A question about name server?

[webustaad]

Dear websmaters! I hope you all are fine and in good health. Can anyone please answer the following questions about nameservers.

1) What are name servers?
2) How do we register name servers?
3) How can an IP be assigned to a name server?
4) Why we always need to register two name servers?

[txbakers]

1) name servers are computers that translate named domain requests (webmasterworld.com) into the IP address associated with it (64.33.51.156). The internet (IP : internet protocol) runs on the four sets of numbers as addresses.

2) I don't think you really need to "register" a name server, just start running one. There are programs such as BIND for *nix machines and DNS for Windows servers that will associate names with IP addresses.

3) IPs are assigned to names by manipulating the "zone" files on a name server. There are generally three types of zone records. A records are the primary internet records. To have www.example.com associate with an IP address of 127.0.0.1 you would set the A record of example.com to point to that IP.

MX records are for mail servers. You can point the same domain name to an A and an MX record so people can receive mail from their example.com address.

CNAME records are used to create subdomains and routings, and are very easy to mess up. Verio, a leading name server provider, recommends that you never mess with the CNAME records, and I have never had the need to do so.

4) The reason they recommend two is for backup purposes and ease of routing the traffic.

The primary name server, which stores the information, sends out that information to thousands of others, which cache that information, making finding a domain by name quick. If one was down the other would pick it up and the internet would keep running. Two also help to share the load.

Hope that helps answer some of the questions. It's a good topic to learn about.

[webustaad]

Txbakers Thanks a lot for replying with detail. I have learned a lot from your reply and whenever I will think about "Name Servers", your nick will come in my mind.

We have set two IP addresses xx.xx.****.x8 and xx.xx.xxx.x9 but thier name servers are not registered with registrar. Do you think I can just point my domain name to xx.xx.xxx.x8 and xx.xx.xxx.x9 through domain CP without asking my registrar to create name servers? Is it that simple?

[txbakers]

If you don't want to register a domain name, you can just reference the IP address of the website and it will work just fine.

I'm not sure what you mean about domain CP though.

When you buy a domain name it will be registered on someone's name server.

[georgiecasey]

From my experience, you have to register your nameserver with a top-level domain registrer, like GoDaddy. Theres a way to do it in the GoDaddy control panel. Have you setup a nameserver yet on your dedicated (I assume) server?

[txbakers]

I register my domains with Verio, and as part of the registration fee they provide space on their name servers. I leave them there, and modify my zone files on their server as needed.

Never had a problem.