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Credit Articles
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Your Own Homebased Business
From Registering A Domain To Getting It Online (Part Two)
You have selected a domain name, registered it
and signed up with a web host. What's next? Your
web host has to provide you with details about how
to get your site up and running. This information
includes passwords to get into your account, paths
to directories where your files should be uploaded,
and most importantly, what your domain name servers
are.
What Is A Domain Name Server?
Domain name servers (DNS) provide the link between
your domain name (mywebsite.com) and your Internet
Protocol (IP) address. The IP address is a series
of numbers like this: 123.456.78.9. Every web server
has a unique IP address which, in the case of dedicated
servers hosting a single domain, is equivalent to
the domain name. A site hosted on a dedicated server
will respond to either 123.456.78.9 or mywebsite.com
by serving the requested webpage.
Most websites, though, are hosted on shared servers.
This means that one server is home to many different
websites, but they each have the same IP address.
If you type in a shared IP address you will get
an error page or will be redirected to the web hosting
company's web site. So DNS is necessary for websites
on shared servers. Domain names are the only way
to request these websites – they cannot be
requested by IP address.
Configuring DNS
When you first purchase a domain name, it will
be registered on the DNS of the registrar. Until
you arrange for a web host, the registrar company
will usually redirect requests for your domain name
to an error page or an 'Under Construction' page.
Note that there is no time limit between buying
a domain name and finding a host. Some people purchase
domain names without ever intending to build a website
on them. Most people, though, buy a domain name
with the intention of using it. To do that, you
need to open an account with a web host and prepare
to transfer your site to their server. Part of the
process of preparing your site for publication on
the World Wide Web is to alert your domain name
registrar of the DNS of your new server.
A DNS configuration looks something like this:
Primary Name Server: NSA.NEWDAYDNS.COM (204.50.14.2)
Secondary Name Server: NSB.NEWDAYDNS.COM (204.50.22.2)
This information is available from your hosting
company either in their informational package that
they email to you, or on their website. If you can't
find the DNS it's best to contact your web host
and ask for it. Once you have the DNS information
you can usually enter it into your account on the
website of your registrar. If you have purchased
your domain name from the hosting company, they
will usually make the necessary changes for you
when they set up your account.
When the DNS is registered or modified (when changing
web hosts) it can take up to 24 hours for your site
to be accessible from everywhere in the world. This
is because domain names are registered in a distributed
data base that is maintained on thousands of computers
around the world. Each computer has a small part
of the database in cache, and if they receive a
request for an unknown domain that request has to
be forwarded to another computer until the information
is found.
About the Author
Liz Roberts is a loan consultant
with NewHorizon
Finance and has been running an online finance
company since 1989. Bad Credit? Join our mailing
list for tips on building and repairing
your credit yourself, without hiring a credit
repair service. Click here for a list of bad
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Copyright 2005 |
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