Setting up domain

[casinoverdiener]

Hi everybody,
We need some help setting up our domain.

We have a dedicated server with ip 84.241.zzz.yy.
It is running Windows Server 2008.

So far I succeeded in setting up ftp, php and mysql. The site is visible here:
http://84.241.yyy.zz/testingdomain/

Now I need to change the domain name server address in the site where our domain is hosted, so that it will refer to our new server instead of our old webhost.

So what should I do now?
I tried searching the net for help, but hasn't succeeded since I am really new to managing a server.

Thank you.

Kind regards
Henrik

[edited by: engine at 1:18 pm (utc) on Mar. 9, 2009]
[edit reason] IP obfuscated [/edit]

[mattur]

I think by default IIS will pick up any requests to your IP and handle them on the default website. So you just need to update your DNS to point to the new server IP. Perhaps, if it's a live site, try doing it with a "test.yourdomain.com" in your DNS first, to make sure everything works first.

If you're setting up more than one domain, you need to setup host header name bindings.

1. Go into IIS manager
2. Add a new site (or use the default website)
3. Right click the site and select "Edit Bindings"
4. Click "Add..."
5. Enter the host name, click OK, click Close.

You now have a "site binding" for your domain name bound to an individual IIS site.

It can be useful to setup one site in IIS for your main website, and another site for all your domain redirects eg

Site1 (main website): www.yourdomain.com
Site2 (setup to 301 HTTP Redirect to Site1): yourdomain.com, www.yourdomain.net, yourdomain.net, etc.

Ask if you want help setting redirects up too.

[casinoverdiener]

Hi mattur,
Thanks for helping out.

I have created the site under Sites in IIS, and with a binding host name that says "www.mysite.com". The host name should be the domain name, right?
When I enter the IP address of the server in a browser I see the "Default Web Site" in IIS. What should I enter to see the mysite?

Will it work now if I just enter the servers IP address as the DNS in our domain host? (www.namecheap.com)
Will it know that it should refer to the "mysite" and not the default site?

Thanks again :-)

[mattur]

The host name should be the domain name, right?

Right. The "fully qualified domain name" (FQDN) eg www.yoursite.com

When I enter the IP address of the server in a browser I see the "Default Web Site" in IIS. What should I enter to see the mysite

That's correct. Just entering IP address doesn't give the server the host header name to direct the request to "mysite", so it goes to the default website.

To see your actual www.yourdomain.com website you need to setup the DNS, linking the domain name to the IP address. May take 24-48 hours to percolate across the Internet.

Then, when setup and you type in www.yourdomain.com into your browser, it still goes to the same IP address, *but* now also supplies the host name to the server, and this is what IIS uses to know the request is for "mysite", not the default website.

You can try this out on your PC without having to wait for DNS to update. On Windows there is a file called "hosts" (note: no extension). It's usually in C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc

You can use the "hosts" file to override the DNS your PC uses. Add a new line to this file for your server:

111.111.111.111 www.yourdomain.com

(i.e. your server's IP address and FQDN)

It's basically just a way of mapping an IP address to a host name temporarily. Save the file, reopen your browser and type in www.yourdomain.com. With hosts setup, you should be able to test "mysite" without having to wait for DNS to update.

Of course this only works on your PC, you still need to update the DNS for everyone else. Remember to delete the line from hosts when you're done testing. HTH.

[edited for clarity]

[edited for filename "hosts" not "lmhosts"]

[casinoverdiener]

To see your actual www.yourdomain.com website you need to setup the DNS, linking the domain name to the IP address. May take 24-48 hours to percolate across the Internet.

I think this is where my problem is. I am not sure that the server is set up to handle the domain names.

I need to provide our domain host with a DNS address (like ns1.mydns.com).
Should this be set up in someway, and if: how?

[mattur]

Yes, your domain needs to have nameservers associated with it. Nameservers are where your FQDN to IP entries are stored, for your website, email, etc.

I'd contact the server hosting company first and ask them how to proceed. Most hosting companies also host nameservers for their hosted domains.

[casinoverdiener]

I have an option to set up "a record", by just providing the ip address of the server.

It this option as good as setting up a separate DNS server? Is there any difference at all?

[mattur]

Yes, setup an A record with your server's IP and "www.yourdomain.com". This will go on your nameservers.

[casinoverdiener]

Okay, we will use this solution.

Thanks a lot mattur for your help and patience!