How to point to another server...

Hello Everyone,

I have look at all of these posts until my eyes almost crossed. I hope you don't mind me asking this question. I hope I'm not repeating an old question. Anyway, I have set up a new account through DA for a client, mainly for the email services we provide. Their website will be left on another webserver (other than ours) and I need to point an "A" record (I think) to the other server. Exactly how do I do this? What does the new record point to? Their old IP address? To be clear, I only want the website location to change.

Thanks for the input!

DNS Rookie <<<

Under DNS you create an A record pointing to the IP# assigned by whoever is running the other server.

And you verify that his registrar is pointing to you for DNS servers and not to whoever runs the other server.

Jeff

Hey Jeff...

Thanks for the help. Now, just to be clear for me, we're talking about the IP that the other server has assigned to their site... right? (Not the server's IP.) However, I assume it may be tricky(er) if it is a name based site? Is this a fair assumption?

Thanks Again! I hate to be so dense... I always get mixed up on this DNS stuff

nhouse said:

Thanks for the help. Now, just to be clear for me, we're talking about the IP that the other server has assigned to their site... right?

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Right.

(Not the server's IP.)

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It could be the same as the server's IP#.

However, I assume it may be tricky(er) if it is a name based site? Is this a fair assumption?

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I'll never forget the quote (from the movie "Bless the Beasts and the Childre") "When you assume you make an "ass" out of "u" and "me" .

It makes no difference at all whether the site is name-based or IP# based.

The IP# is strictly to get the browser to the right computer. Once it's at the right computer Apache (the httpd daemon) uses the host-header to see which directory structure to use for delivering pages.

See: http://httpd.apache.org/docs/vhosts/name-based.html for more information.

Thanks Again! I hate to be so dense... I always get mixed up on this DNS stuff

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Don't feel alone; I've written a book on DNS (never published), and it still confuses me quite a bit. I made a fool of myself a few weeks ago on the BIND-users list; I may never live that one down .

But this case is pretty simple; the IP# directs the browser to the server. In the case of IP-based hosting it also directs the right pages to the browser. But in the case of name-based hosting it's the host-header that directs the right pages to the browser.

You might want to get both "DNS for Dummies" and "Apache for Dummies" . They're not just for dummies; I've got a whole yellow bookshelf .

Jeff

Thanks again! you know... I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of the concepts of how things work... I just want to be cautious with this client. Hmmm, maybe I have DNS dyslexia? Heh...

Oh, I have a few of those Dummy books... and Idiot ones as well... I suppose I need to add to the old library.