Add a Domain Zone to Your VPS
Setting up your VPS, or any Linux server, you’ll need to point it to a domain name, and to configure what’s known as a DNS zone. Here’s how.
One scenario; in the next part of this series Set Up Unmanaged VPS (4 Newbies) we’ll be preparing your email functionality and, for that to work, we’ll need what’s called a Reverse DNS record ..
.. but we can’t do that until we’ve set up the domain in our VPS control panel.
If that’s all gibberish to you, read on and I’ll clear it up. (Hey, if it’s not clear, lemme know, huh?)
Setup Unmanaged VPS: The Ubuntu-Nginx Guide
Take your virtual private server from zero to hero
.. from blank box to cute-as server ..
with this easy-to-follow copy/paste guide.
22+ parts with video, here’s the index.
Video: Setup a Domain & Nameservers
Watch the, er, guvideo for a better idea of how to do this.
VPS Domain Management
In the Virtual Private Server’s control panel there will be some kind of a domain manager, where you can make your server aware of your domain, such as mydomain.com, and create some records so that your server can host and serve that domain.
For example, with my VPS provider Linode.com, I login to my control panel, and see a tab DNS Manager. In there, I can see what Linode calls Domain Zones, which are basically just domain data records, if I’ve bothered to set any up yet.
This process is similar for most VPS providers, such as Slicehost.
Enough Spiel – Just Show Me How!
Most commonly by far, people just want to host a site or three, in a pretty basic way, so I’ll show you how to do that.
Record a New Domain
Using Linode as an example, in the DNS Manager, click on Add a new domain zone and, in there, add your domain name, keep Master as the type and click continue. I’m using waywiderweb.com as my example.
Create a New Master Zone
On the transpiring page, Create a New Master Zone, add a Start Of Authority (SOA) email address – that’s an email address where you can be contacted, and which you are happy to be unprotected and world-reachable.
Normally, you would leave Domain Status as active, even if you have your site currently hosted elsewhere, because this allows you set set up various elements of your site on your new VPS, and have your changes propogate (and that happens every 15 minutes, on the hour, the half hour, a quarter to and the top of the hour). That means, for example, that you can then begin preparing your Linode for email functionality. And until you change your nameservers, which we discuss below, your current site is unaffected.
Under the Insert Default Records option, have the manager insert records automatically, set a TTL (Time To Live) which, for our purposes, can be 5 minutes, and leave the other values defaulting. Click continue.
Now back at the DNS Manager’s main page, you’ll see your new Domain Zone listed.
Click on the new zone and you’ll see the full spec, where you can edit the SOA record as well as add and delete NS, MX, A/AAA, CNAME, TXT and SRV records. For now at least, we’ll ignore that lot.
Putting Your Blog or Site Live
This really isn’t the purpose of this tutorial and is covered in greater detail in Part 18: Moving Day! How to Move Your Blog or Site but, essentially, you need to go to your domain registrar’s webpage, where perhaps you bought the domain, and login to your admin panel. Select the domain and click on something like “Change Nameservers”, replacing the existing ones with ns1.linode.com, ns2.linode.com, ns3.linode.com and ns4.linode.com, one per form field.
Then, if you haven’t already, goto the Linode DNS Manager, click on the appropriate Domain Zone, then edit appropriately the TTL (Time To Live) in the SOA record settings.
Depending on how you plan this, the change will take anything from a few hours to a day or so to effect. There is an art to getting it right, so your site doesn’t become a white screen. Read Part 18 for more on that.
Back to the Future
With our VPS having registered a domain, we can configure email in the next guide, Part 10: Prepare Linux Server for Email with Postfix.
You guessed it, here’s the index…
Setup Unmanaged VPS: The Ubuntu-Nginx Guide
Take your virtual private server from zero to hero
with this easy-to-follow copy/paste guide.
“My local PC runs Windows” Show me for Linux
“My local PC runs Linux” Show me for Windows
22+ parts with video, here’s the index ..
-
Setup Unmanaged VPS: The Ubuntu-Nginx Guide
Introducing vpsBible’s how-to guide for setting up a super-charged unmanaged VPS featuring Ubuntu and Nginx.
-
VPS (Virtual Private Server) vs Shared vs Dedicated
Before getting stuck in, let’s compare the web host types in detail and weigh up the differences between managed & unmanaged VPS.
-
Set Up a VPS Linux Distribution
Opening a VPS hosting account, we’ll choose, configure & launch a Linux server ‘distribution’.
-
Set Up Command Line Interface (CLI) using PuTTY
Now we’ve got a server to play with, we’ll connect to it, using the ’ssh’ protocol for a super-secure link.
-
Create a Linux User & Set Permissions
Initially you’ve logged into your remote Linux machine as ‘root’. We’ll add you as a user now, with root or SuperUser permissions.
-
Encrypt Data with OpenSSH & Auto-Login with PuTTY
Now we can use ‘authentication keys’ to shore up our connection while simplifying login to an automated, password-free yet secure process.
-
Harden the Secure Shell (SSH) & Create a Firewall
The final security step: galvanizing the OpenSSH protocol and setting up an ‘iptables’ firewall. Now the server is rock ruddy solid.
-
Edit bashrc for User-Friendly Linux, plus System Updates
We use the terminal a whole lot so let’s cut ourselves a break and create some command shortcuts, then update the server.
-
PHP5, MySQL and Xcache (for Platforms like WordPress)
We have our foundation, let’s lay some bricks: PHP for server-side web applications, Xcache to speed things up & MySQL for databases.
-
Add a Domain Zone to Your VPS
To make your server aware of yourDomain.com you’ll need a few ‘DNS’ records. Damn this is simple I’m practically asleep!
-
Prepare Linux Server for Email with Postfix
In order to send and receive email from our web applications we’ll install some software and tweak the ‘RDNS’ record.
-
Nginx (better than Apache) Web Server
OK I woke up .. let’s install this supersonic web server, tweaking its file structure & adding default configuration files.
-
Setup FileZilla for Secure FTP (SFTP)
There’s FTP, and then there’s ‘Secure FTP’. We’ll set up FileZilla using SFTP – and those authentication keys – for secure file transfers.
-
Serve Multiple Sites & Blogs with Virtual Hosts
We want a website folder structure, some permissions, some site-specific configuration files and, hey, we’ll hook up ‘FastCGI’.
-
Adding Sub-Domains with Nginx
Need a sub-domain? Here’s how to add www.sub.domain.com with an ‘A record’ and a configuration file. (I’ll allow you to skip this bit.)
-
Integrate A CMS Like WordPress, WP MU, Drupal etc
For those of you wanting to use a specific content framework, such as a CMS, blogging or forum software, pop in here and we’ll sort that out.
-
Configure phpMyAdmin for Nginx to Maintain MySQL
Rather than have to crunch databases via the command line, we can make life easier by adding this splendid tool to manage them.
-
Google Apps for Domain-Specific Email
GA’s free Standard Edition for catchall webmail – POP-ping or IMAP-ped to your desktop client – saves precious server resources for your webs.
-
Moving Day! How to Move Your Blog or Site
Nearly there. Here’s the web site or blog migration guide, relocating to your VPS with minimal or no downtime.
-
Appendix 1a: Nginx Control Panel
You’re migrating shared-to-VPS and want a GUI like cPanel? No you don’t, not after you read this! What’s more, you don’t need one either.
-
Appendix 1b: Nginx Control Panel Workarounds
For every control panel module there’s an equivalent terminal command. They’re all linked from here so, hey, no excuses!
-
Appendix 2: Add Web Sites Nginx Cheatsheet
Once you’ve set up your first site, adding more gets easier. Especially when you can refer to this. (Let’s face it, I’m just too good to you.)
Got a Question? Want to Comment?
This site has no comments system. We've got a better system!
Please use the link at the top of the post and goto this topic's forum thread:-
- to help build community
- for a superior knowledge base
- to keep info in one place, not diluted between forum & comments.
For those posts ported from Guvnr.com (pre-Feb/2010), archive comments remain.
Handy info from these comments is in the process of being ported to the forum and attributed to the original author.
If you think this idea sucks, let me know.
Thank you.
Configure NGINX Multi-Site Virtual Hosts - VPS Bible Pt 13 - GUVNR June 8th, 2009 at 9:37 am
[...] Part 9: * Add a Domain Zone to Your VPS [...]
Alborz December 2nd, 2009 at 5:57 am
Hey olly. After ‘Putting Your Blog or Site Live’ title, you have written part 18: Moving day while it is actually part 19.
siraj December 27th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
hi , i need a detailed tutor on dns basic and advance
thanks
siraj
CHEATSHEET Add More Domains with Nginx: VPS BIBLE - vpsBible February 10th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
[...] Add the DNS settings as explained in Add a Domain Zone to Your VPS. [...]
Setup WORDPRESS MU with WP Super Cache & FURLS on NGINX: VPS BIBLE - vpsBible March 11th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
[...] Follow Add a Domain Zone to Your VPS. [...]