ALIAS (also ANAME, or "CNAME flattening" in some products) is a non-standard record type offered by DNS providers. It lets a name, usually the zone apex such as example.com, point to another hostname. The provider resolves the target itself and answers with ordinary A and AAAA records.
Why it matters
A standard CNAME cannot coexist with other records at the same name, and the apex must carry SOA and NS records, so you cannot put a CNAME there. That is a problem when a platform gives you a hostname, such as a CDN or load balancer, rather than a fixed IP. ALIAS solves it. Since it is not part of the DNS standard, behavior differs between providers, and the record disappears from the zone when you move to one that lacks it. Answers are only as fresh as the provider's refresh of the target.
Example
example.com. ALIAS mysite.cdn-provider.net.A client querying example.com sees:
example.com. 60 IN A 198.51.100.7No CNAME is visible to the client.
Common mistakes
- Trying to add a CNAME at the apex and breaking MX and TXT records.
- Assuming ALIAS exists in a different DNS provider after migration.
- Ignoring that geo-routing may reflect the provider's location, not the user's.
Related
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