How do these records work together for email delivery?

Outbound mail flow:

• Your server connects to receiver (A/AAAA of their MX)
• Receiver checks your PTR (reverse DNS)
• Receiver checks your SPF (TXT record)
• Receiver checks your DKIM signature (TXT record)
• Receiver applies DMARC policy (TXT record)

Inbound mail flow:

• Sender looks up your MX records
• MX points to hostname, resolved via A record
• Mail delivered to that server

Tracking and links:

• CNAME enables branded tracking domains
• Links resolve through CNAME to ESP

All records must be consistent and correct. One broken piece affects the whole system.

Navigation, credentials, and routing all work together. Every document in the ship's portfolio must be in order.