I’m
expecting this to be the toughest task so I’ll think out loud as I go along !
Here’s
a quote from www.dslwebserver.com/
“What
if you're on DSL or Cable and have a dynamic IP address? Can you still run
a server? The answer is a qualified "yes". Running a
server on a dynamic IP address takes more work and isn't as reliable as having a
server on a static IP address. Your dynamic IP address is assigned to you
by your ISP and depending on their configurations, the IP number may change
often, or it may not change for weeks at a time.
One trick to keeping your IP
from not changing is to keep the computer or router that receives the IP address
on all the time. This way, the computer never "let's go" of the
IP address. The other way to keep your IP from changing is to keep the
line active. We'll talk about this a little later.
DNS with a dynamic IP address is
difficult because most DNS services take 3-4 days for their nameservers to
updates to take effect. This means that every time your IP changes, you
have to manually edit your zone file and wait for their nameservers to update.
This is the case with GraniteCanyon.com. Changes made at GraniteCanyon.com
take a few days to spread across the Internet.
Other DNS services such as
ZoneEdit.com are more useful in the case of a dynamic IP address because changes
to your zone file are updated on their nameservers almost immediately.
However, like GraniteCanyon.com, you must update your new IP number manually.”
Perhaps I’ll try editing the Freeparking DNS
Manager but at this stage not too sure what needs to go there (just the ip
address for this machine ?)!
Another
quote from www.dslwebserver.com/
“In
order for you to register a domain, you need to have access to two DNS servers.
DNS servers are machines that translate a domain name into an IP address. Very
few domain name registration companies provide DNS servers for you. Some
services may first setup your domain name with their DNS servers, but this is
more as a place holder, and are usually nonfunctional. Most domain name
registration companies will provide DNS servers for you for a fee, but there are
better options”
I recall that freeparking
offered two choices when I registered my domain name. I could use the ‘Under
Construction’ page, or use web forwarding - I assume that the default zone
file (above) is used for the former.
The advice from freeparking
with respect to DNS is as follows :
“Transfer
DNS to another Host: Use
this section if you wish to keep the domain record on our ipstag, but need to
host the web site or domain name with another ISP or hosting company. You may
make changes in this section at any time. Before using this section you must
obtain both the Primary and Secondary Name Server information from your new
hosting company or ISP.
Both a Primary and Secondary Name Server Name must be entered in the format of a
fully qualified host name. For example: NS1.MYISP.NET
Please note that you do not need to transfer names away from our system if you
take advantage of our new DNS Manager. Using the DNS Manager you have complete
control over web servers, mail servers and sub domains for your domain name.”
The freeparking
provision does not however appear to cater for dynamic ip addresses (?) so at
this point I’m wondering whether I should go to ZoneEdit
for primary and secondary name server
names and take advantage of their dynamic DNS provision. On the other hand my
existing arrangement is working perfectly well - should I leave well alone ? !!
Well, although it works fine, it’s messy !! – it relies on web-forwarding and I much prefer the idea of my new domain name working directly with free DNS servers. The big question is how well ZoneEdit can manage a dynamic IP address ? According to dslwebserver changes will have to be made manually – so let’s go and look at ZoneEdit’s FAQ and Help files !!
I’m going to go for it !! See my progress in step 7.
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