Domain Name Registration Questions

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gwoollett

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#66196 14-Aug-2010 10:43

I have registered a domain name mydomain.org.nz (not the real one) with First Domains. They provide email and URL forwarding but rely on your ISP to provide the email boxes. The problem is I need lots of them! (more than 10).

I'm relatively ignorant about how the differences in services provided by some NZ DNS companies and didn't do enough research.

I was expecting something like what dyndns.com offers i.e tying an IP address to a domain name.

In the end I'm wanting to be able to send email to johndoe@mydomain.org.nz or serve web pages .
The ISP of the network I take care of uses xtra as an ISP. I know I'll have to opt out of the port 25 filter.

So I've mucked up it would seem, what are my options? If I were to run a DNS for my domain what would I need to do to set it up.
I'm running EBox on a linux server and have DNS services running, but don't yet understand what I need to do to plumb it into the internet.

Any help really appreciated

freitasm

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#367493 14-Aug-2010 10:58

These are separate things, although some companies provide all those services together.

Domain registration just gives you that, the domain name. You can then configure the registry to point to a NS (Nameserver), which will let the clients around the world know about your addresses.

Some registrars have their own NS and you can change the addresses yourself, others will need you to contact them to change.

The addresses you want to create will be

A record - to point to your web server
MX record - to point to your email server

If you are using their own email forward then you shouldn't change MX records. If you plan to have your own email server then you have to find a provider (Google Apps for Domain, Windows Live Domains, or another) and follow their instructions to configure the MX records to point to their servers.

I you want to host a web server you need to find a hosting provider, and similarly, change the A records to point to their IP addresses.

nate

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#367545 14-Aug-2010 14:11

1st domains do support having email accounts, see here.

$5 for your first 5, then $5 per mailbox thereafter.

If you want more help flick me a PM, we do this all the time.

freitasm

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#367558 14-Aug-2010 14:35

So much cheaper - free even - if using Google Apps or Windows Live domains...

gwoollett

27 posts

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#367564 14-Aug-2010 14:45

Thanks for the reply

The 1st domains settings I can change look like this

2.
Delegate Domain Name

If you are unsure about what information to enter here please contact your ISP or Web Hosting company.

Master Name Server:

IP Address:

Slave Name Server:

IP Address:

If you need to
specify additional name serves please enter the additional
name servers below. A total of ten name servers can be set.

So I've set up a DNS server ns1.mydomain.com with my static IP address www.xxx.yyy.zzz. I have one IP address

I only have one nameserver, it wants 2. I have opened port 53 (DNS) on my firewall but get no response trying to telnet to it from my TCL connection
i.e telnet www.xxx.yyy.zzz 53 = no response.
Do telecom filter any ports other than port 25?
When logged into the machine and telneting I get a response, just nothing from out side. I've added MX and ns records to mydomain.com

All I want is a domain name relationship to a single IP number that has SMTP and an Apache web server running on it.
I would expect to be able to do johndoe@ipdress and have the SMTP server relay it locally to the virtual user mail accounts on my server box.

I don't want web or mail hosting.

At home I have already tried a dyndns name linked to my TCL ipaddress, with a SMTP server running and have successfully sent email to it.
i.e. gwoollett@example.dyndns.com.

This is all I want to able to do with the real domain name I have.

Can you suggest a Company that offers a service similar to the free DYNDNS service I've tried that I can transfer the name to?

Sorry about the waffle, I'm still trying to make sense of it all.

Ragnor

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#367864 15-Aug-2010 15:44

It's a requirement of the DNS spec that any zone have at least two nameserver records.

Ideally these are normally on different networks or in different locations (recommended but not required) to provide reliability and redundancy

Simplest solution for you might be to use DynDns Custom DNS service which is $30 USD per year. It's proven, reliable and high performance.

Free alternative's are available like http://xname.org/ - no idea how reliable it is though.

net24lm

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#368512 17-Aug-2010 08:32

Hi Gwoollett

Sorry for the late reply, I only just picked up this thread this morning.

If you are wanting to point services to your own static IP address such as web, or mail, then you will want to use the 'Manage DNS Zone Records' link at 1st Domains, not the 'Delegate Name Servers'.

The Zone Management area will allow you to create 'A' records to point to your static IP address. 1st Domains will be your DNS host and you will manage your DNS records directly through the interface.

DynDNS is only usually required if you don't have a static IP address, in which case you would enroll with dyndns and then delegate your domain name to their DNS servers. But you've got a static IP in this case, so it's not required.

1st Domains offers email forwarding with the domain name, or you can get an email service through Net24 or do what many others do and use Google Apps which is free.

If you still haven't managed to get any further, please contact the 1st Domains helpdesk by email or phone for further assistance. It's the best place to get quick answers to your questions! :)

Lee

gwoollett

27 posts

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#368543 17-Aug-2010 09:42

Thanks for all the replies guys. Over the weekend some pennies dropped, I got to the right spot on the first domains site and changed the A record to match my ip address. I just have to get the port 25 block removed from the xtra internet connection.