When to Enter Dotted vs Non-Dotted Names in DNS Manager

SUMMARY

1. The Domain names at which records are LOCATED (hostname for A, alias for CNAME, domain for SOA or NS, and so forth) must always be entered by creating the domains and entering a single part non-dotted DNS name.
   
   This policy is to avoid confusion when someone enters a dotted, non- Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN). Locate the domain in the tree and enter the name.
2. Domain names which are DATA in a record (NS nameserver, CNAME cannonical name, SOA primary name server and responsible party, MX mail server, and so forth) are always FQDNs.
   
   This is because these fields are not necessarily in the domain at all. This convention makes it simple; any domain name you type as RR data is considered an FQDN.