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Questions on DNS and Hostname
| Posted by Promex, 09-26-2014, 09:52 AM |
| Hello,
I have a few VPS with cPanel setup (for personal usage). I'm confused with DNS and Hostname as they seems really sophisticated. It's pretty straight forward to setup the server (DNS and Hostname etc) but they are being asked several time throughout the initial server setup and I do not think all of which have effect on the server functionality. Therefore, I am curious to know which one of them will have effect on the server functionality and would also like to know their respective functions as well as making sure my DNS and Hostname are setup correctly.
1) When placing order for VPS, hosts would usually ask for hostname on the billing page (e.g., server.domain.com). Is this only for their reference purpose and does it affect the VPS functionality? Do I have to update the host if I change my hostname?
2) Upon cPanel installation, cP requested for my hostname. Is that also solely for reference purpose? I'm pretty sure they can automatically detect the IP address and the correct IP is essential for the VPS to function properly.
3) For DNS setup, I've seen tutorial on hosting their own "DNS" via setting up A record as mentioned http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1398357. (maybe there are other ways too? )
However, I setup the DNS another way by registering the domain nameserver (pointing ns1.domain.com and ns2.domain.com to my VPS's IP) with my registrar and followed by updating the domain name server with ns1.domain.com and ns2.domain.com. Are there any differences in setting up DNS this way as compared to the other one?
For subsequent accounts/domains (domain2.com, domain3.com etc) hosted on my VPS, I simply update the domain's name server with ns1.domain.com and ns2.domain.com which was already registered earlier for domain.com. Is that the right approach or should I be registering the nameservers for domain2.com, domain3.com etc?
4) What advantages do I have for using the registrar's DNS? To use the registrar DNS, do I will still need to register my own nameserver and then update it to registrar DNS?
5) Lastly, I recalled having to change server IP due to a migration of datacenter. I have to update some informations on cPanel - DNS Functions such as: MX entry, DNS Zones, NS records. What are these for exactly? Why do DNS zones contain ns1.domain.com, ns2.domain.com and server.domain.com, while the MX entry does not? I do not seems to know their functions half the time when imputing and updating these informations.
I remember reading some of these informations imputed are only for "display" purpose and does not actually have any effect on the server. Therefore, I wish to know which of these functions are for "display" purpose and which of them will actually have effects on the server functionality.
P.S: I might get some of the facts wrong or mixed up, feel free to correct me. Your feedbacks are appreciated!
Regards
Last edited by Promex; 09-26-2014 at 10:06 AM.
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| Posted by Larry, 09-26-2014, 08:45 PM |
| 1. The host name can be anything but if you want to use URLs of the host name, you need to specify a valid host name so you can access it via a browser or get some DNS going.
2. If you don't mind accessing WHM/cPanel via IP, you don't need one, but you should have a valid hostname regardless. Again, URLs.
3. There're a few ways you can setup DNS. You can host the DNS locally which is fine if you only have the one server, or if you have multiple servers, you should have dedicated nameservers (Can be VPS) using cPanel DNS Only.
4. If your registrar offers DNS services, you can use them, but it will be difficult for you to maintain your local DNS settings. You'll have to create all the DNS entries manually at your registrar such as your mx entries and other URLs. Alternatively there're a few things you can do here, but you'll have to lookup your options.
5. Your MX entries are for email purposes. They are important if you wish to host email locally on your server, or update them to be external if you do that route. The NS records are imnportant if you're hosting DNS locally. It's safe to leave these alone if you ever decide to have them local. Otherwise if your registrar is hosting DNS, they're somewhat irrelevant but should still remain.
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| Posted by Promex, 09-27-2014, 09:28 AM |
| Hello,
Thank you for your reply!
So both the host name imputed on the billing page and cPanel setup will have effects on the server? What if one contradicts the other? Let's say the host name appearing on cP is different from the billing page/VPS control panel.
I was considering changing host name (server.domain.com) and the DNS on the cPanel (ns1.domain.com) to another's domain, however there are just so much things to go through.
My previous experience with changing server IP was quite daunting as I had to went through many procedures manually from checking DNS records, MX entries even after I used the IP Migration wizard from cP as some records are not being updated. Surprisingly, those outdated entries do not affect the website functionality, at least on the surface. I only found out those outdated entries such as the host name NS zone was still pointing to the old IP address after utilizing an online DNS check.
What are the correct steps to do a complete IP migration and how can I confirm all settings are updated accordingly.
Which DNS setup am I on currently? Am I hosting the DNS locally in this case?
What are the differences between hosting locally as compared to a non-local DNS setup? Using external DNS services such as those provided by registrars or other third-party DNS is considered non-local DNS setup?
Let's say I wish to use Google Mail, which settings should I change in the MX entries? Should the change be a per domain instance?
Regards
Last edited by Promex; 09-27-2014 at 09:40 AM.
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| Posted by byte32, 09-27-2014, 12:01 PM |
| You normally have a main server with cPanel installed, this will run the mail server, MySQL ect - external mysql and such is another tutorial for another day.
With DNS hosting, you can point A records ect to game servers and all sorts. Imagine your main cPanel goes down, if you have a separate cPanel DNS only installation, the second DNS server would resolve the A records to your game server and such even thought your cPanel server is down.
It is best to get another VPS in another data center for your secondary name server.
As people above have said, your host names do not matter. DNS is only for resolving a string to a IP address. You can setup DNS etc via IP and such instead of hostnames.
By default, your mx records will forward locally - Per domain you can make changes in that domains cPanel account MX records. MX records will then tell mail to be passed on, you can have multiply MX records with different priority's for redundancy in the same way of name servers.
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