How to Set Up DNS Monitoring for a New Domain
DNS monitoring tracks changes to every record on a domain and alerts you when anything is modified — before a client notices their site is down or their email has stopped working. This guide walks through the complete setup process.
Before you start
- An active Aideworks account (free trial or paid plan).
- The domain name you want to monitor (e.g.
clientdomain.com). - Permission to monitor the domain — typically this is a client domain you manage.
Step 1 — Add the domain
From your Aideworks dashboard, click Add domain in the top navigation or the empty-state prompt on the Domains page. Enter the domain name (without http:// or trailing slash) and click Add.
Aideworks performs an initial scan immediately. Within 30 seconds, it establishes a baseline snapshot of all current DNS records — A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, NS, CAA, and SOA. This baseline is what all future checks compare against.
Tip: Add domains in bulk using the API or CSV import (found in Settings → Import) if you're onboarding a new client with multiple properties.
Step 2 — Enable DNS monitoring
After adding the domain, open its detail page and navigate to the Monitoring tab. You'll see toggles for each monitoring type Aideworks supports: DNS, SSL, Uptime, Email Security, and Hosting.
Switch on DNS monitoring. By default this enables tracking for:
- A / AAAA records — IP address changes that could redirect web traffic
- MX records — mail server changes that affect email delivery
- TXT records — includes SPF, DMARC, and ownership verification records
- NS records — nameserver changes (highest-severity DNS event)
- CAA records — permitted SSL certificate authorities
- CNAME records — alias and subdomain routing changes
All record types are monitored by default. You can disable individual record types per domain in Monitoring → DNS → Record types if needed, though this is rarely recommended.
Step 3 — Verify the DNS baseline
After the initial scan completes, navigate to DNS → Records on the domain detail page. Review the baseline snapshot:
- Confirm the A record points to the expected IP address.
- Confirm the MX records list the expected mail server(s) in the correct priority order.
- Check that TXT records include the correct SPF policy and DMARC record.
- Confirm NS records match the DNS provider the client is using.
If the baseline looks correct, no action is needed. If the scan shows unexpected records (e.g. old CNAMEs from a previous migration), this is an excellent time to clean up before monitoring makes those unexpected records "official".
Important: If you make planned DNS changes after setting up monitoring — such as migrating to a new mail provider — acknowledge the change in the Aideworks dashboard to prevent false-positive alerts. Navigate to DNS → Changes and mark expected changes as "acknowledged".
Step 4 — Configure alert preferences
By default, DNS change alerts are sent to the email address used to create your Aideworks account. To customise delivery:
- Go to Settings → Notifications to configure email, Slack, or webhook alerts globally.
- For domain-specific overrides, use Domain settings → Alert routing to send alerts for a particular domain to a specific teammate or Slack channel.
Alert severity controls which events trigger which channels:
| DNS event | Default severity |
|---|---|
| NS record change | Critical |
| MX record change | High |
| A / AAAA record change | High |
| TXT record change | Medium |
| CAA record change | Medium |
| CNAME record change | Low |
Step 5 — Test with a simulated change
To verify alerts are working before you put the monitoring in front of a client, use the Test alert feature:
- Open the domain detail page.
- Click the three-dot menu (...) in the top right and select Send test alert.
- Choose the notification channels you want to test (email, Slack, webhook).
- Click Send. You should receive a test notification within 60 seconds.
If the test alert doesn't arrive, check your Notifications settings and confirm the channel credentials are correctly configured.
What to expect day-to-day
Once DNS monitoring is active, Aideworks polls each domain's records every few minutes from multiple geographic locations. You won't receive alerts for expected, routine TTL-based cache updates — only for actual record value changes.
The DNS Changes log (accessible under the domain's DNS tab) provides a complete history of every detected change: timestamp, record type, previous value, and new value. This audit trail is especially useful when debugging email or traffic issues.