Linux 7.3 DNS and Vertual Hosting with DSL

[Jeff Lasman]

Warning to all readers... it looks as if Steve's problems are NOT DNS
related.  I'm responding to him on this forum because, probably out of
confusion and lack of direct knowledge, he asked on this forum.  I'm
also advising him in the future he should probably direct further
queries on his problem elsewhere.

Steve,

You still haven't quite gotten the art of "quoting" down pat, which
makes it very hard to follow your posts and reply... please read a lot
of the posts here and learn from them; it'll make it a lot easier for us
to help you in the future.  Thanks.

Also, Steve, this is NOT a DNS problem.  This is NOT the right forum for
it.  You should either find another forum, or get your domain registry
tech support to help you.

But let's keep reading for now, as I explain why it's not a DNS issue...

steve wrote:

> >>>>>>>>>
> >For right now this is personal so not a huge deal if it's down.  Just need
> >to know how to do this if it was a big site.
> >>>>>>>>>

Okay, as long as you know the problem.

>   My DSL provider has setup a www.dsl.com address for me and it hits my web
>   server Page 1.

Except it's really not "www.dsl.com" or even "dsl.com".  Examples posted
to forums and mailing lists should use "example.com" or
"www.example.com"; the name "example" has been reserved by IANA for the
specific purpose of use in examples.  All other domain names may be
available for use by real entities, which can make life here pretty
confusing.  www.dsl.com is a real site where you can learn about DSL,
buy DSL, and buy products for use with DSL.

>   My DSL  provder has also given me a static ip which hits the same web
> server
>   page 2

Has your DSL provider given you only one IP#?  If so, then you can NOT
do virtual hosting without actual domain names.

>   I purchased my first Domain name have them forwarding to my Static ip
>   address and it hit page 2 not page 3.

Do you now have multiple domains, or is this just something you're
planning to do in the future?  You can't make multiple domains hit your
webserver until you have them.

> >>>>>>>>>
> >They are just separate pages within the Apache server.  Depending on what
> is
> >attaching I send one to Disk Directory 1, 2 or 3 which then makes different
> >webs
> >>>>>>>>>

You can't do it using virtual hosting unless you've got separate domain
names.

>  Presuming you use Apache, have you set it up for virtual hosting?  Do
>  you have virtual host containers in /etc/htpd/conf/httpd.conf?
> Yes I have, seems to work with the two I have so far.

> >>>>>>>>>
> >When the company I purchased the URL from forwards my WWW to me it switches
> >to the IP# I told them to forward to so I lose the WWW coming into the web
> >server.  I have them Forwarding because i have not provided them with Named
> >servers (trying to get to that).
> >>>>>>>>>

Once you forward to an IP# you can't use virtual hosting; as you've
noticed, you need the name of the domain to do virtual hosting.  You're
having your Domain registrar forward your domain.  Your DNS looks fine
and this is an issue between you and them and how you understand the
forwarding process.

> >>>>>>>>>
>  >Have you tried the three scenarios from inside your network? Yes
> >>>>>>>>>
> If so, exactly what have you typed into your browser for each of these
>  scenarios?  For each of these scenarios, from inside your network,
>  exactly what did you expect to get?  What did you get?
> >>>>>>>>>
> >Scenario 1 I typed in the URL provided by my DSL Provder and I would get
> >the Apache server default new server page as expected.
> >Scenario 2 I typed in the 10.0.0.5 and I would get the Apache server
> default
> >new server page as expected.

10.0.0.5 is unroutable IP space; it can only work from inside your
network.  It has NOTHING to do with DNS and this is NOT the forum for
correcting this kind of problem.  It has nothing to do with forwarding
either, as 10.0.0.5 cannot be reached from inside your network (your end
of your DSL line).

> >Scenerio 3 I typed in the ip# for the Static ip and I would get my PHPNuke
> >site as expected

If you're typing in an IP#, then this has NOTHING to do with DNS.

> >Scenerio 4 I typed in the URL Purchased and I would get my PHPNuke site not
> >as expected.
> >>>>>>>>>>

But you are getting a site on your server.  So this has nothing to do
with DNS either; it's got to do with your forwarding.

>  Have you, or has someone else, tried the three different scenarios from
>  outside your network, from the public Internet?
> >>>>>>>>>
> >Yes I did from Work with the same results
> >>>>>>>>>

You cannot expect 10.0.0.5 to work from anywhere except inside your
network.

> >>>>>>>>>
> >http://209.98.147.41/KOFC/html/

This is NOT a dns issue, since you're looking directly at an IP#.

Here's what your server returns to me:
<snip>
 Not Found
 The requested URL /KOFC/html/ was not found on this server.
 Apache/1.3.27 Server at 209.98.147.41 Port 80
</snip>

So you don't have the proper subdirectory setup on your server, or you
don't have the proper settings in your httpd.conf file.  This probably
has nothing to do with virtual hosting or virtual hosting containers, as
even when IP based, virtual hosting needs a domain name.

> >http://miskestephan.dsl.visi.com

When I enter this URL, I get the default apache installation page.  I
have no idea if it's on your server or not.  A "dig" on your domain name
(miskestephan.dsl.visi.com) shows it being served by dsl.visi.com, so
you're NOT responsible for DNS for it.  visi.com is responsible for it,
and they're doing it right... it points to 209.98.147.41, with a TTL of
24 hours.

> >
> >http://www.kofc4381.org/
> >>>>>>>>>

This domain doesn't point to your system.  It points to 64.202.166.10,
which is most likely owned by your domain provider, 26domains.com, a
reseller of wholesaler Wild West Domains, or by Wild West Domains
themselves.

So they're responsible for forwarding it to you.

When I type it into my browser I get your KOFC page; I presume the
forwarding is working.

You really don't need to have them forward it; you could just use their
DNS to point the domain directly to you, and handle it yourself with
virtual hosting.

If it's not pointing to the right page, then instead of having them
forward it to you just have them use DNS to point it to your server, and
then you can set it up under virtual hosting and it should work fine.

>   I was told I need to setup DNS on my machine which I have done according
> to
>   a How_to

Do not use authoritative DNS (zones) on your machine; that'll more
likely cause problems than solve them.  You've probably got mistakes in
your local DNS, but you don't need it, your outside DNS is working fine,
and nobody else is ever going to see your local DNS.

At a minimum, remove the zone files and make sure your named.conf file
is set up to allow recursive resolution; then restart the named daemon. 
Or turn DNS off completely.

If you want experience in DNS, then that's a completely separate
issue... but you should probably experiment with a domain bought for the
purpose and NOT connected with anything you're hosting.

I hope this has helped you a bit.

If you're still having problems, they're most likely NOT DNS related,
and probably shouldn't be discussed on this list.

Jeff
-- 
Jeff Lasman, nobaloney.net, P. O. Box 52672, Riverside, CA  92517 US
Internet & Unix/Linux/Sun/Cobalt Consulting +1 909 778-9980
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