[SATLUG] Re: Personal domain and webserver

[Benjamin]

Kase--

This took me a while to figure out (I didn't know SATLUG existed then...)

Here's a rundown of what I did.  I tend to get a bit technical (if I may 
say so myself), so if any of this doesn't make sense, someone on the 
list can probably tell you what I'm trying to get across:

First, I got a domain name (in this example, foo.us).  You appear to 
already have one (correct me if I'm wrong), so I'm not going to go into 
this here.

Second, I got DNS service.  I use a service called DNS Made Easy, works 
pretty well, $5/year.

Third, you'll need to actually hook up your server directly to the 
Internet.  You'll also need to open the relevant ports in your firewall 
so that people can view content on your server:  80 for HTTP, 22 for 
SSH, etc.

You'll also need to install the packages (RPMs, Debians, etc.) or, if 
you like compiling (or can't get packages for your distro or 
architecture), install the daemons you'll want to run: httpd for a page 
server, sshd for an SSH server, etc.

Fourth, if you have a dynamic IP address, you'll need to install some 
software to compensate for it.  A dynamic IP changes, as opposed to a 
static IP, which stays the same.  With DNS Made Easy, I use a program 
callled DMEUpdate.

How do you tell if your IP is static or dynamic?  Usually, you have to 
pay extra for a static IP from your ISP.  Most major corporations like 
Google have static IPs because they don't want their servers to go down 
every once in a while for thirty seconds while the DNS updates to match 
the IP address.  Small, in-house servers usually have dynamic IPs, and 
it's just not worth paying ~$15 a month for it a static IP.  If you're 
not sure, you can either play it safe and ASSUME you have a dynamic IP 
(which won't cause noticeable undue stress on your server if you happen 
to have a static IP) or you can find out (in my case, by trial and 
error) whether or not you have a static IP.

Fifth, log on to your DNS provider's site and tell them your IP address. 
  Also get the list of nameservers.  A nameserver is a special type of 
DNS server which stores domain names and IP addresses.

Sixth, log on to your registrar's site and tell them your DNS provider's 
nameservers.

Seventh, write your (X)HTML and/or CSS and/or Java and/or PHP, etc. etc. 
etc.  My pages can be found at http://www.danceolam.org.  It's a site 
for my client's dance classes.

Good luck on your server!  Happy coding!

h_oudini at hotmail.com wrote:
>  All,
> 
> If I own a domain name, say foo.us, how would I go about hosting foo.us from 
> my own server? How would DNS know to wind www.foo.us at my IP?
> 
> TIA,
> 
> Kase
-- 
Benjamin
bbarenblat at gmail.com
"Obey me, I am root."
-Michael Crichton, Prey