp.example.com* and *www.example.com* to the DNS entry for *example.com*, which in turn has an [A record](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_record) which points to the IP address. Then, if the IP address ever changes, one only has to record the change in one place within the network: in the DNS A record for *example.com*.

CNAME records must always point to another domain name, never directly to an IP address.  
  
Source:

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNAME\_record](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNAME_record)