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How do I create a reverse DNS (PTR) Record

Posted on October 22, 2019

I have an Ubuntu 18.04 droplet being used as a web host for a shared hosting setup. I need to set up a Reverse DNS record for the Web Host as outgoing emails from the hosted sites are being rejected by recipients as the server does not have Reverse DNS setup. Unfortunately, I did not name the droplet with a FQDN, just a descriptive name: should I do this? If so, I cannot see how to name/rename the Droplet in the Digital Ocean Control Panel. Also the DNS for the Host Servers domain is not located in Digital Ocean, but in a third party DNS hosting service, and I don’t really want to move it.
So, how do I set up a Reverse DNS record under these circumstances? Thanks!

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alexdo

October 22, 2019

Accepted Answer

Hello, @ajdunne

The Reverse DNS is configured automatically from our end based on the droplet’s hostname.

To rename your droplet via the control panel, do the following:

Go to Droplets --> Click the droplet you want to rename

Then, on the droplet detail window, click on the name of your droplet (you wouldn’t know you could)

Go to the Settings Tab --> Change the name in the entry field and click the check mark

Make sure you also edit your droplet’s hostname internally as well. Update /etc/hostname and /etc/hosts and reboot.

The PTR should be automatically adjusted in few hours due to DNS cache. If this is still not working after several hours, you can contact our support team as well.

Let us know how it goes.

micheledimeo

January 25, 2020

Hi all, I have the same problem explained in the top post. My droplet name is already set as a FQDN, the “dig -x <IP>” command seems to give a good answer, but online services like https://mxtoolbox.com/domain/ give the following alert: SMTP: Reverse DNS is not a valid Hostname

Can somebody help me?

Ikarus

May 25, 2020

I have multiple domains on a Droplet. How do you proceed there?

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