How to Add and Manage Domains in ACC?
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Partners can add services and applications to projects created on the ACC platform, and the system generates a default URL for those services and applications. This URL information is available on the service and application detail pages.
When a B2C website, such as Project Zero, goes live, it is accessible using the domain name purchased from the Domains menu on the platform instead of the default URL created by the system.
On the ACC platform, navigate to the Domain tab on the platform's left side menu.
The terms Hosting and Domain can often come across in this menu. To distinguish between Hosting and Domain, the domain name is a website's physical address, while web hosting is a service for hosting content.
Domain names are digital shortcuts that users may use to access the website and are stored in a central database.
In a larger sense, the Domain Name represents website's physical address. Domains serve to direct visitors to the server.
To add a new domain to the ACC platform, three steps need to be followed.
The list of all previously added domains is displayed in the first step of the new domain adding flow. This page contains filtering options as well as a list of existing domains. User can select a domain from the list or add a new one by clicking the + New Domain button.
When the + New Domain button is clicked, a pop-up window appears in which the domain's basic information such as the Hostname and Managed by.
Client should be selected for externally verified domain names on the client side, and Akinon should be selected for domain names to be managed by Akinon.
After setting these two parameters, click the Apply button to save the settings. The newly registered domain is saved in the domain list, and the system notifies the user that the domain has been successfully added. The domain then awaits a certificate to be added as the following step.
Find the newly added domain in the list and click on hostname for adding the certificates.
By clicking the delete icon next to the hostname, domains that do not have a certificate or those users want to remove from the domain list may also be removed.
Note: To move on to the next Certificate step, a domain needs to be selected from the domain list. If the certificate icon in the navigation menu is clicked to proceed to the next step, the warning 'Please select a domain name from the Domains list to add a certificate' is received.
After selecting a domain from the list, proceed to the Certificate step. The hostname, certificate details, and who manages the domain are all provided on this page.
The Client and Akinon options of the Managed by parameter represent ownership of the domain. For certificates that are externally verified and managed by the partner, the Client option is selected. If Akinon option is selected, certificate ownership is managed through Akinon.
If user need to add a new certificate, click the +New Certificate button, type the FQDN in the pop-up window and then click the Apply button.
When a FQDN is specified for the certificate, it is automatically displayed in the Certificates section, and newly added certificates can be clicked for more details.
The process is followed based on who holds the domain name management ownership.
Domains managed by Akinon:
The partner adds the NS records displayed in the hostname field to the domain's environment so that the domain is managed by Akinon. This data is displayed in the hostname field. NS records are only displayed if Akinon is selected as the owner of the domain management.
The A record of domains to be managed by Akinon is automatically assigned by Akinon during migration. A record is not available on the platform.
The certificate's CNAME record for the domains is listed in the Certificate Records list, and the certificate is verified automatically. When the status of the certificate is Success, the certificate is eligible for the Certificate Attachment step.
Once the certificate verification is complete, the status of the certificate changes to Success. For the verified certificates, the attachment button appears and the certificate is able to attach to a project and application by clicking the Attach Certificate button.
Domains managed by Client:
The CNAME record of the certificate created for the domain is listed on the Certificate Records and the record for the certificate to be managed by client is sent to the partner.
After the partner adds this record to the environment where the domain is hosted, the certificate verification process is complete.
Once the certificate verification is complete, the status of the certificate changes to Success. For the verified certificates, the attachment button appears and the certificate is able to attach to a project and application by clicking the Attach Certificate button.
By selecting a project and application in the Certificate Attachment step, the certificate is attached to this project and application. The Select Application parameter is a dependent combo box; in order for the available options, the project needs to be selected first. Click the Save and Continue button after selecting the project and application.
After the certificate is attached to a project and application, the domain records can be viewed and the certificate attachment field is disabled.
Partner should add the record in the Domain Records list to the environment where the domain is hosted. This process is automatically done for the domains managed by Akinon.
Following the addition of domain records, application traffic is routed to ACC servers.
Users have the option to proceed to the Certificate Attachment step for certificates that are already attached to a project and its application. They can do this by clicking on the Domain Records button located in the certificate detail field on the Certificate page. By doing so, users will be able to view the related project and project application in the dropdown menus, along with the associated domain records.
Email domains serve as a means to confirm domain ownership for email dispatch. Failure to complete this verification can result in emails being flagged as spam. “Email Domain Verification" should be completed for emails intended for delivery to the brands' end users through Amazon Simple Email Service (SES).
To access the "Email Domain Verification" page, go to the "Domains" section in the left-side menu. From there, users can view, search, and delete added email domains, along with their statuses, using the delete icon.
To add a new email domain, click + New Email Verification in the upper-right corner.
Upon clicking, users will be directed to the “Create Email Domain Verification” form, where they will encounter fields for “Domain” and “MAIL FROM Subdomain”.
“Domain“ field is mandatory and it is used for the domain where the emails will be sent from. If you define a custom “MAIL FROM Subdomain”, it will result in Amazon SES labeling messages as originating from your domain rather than a subdomain of amazon.com.
Click on Apply, and the email domain will be added to the list.
Email DNS records can now be accessed on the “Email Domain Verification Detail” page. To view them, simply click on the email domain name in the list.
In the “DNS Record” table, users will see the “DKIM” and “mail_from_domain” records. These records statuses can be viewed on the field under the domain name.
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) is a cryptographic protocol used for signing and verifying emails, ensuring their legitimacy. “MAIL FROM” is an integral part of the SMTP protocol, serving to manage bounce messages and other errors from recipient mail servers, while also facilitating DMARC authentication compliance. These verification processes collectively enhance the credibility of emails originating from a domain.
Users can conveniently acquire a .zone document containing DNS records, simplifying the process of entering these records where the domain is managed. This can be done by clicking the icon located in the top left corner of the “DNS Record” table.
Once the necessary DNS records are created and verified, the client will be able to send emails from any address under that domain. Statuses indicate whether a certain claim is verified by our systems through the DNS records. This procedure typically concludes within 20 minutes, although the system perseveres for 72 hours. Afterward, users may need to restart the process and generate a new record.
Hosting is referred to as a server since it displays user's website to visitors. When user type a URL () into the browser, a request is sent to the server where the website is hosted. The files are uploaded to the user's device through the internet by this server. Thus, the website is displayed on the user's device.