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DNS
and how it
effects our domain
Part - 1
Understanding DNS and Name Servers:
This is an area, which causes a great deal
of confusion amongst both webmasters and end user clients. Before we go any
further, let's look at this quick analogy: DNS can be considered something
similar to that of a phone book. When you move from one location to another,
your last name stays the same, but your phone number may change. In order to
point your name to the new phone number, you must contact the telephone service
provider, which will assign you the new phone number. In addition, they update
all directory information data basis to reflect you as pointing to this new
phone number.
What is DNS?
DNS stands for "Domain Name Server." The domain name server acts like a large
telephone directory in that it's the master database, which associates a domain
name such as
http://www.butwal.com
with the appropriate IP number. Consider the IP number something similar to a
phone number: When someone calls
http://www.butwal.com,
your ISP looks at the DNS server, and asks "how do I contact butwal.com?" The
DNS server responds, it can be found at: 67.19.2.98
As the Internet understands it, this
can be considered the phone number for the server, which houses the
http://www.butwal.com web site.
Where are all of the DNS records
kept?
This is slightly more complicated, but for the purpose of this overview, we'll
try to keep it as general as possible. There are 2 basic places DNS records
reside:
-
International Root name servers (13
exist throughout the world)
-
Your domain register, where your
current DNS settings reside.
When you register/purchase your domain name on a particular "registers name
server", your DNS settings are kept on their server, and in most cases point
your domain to the Name Server of your hosting provider. This Name Server is
where the IP number (currently associated with your domain name) resides.
The entire hierarchy is somewhat involved, but in short, the world Root Name
Servers can be considered the master listing of all DNS records, and there
are currently 13 of them in the world. These name servers are where all the
master DNS records are kept. The DNS server of your ISP will typically query
the Root Name Servers once every 24-hours. This is how they update all of
their DNS tables, which in turn, resolve www requests to the IP number of
the server they reside on.
Changing your Name Server settings, so your domain points to your
Broadview Networks account:
Your "Name Server Settings" must be updated to point to your account on
Broadview Networks. You originally purchased your domain name from a register,
and this register is where your current DNS settings reside. That is, unless you
transferred your domain name to an alternate register, in which case, you would
control your DNS settings from there.
The "Register" your domain resides on, communicates your 'current' DNS settings
with the International Root name servers, which is turn share this information
with ISP's, routers, and cache engines around the world. In essence, it's like a
worldwide directory that other computers can refer to when they want to match a
domain name with its associate IP number. This IP number is how the particular
server your website resides on is located.
Primary Name Server
ns3.webhostsetup.com
67.19.2.98
Secondary Name Server
ns4.webhostsetup.com
67.19.2.98
Accessing your domain manager:
Simply go to your domain registers web site, and look around for links, which
point to something like, domain manager, manage domain, or something of that
administrative nature. In your welcoming email, you were sent DNS settings,
which look similar to this example:
ns1.webhostsetup.com
ns2.webhostsetup.com
ns3.webhostsetup.com
ns4.webhostsetup.com
Most of the newer registers such as the (OPEN SRS) based entities have turned
this into a 5-minute process. You simply login to the register, select 'manage
domain' and you'll be presented with an option to update your new DNS numbers.
Contrary to popular belief, Network Solutions 'now' also provides an online
interface to change these settings, so this process with them is no longer as
complicated as it use to be, however it's still not as simple as the OPEN SRS
based systems. If your particular register 'does not' provide a domain manager
of some type, then you'll need to send them a message requesting a change of
DNS. This is an unlikely scenario, as most every register now allows you to
manage your own domain settings from a web based interface.
Once you've accessed the "management interface" of your domain name, look for a
setting, which says "change or manage DNS settings." In most cases, you can
simply cut and paste the DNS settings we've sent you directly into the spaces,
which correspond to your DNS management settings. Remember, the DNS settings
we're displaying here are an "example."
DNS - Domain Name Server -
Part 2
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