Server Hostname

[derek]

I'm greatly puzzled by an issue that I have stumbled across. I set the hostname of my server to server.americanmicroinc.com and I set the nameserver on the account to ns1.americanmicroinc.com. Then I went to the registrar of the domain americanmicroinc.com and changed it to reflect the changes made above.
So here is the problem. I have waited the specified amount of time for propagation but when I ping server.americanmicroinc.com I get an unknown IP which is not the IP of my new server. When I ping ns1.americanmicroinc.com it terminates to the correct IP address. What is going on here?? Is there a something I may have overlooked when I set up the server?

-Derek

[knightfoo]

Your DNS settings are a bit inconsistent. Here are the tests I did:

$ host -t ns americanmicroinc.com a.gtld-servers.net
americanmicroinc.com NS ns1.americanmicroinc.com
americanmicroinc.com NS ns2.americanmicroinc.com

# This is OK .. the GTLD servers know about your domain and have the nameservers

$ host ns1.americanmicroinc.com a.gtld-servers.net
ns1.americanmicroinc.com A 66.135.34.208

# This is OK .. the GTLD servers know about ns1

$ host ns2.americanmicroinc.com. a.gtld-servers.net
ns2.americanmicroinc.com A record currently not present at a.gtld-servers.net

# Oops. The GTLD servers don't know anything about ns2. Further checking shows that ns1 and ns2 are registered to the same IP address. This should not be allowed by the registrar. This also means that you only have one nameserver to query.

$ host -t ns americanmicroinc.com ns1.americanmicroinc.com
americanmicroinc.com NS ns2.americanmicroinc.com
!!! americanmicroinc.com NS host ns2.americanmicroinc.com does not exist
americanmicroinc.com NS ns1.americanmicroinc.com
!!! americanmicroinc.com NS host ns1.americanmicroinc.com does not exist

# OK. You have both your NS records, but something is missing ..

$ host ns1.americanmicroinc.com ns1.americanmicroinc.com
ns1.americanmicroinc.com does not exist at ns1.americanmicroinc.com (Authoritative answer)
$ host ns2.americanmicroinc.com ns1.americanmicroinc.com
ns2.americanmicroinc.com does not exist at ns1.americanmicroinc.com (Authoritative answer)

# Oops. The nameservers dont have A records for themselves! The americanmicroinc.com zone needs to have an A record for ns1 and ns2.


You really need to have two different nameservers registered to unique IP addresses. The registrar for this domain should not have allowed this registration to proceed with the same IP address on both nameservers. Also, the nameservers themselves need to be registered with the registrar as nameservers. You need to add A records for ns1 and ns2 in your zone, so there is an authoritative answer for their address.

I would recommend using ServerBeach DNS for secondary DNS service, unless you are doing something that prevents you from doing so. You can maintain the zones on your server and our nameservers would simply slave the information. The zones can be maintained from the DNS Tool in MyServerBeach.

The alternative is to request a second IP address so you can run ns2 off of your server as well. I do not recommend this, as it effectively leaves you with only one nameserver in the end but costs you more per month. The only situation where it is easier to run ns2 on your own server is if you are doing complex DNS configuration or tend to frequently add/remove a large number of domains.

-knightfoo

[derek]

Sorry I'm rather new to the web server world so I'm clueless on how do do some of the things you stated above.

How do I create A records for my DNS Server?

I know how to change ns2 with my registrar but what do I have to do in "My Server Beach" to make it function properly?

I'm running cPanel and Linux 7.3 and I'm not sure if I have to configure anything in there either.

[derek]

I set up the SB nameserver in 'My ServerBeach' to be a slave to my primary address and I have changed the secondary DNS server at my registrar to ns1.geodns.net. Will this resolve the issue or is there another step that I am missing?

[knightfoo]

If you are planning on using ServerBeach for secondary (slave) DNS, you must do the following:

1. Add the proper NS records to your master zone file:

yourdomain.com. IN NS ns1.yourdomain.com.
yourdomain.com. IN NS ns1.geodns.net.
yourdomain.com. IN NS ns2.geodns.net.

2. Log into MyServerBeach and set the zone up in the DNS Tool. Make sure you choose "slave" when it asks for what type of zone. You will need to enter the IP address of the primary nameserver (your server) as the master nameserver.

3. Contact your registrar and modify your nameservers to the following:

ns1.yourdomain.com <your IP address>
ns1.geodns.net 66.139.72.14
ns2.geodns.net 66.139.72.20


Step 1 is very important, because if you do not have the NS records, the ServerBeach DNS servers will not slave the zone properly. After you do step 2, it should only take about an hour for the zone to transfer to our nameservers. If it takes longer than that, you should contact support to see if there are any problems. Step 3 takes the longest, as the registrar has to make changes in the root nameservers. Once the changes are made, it will take 24-48 hours for the new information to propagate.

You may want to consult the documentation for your specific OS and/or control panel on how to configure the DNS records on your server.

-knightfoo

[derek]

Ok I think I've got it now. Thank's for all your help.

-Derek