name server question

crockett

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Joined
Dec 18, 2008
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5
I just picked up a new server and I'm using DA with it. The host set up one domain for me and used it for the name servers. Both name servers are on the same ip.

I was wondering if I can do this for each IP that is on my machine? Lets say I have 30 IP's, can I set up a main domain on each IP then create name servers using that domain and single IP?

I've always assumed name servers required 2 seprate IP's and this is the first time I've ever seen them set up on a single IP.
 
Nameservers should be on two different ip addresses. Using the same ip address is pointless. When you register domains you are usually required to enter two nameservers anyways.
 
Nameservers should be on two different ip addresses. Using the same ip address is pointless. When you register domains you are usually required to enter two nameservers anyways.

Yea but I don't enter a IP address at my registrar.. I enter this..

ns1.mynameserver.com
ns2.mynameserver.com

So what diffrence would it make if they are both on the same ip or not? As far as pointless, why is it pointless? I'm not a big time server tech or anything so if you wouldn't mind saying why it's pointless.
 
Some registrars make you enter ip address as well as the host. Its pointless because it offers no redundancy at all. If your isp blacklisted one of your ips for some reason it would mean your dns would be down. But if you had a 2nd ip it would still be working. They actually recommend the 2 nameservers be on different subnets but that is not always possible. Anyways the ips of the nameservers should come from the registrar where you registered the nameservers not from your da box.
 
Some registrars make you enter ip address as well as the host. Its pointless because it offers no redundancy at all. If your isp blacklisted one of your ips for some reason it would mean your dns would be down. But if you had a 2nd ip it would still be working. They actually recommend the 2 nameservers be on different subnets but that is not always possible. Anyways the ips of the nameservers should come from the registrar where you registered the nameservers not from your da box.

ok thanks for explaining. My registrars don't require the actual IP address as I've always only entered the ns1. ns2. for the name servers so that part wouldn't affect me.

However I do get what you are saying about the second ip for redundancy. I've always just used my Host's standard name servers in the past, this was the first server I've had that I had access to easily make my own name servers, so I was wondering about my options.
 
ok thanks for explaining. My registrars don't require the actual IP address as I've always only entered the ns1. ns2. for the name servers so that part wouldn't affect me.
Oh, but that part affects you most.

The registrar where you register your nameservers must require the IP#, because it has to create a record for the nameserver on the second level DNS servers. For .com and .net domains, that's the ?.gtld-servers.net servers, where the ? is replaced by the letters of the different servers used.

Otherwise you've given the DNS system an impossible task:

For example, I want to know the address of your domain, so I look it up. I get the name of your nameserver, which has the same domain name. But I can't find it's nameservers because they only exist in your zone file, and I can't find your zone file, because I can't find your nameservers.

There's a big difference between listing two nameservers for a domain name, and creating those nameservers in the first place. Listing the nameservers requires (for most registrars) only the name; since the IP# could change there's no reason to have it. It's looked up in the gtld servers.

Creating the nameservers must require the IP# because that's how you get the information into the gtld servers in the first place.

How you do that depends on which registrar you used.

The mynameserver.com domain is registered by 1&1 Internet; I don't know if they properly register nameservers or not. They may not, since they give away domain names and expect you to use them just to host domains.

If not you'll have to move the domain to a registrar that does.

What? You don't own mynameserver.com? I didn't think so, since it was registered ten years ago and you tell us you're a bit newer than that.

Then the question becomes, how do you expect us to help you if you give us incorrect information?

Jeff
 
Yea I was a bit confused because I had never messed with using my own name severs in the past. I didn't realize I had to register the domain as a name server at the registrar and set up the ip's.

I got it working once I figured it out. When I looked in DA it seemed like the name server was only using one IP but I didn't realize that I needed to register the name server at my registrar, but all is well and I have the initial domain up and running as well as my name servers. Anyway when I saw just the one IP I started thinking maybe I could easily run separate name servers with out using up 2 IP's each.
 
with out using up 2 IP's each

And just because you are using those ip's for nameserver records that doesn't mean you cannot use those ip's for other things or even other nameserver record. You can create records based on multiple domains using the same 2 ip's.

Ex.
ns1.domain.com 192.168.1.1
ns2.domain.com 192.168.1.2

ns1.domain2.com 192.168.1.1
ns2.domain2.com 192.168.1.2

Those ip's can also be used for web sites and mail and anything else on the server.

So if you have 2 ip's there is no point in only using one ip for nameserver records.
 
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