A record
From DreamHost
In DNS parlance, an A record is used to point a hostname to an IP address. For example, your web server might have an IP address of 10.42.1.21. If you want the hostname "webserver" to point to this address, you would use an A record in the zone file for your domain.
A BIND format A record looks like this:
webserver IN A 10.42.1.21
Adding A records to your Dreamhost-hosted DNS domain
You can add A records to your domain in the Dreamhost control panel, under Domains->Manage Domains, then select the DNS link under the domain to which you wish to add the records.
This can be useful if you run servers outside of Dreamhost and you would like to give those machines names in your existing domain.
If you would like all subdomains (even ones you did not create) to point to an ip address, set the NAME to be *.yourdomain.com. You can modify the httpd.conf on the destination machine to reroute subdomains to specific folders.