Cloud86 Academy
DNS Detective
Case Files
Seven real support scenarios. Learn DNS by solving them — with guidance, clues, and quizzes along the way.
Tier 1 — Foundations
01
The Missing Website
A customer changed something and their site went dark.
A record · CNAME · Wildcard · TTL
02
The Silent Inbox
Mail stopped arriving after a domain transfer.
MX record · Priority · Propagation
03
The Broken Migration
A customer switched hosting but forgot to prepare DNS first.
NS records · Zone management · Lame delegation
Tier 2 — Field Cases
04
The Microsoft Problem
Cloud86 hosting, Microsoft 365 email. Duplicate MX records, wrong SPF.
Split hosting · SPF · DKIM · M365
05
The Squarespace Surprise
Customer followed Squarespace's DNS guide — and broke their email.
Third-party hosting · mail subdomain · SPF
06
The Invisible Zone
NS points to Cloud86 but the zone was never created.
WHOIS · Registrar vs DNS · Zone creation
07
The Cloudflare Handoff
Domain at Cloud86, DNS at Cloudflare. Edits have no effect.
Registrar vs DNS · Cloudflare · Scope of support