Hi- I run a site and I'm working with an outside vendor for software. For SEO reasons, I want to keep the domain as http://software.mydomain.com. In the past (for a store), I made a change to the A record and pointed to an outside IP (of the store developer). For the software, I've been asked by the developer to set up a CNAME. In Web Host Manager, I've edited my DNS Zone and added software ->CNAME -> www.softwarecompany.com. My question is, what is the correct, ie. best way to point a subdomain of my site to an outside server. Right now, I'm using: store -> A ->xx.xx.xx.xx (IP Address) and software - > CNAME ->www.softwarecompany.com. What is the difference between the two? Any insight on best practices is appreciated. Thanks.
The CNAME adds a layer of indirection. When the user looks up software.mydomain.com and gets a CNAME record, it then looks up the record for www.softwarecompany.com. This is preferable in this instance because it means that if the software company move their server to a different IP no action is required on your part.
It seems like the A record resolves quicker than the CNAME. I'm wondering if setting up an A record with an IP address would be a better option. Does Google index these pages as if they were from my domain?