Anybody want to be the DNS king?

[gwyneth]

After parts of two days struggling with all the DNS settings on WHM and goDaddy (for the nameservers), I have concluded that what the world needs is dnsking.com, a service that would:

take your information via a form on its site (i.e., fields for what you want your nameservers to be, the domains applicable, whatever) and then--not go into your WHM or cPanel--but generate a step-by-step list telling you what to set, where.

There are dozens, if not hundreds of threads here about dns stuff. I've spent hours reading about it, and while I have a mediocre grasp of the theory, there are so many settings in WHM that work together for this that I can see why it's a chronic problem.

So here's my deal. If someone wants to do it, I will happily give the dns king an account on my dedi to host it. Think of the google ads...the revenue would be all yours.

[chaloupe]

At what step are you stuck at this point

Doing it yourself will be better for when you need to do it again.

Are your main domain of the server is at godaddy?

Best Regards,

[gwyneth]

Actually, I don't think I'm stuck. My test domain gets only five warnings on dnsreport, two of which are missing email addresses, two of which are soa times which I know how to fix, and one is missing spf record, which I'm working on.

But getting here was exhausting, and if I were a reseller or had any clients the stakes would be far higher.

[secure]

dnsking.com is already taken.

Seriously, what do you want to achieve and which part of setting your dns are you getting stuck?

[gtgeorge]

Don't forget to ask HG via support ticket to have your reverse dns setup You won't be able to do this step yourself

[gwyneth]

Originally Posted by secure

dnsking.com is already taken.

Seriously, what do you want to achieve and which part of setting your dns are you getting stuck?

Part of my problem is that I've never worked with WHM before. Part is that while the theory of the various pieces is understandable, translating what I need to do to how to do it with WHM has been hit-or-miss.

At this point, by hit-or-miss I think I've got most of it OK. But the difference between the <10 minutes for someone who knows the steps and where to do them and right around 10 hours (well, that's a slight, but only slight exaggeration) is pretty extreme. People either do this an awful lot, or hardly ever, and it takes folks who hardly ever do an exponential amount of time more than people who do it a lot. Thus, a simple, specific solution would be probably be of great use to a great many people.

Combine the many similar-sounding settings in several parts of WHM with the severely un-instinctive nature of the edit zone screen and it's no wonder so many people freak out by DNS problems.

I'd like a list of steps--1) go to the splat screen and put "fooey" in the mipple field, 2) now go to spoognat tools and choose flingle. Type nephtor in the zilberg field, zorwhax in the flaz field...

Originally Posted by gtgeorge

Don't forget to ask HG via support ticket to have your reverse dns setup You won't be able to do this step yourself

???????

[gtgeorge]

reverse dns is best set for the hostname you picked for your server. The Planet has a CP that allows you to set it whereas we have to ask HG to put in the request for us. It will show up as your mailserver.

It is also required to be set based on a domain you control to be able to get set up with AOL's feedback loop if you choose to do so. Go to dnsstuff.com and do a reverse dns lookup. You will see the same thing that you commented on in another thread concerning your mx record.

[gwyneth]

Originally Posted by gtgeorge

reverse dns is best set for the hostname you picked for your server. The Planet has a CP that allows you to set it whereas we have to ask HG to put in the request for us. It will show up as your mailserver.

It is also required to be set based on a domain you control to be able to get set up with AOL's feedback loop if you choose to do so. Go to dnsstuff.com and do a reverse dns lookup. You will see the same thing that you commented on in another thread concerning your mx record.

Are you saying that it's ok to keep the two mx records if one of them is the planets? Or that this gives me the ability to change it but others can't?

I am really fried, and still can't get around to the stuff that I have to do when all this setup is done. (Though the good thing is that it makes getting a mere shopping cart going seem straightforward by comparison...I never thought anything would.)

[gtgeorge]

I have no idea about the mx records. I believe all of ours are set for the individual domain names. The PTR record is what determines the result when doing a reverse DNS. I don't qualify to be a dns king or even feel qualified to answer any dns questions, but I found out about the PTR when trying to do a whois and also when I put in for Aol's feedback loop

[gwyneth]

Originally Posted by gtgeorge

I have no idea about the mx records. I believe all of ours are set for the individual domain names. The PTR record is what determines the result when doing a reverse DNS. I don't qualify to be a dns king or even feel qualified to answer any dns questions, but I found out about the PTR when trying to do a whois and also when I put in for Aol's feedback loop

My test domain passes the reverse lookup part of dnsreport and the two mx servers seem to be ok (spforg's wizard says they're just different names for the same server).

[slapshotw]

What he's saying is that it's better if when people reverse dns your IP, they get the hostname for your server...whatever you named it. Ask HG support to do this for you.

For the mx: yes, they point to the same server. But you should still look at changing the default so that it uses the custom ones. Makes everything cleaner that way.

[gtgeorge]

Originally Posted by slapshotw

What he's saying is that it's better if when people reverse dns your IP, they get the hostname for your server...whatever you named it. Ask HG support to do this for you.

For the mx: yes, they point to the same server. But you should still look at changing the default so that it uses the custom ones. Makes everything cleaner that way.

Thanks Steve, you are so much better gifted than I at explaining what I just couldn't put together into words. I am about delirious from working on the server in between clients work That and my real job! Now off to try to get an understanding of iptables...got a quick crash course and a bottle of caffeine

[slapshotw]

Originally Posted by gtgeorge

Thanks Steve

I actually use the traditional spelling of my name, M-A-T-T.

[gwyneth]

Thanks, Steve, I needed that laugh.

[gtgeorge]

Originally Posted by slapshotw

I actually use the traditional spelling of my name, M-A-T-T.

OOOps not sure where that came from ;( Thankfully I got some sleep last night!

[gwyneth]

Anyway, the DNS king idea wasn't just for me.

The single thing that helped me the most so far was quietFinn's screen shot of a portion of the zone editor with the settings for Osiron.

If, anywhere, there something that had the screen shots for WHM, saying, put this there, things would be a whole lot easier.

[Sam]

Originally Posted by gwyneth

If, anywhere, there something that had the screen shots for WHM, saying, put this there, things would be a whole lot easier.

No screenshots, but this is helpfull for getting started -> www.cpanel.net/docs/whm

[slapshotw]

Originally Posted by gwyneth

If, anywhere, there something that had the screen shots for WHM, saying, put this there, things would be a whole lot easier.

What else are you still having trouble with?

[gwyneth]

Originally Posted by slapshotw

What else are you still having trouble with?

_Sam_, that thing never finishes loading on my dialup connection.

Matt, I'll know more in a bit. But meanwhile, this:

1) does the hostname.maindomain.org need a separate DNS zone?

2) Are the settings in Server Configuration (which I mistakenly said I didn't have in one of the dedi threads) for nameservers, and their accompanying buttons for Assign IP Address and Add An A Entry the things that populate the appropriate fields in Edit Zone and are they the same as Add An A Entry for Your Host Name in DNS Functions?

It is somewhat user-hostile for the hostname to be handled in three different places--Basic cPanel/WHM Setup, in Server Configuration; Hostname, in Networking Setup; and Add an A Entry for Your Hostname, in DNS Functions.

Similarly, the nameservers are also handled in three places (Basic cPanel/WHM Setup, in Server Configuration; Nameserver IPs, in Networking Setup; and Nameserver Setup, in Service Configuration, which just enables nameservers) plus the confusing options in account setup for those nameservers.

Moreover, anything entered in those places can be changed/screwed up in Edit Zone for any zone.

No wonder there's a Synchronize DNS Records function!

[slapshotw]

Originally Posted by gwyneth

1) does the hostname.maindomain.org need a separate DNS zone?

No. The only thing it should have is an A record entry in the zone for maindomain.org.

2) Are the settings in Server Configuration....

When you fill out the fields for primary and secondary nameservers in Basic cPanel/WHM setup, you are telling WHM what default nameservers to give new accounts/zones when you make them. You can then edit the zone if they need to be changed.

When you press "assign IP address," you're letting the server give those nameservers IP addresses and tell them to you. I then wouldn't bother with the "add an A entry" buttons. Just add A records for ns1, ns2, and your server hostname in maindomain.org's DNS zone manually.

The settings on that screen are then saved when you scroll down and hit "save," not when you press those accompanying buttons.

It is somewhat user-hostile....

Don't confuse the two very different functions of:

1. Making settings and defaults on the server
2. Creating a proper DNS zone so that other computers on the internet can properly resolve your nameserver hostnames, and your server hostname, to the associated IP.

Hope that helps!

-Matt