Newby in Pain

[Kevin Darcy]

Adam Vigneault wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I admittedly haven't a clue what it is I'm doing, but at least have a goal
> in mind, and was wondering if anybody would be so kind as to help me
> understand how DNS interacts with my Domain registrar a bit better, as well
> as how I might configure BIND in what should logically be the simplest
> layout possible.
>
> I've registered a domain name with NS.com, and have managed to get IIS 5.2
> running on my Windows XP Pro box here at home, serving websites off my
> static IP address.  I have a broadband DSL connection.
>
> I've also installed and attempted to configure BIND 9.x; the service appears
> to be running.  But when I try to align my domain with BIND at this IP
> address, the registrar tells me a nameserver could not be located there.  So
> my question is, how do I create a single nameserver on my local computer
> here, with a single IP address, and align my domain name on the registrar
> side to point to it so that I might type in "www.domain.com" and pull up my
> homepage?  I saw mention of slave nameservers and all kinds of extra stuff,
> but having this domain name actually work all the time is not necessary;
> only when my machine is turned on should it be accessible.
>
> I apologize for the ignorance, but spending $40 on the O'Rielly book would
> be stretching my very thin budget as a college student.

If your domain isn't going to be available full-time, you shouldn't register it
in the first place. Show a little social responsibility -- I'm sure you
wouldn't want your resolver wasting its time sending query packets to a
non-responsive nameserver, so return the favor and ensure that the nameservers
for your domain are available 24x7x365 too.

I understand that many registrars will throw in simple DNS hosting for little
or no additional charge.


- Kevin