MX (Mail Exchange) records are crucial for directing a domain's email to the correct mail servers. If you're using Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) with Gmail, you need to configure your domain's MX records to point to Google's mail servers. This ensures that emails sent to your domain are correctly routed to Gmail.
According to the reference material, MX Records direct a domain's email to the servers hosting the domain's user accounts. To set up Gmail if you have Google Workspace, you need to point your MX records to Google mail servers. Multiple MX records can be defined for a domain, each with a different priority.
While the specific MX records can vary slightly based on your Google Workspace configuration, they generally follow this pattern. Here's an example of the typical MX records you would use:
| Host Name/Record | Record Type | Priority | Value/Goes To/Points To |
|---|---|---|---|
| @ | MX | 1 | ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM |
| @ | MX | 5 | ALT1.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM |
| @ | MX | 5 | ALT2.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM |
| @ | MX | 10 | ALT3.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM |
| @ | MX | 10 | ALT4.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM |
Key points:
- Priority: The priority setting (1, 5, 10 in the example) tells mail servers the order in which to try delivering email. Lower numbers have higher priority.
- Value: The "Value" (or "Points To") is the address of Google's mail servers. These are specific Google servers designed to receive and handle email for Gmail accounts.
- Multiple MX records: Using multiple MX records with different priorities provides redundancy. If one server is unavailable, the email will be routed to another server.
Practical Insights:
- Configuration Location: You'll configure these MX records through your domain registrar or DNS hosting provider's control panel.
- Propagation Time: After changing MX records, it can take up to 48 hours for the changes to propagate across the internet.
