13 Mar 10 What is Free DNS? Which types of Resource Records does ResellerClub allow?
The Domain Name System [DNS] is a distributed database, arranged hierarchically, containing records for domain names. The DNS system’s main aim is to match a domain name to an IP Address. In order to fulfill this role, the DNS Server contains Records [called Resource Records] in a Zone File, which contains the domain name and IP address mappings for computers contained within that Zone. All Resource Records have a TTL [Time To Live], specifying the number of seconds other DNS servers and applications are allowed to cache the record.
Most Web Hosting companies do not provide you with an interface to manage your own DNS Records and/or the ability to select multiple providers for various Services like Web Hosting, Mail Hosting, etc..
Gossimer, LLC gives you complete control over the following Resource Records by using our Free DNS Service:
I. Address Record [A Record]
The A Record is the most basic and the most important DNS record type. They are used to translate human friendly domain names such as “www.domain.com” into IP-addresses such as 1.2.3.4 (machine friendly numbers).
When you wish to host your domain name, you will be provided with an IP address that needs to be set as an A Record for that particular domain name.
II. Mail Exchanger [MX] Record
A MX Record identifies the mail server(s) responsible for a domain name. When sending an e-mail to user@xyz.com, your mail server must first look up the MX Record for xyz.com to see which mail server actually handles mail for xyz.com (this could be mail.xyz.com – or someone else’s mail server like mail.isp.com). Then it looks up the A Record for the mail server to connect to its IP-address.
A MX Record has a Preference number indicating the order in which the mail server should be used (only relevant when multiple MX Records are defined for the same domain name). Mail servers will attempt to deliver mail to the server with the lowest preference number first, and if unsuccessful continue with the next lowest and so on.
III. Canonical Name [Alias / CNAME] Record
CNAME Records are domain name aliases. Often computers on the Internet have multiple functions such as Web Server, FTP Server, Chat Server, etc. To mask this, CNAME Records can be used, to give a single computer multiple names (aliases).
Sometimes companies register their multiple domain names for their brand-names but still wish to maintain a single website. In such cases, a CNAME Record maybe used to forward traffic to their actual website. For example, www.abc.in could be CNAMEd to www.abc.com.
The most popular use of the CNAME Record type, is to provide access to a Web Server using both the standard www.domain.com and domain.com (without the www). This is usually done by adding a CNAME-record for the www name pointing to the short name [while creating an A Record for the short name (without www)].
CNAME Records can also be used when a computer or service needs to be renamed, to temporarily allow access through both the old and new name.
IV. Authoritative Name Server [NS] Record
NS Records identify DNS servers responsible (authoritative) for a Zone. A Zone should contain one NS Record for each of its own DNS servers (primary and secondaries). This mostly is used for Zone Transfer purposes (notify). These NS Records have the same name as the Zone in which they are located.
But the most important function of the NS Record is Delegation. Delegation means that part of a domain is delegated to other DNS servers.
You can also delegate sub-domains of your own domain name (such as subdomain.yourname.com) to other DNS servers. An NS Record identifies the name of a DNS server, not the IP Address. Because of this, it is important that an A Record for the referenced DNS server exists, otherwise there may not be any way to find that DNS server and communicate with it.
If a NS Record delegates a sub-domain (subdomain.yourname.com) to a DNS Server with a name in that sub-domain (ns1.subdomain.yourname.com), an A Record for that server (ns1.subdomain.yourname.com) must exist in the Parent Zone (yourname.com). This A Record is referred to as a Glue Record, because it doesn’t really belong in the Parent Zone, but is necessary to locate the DNS Server for the delegated sub-domain.
V. Text [TXT] RecordA Text Record provides the ability to associate some text with a domain or a subdomain. This text is meant to strictly provide information and has no functionality as such. A TXT Record can store upto 255 characters of free form text. This record is generally used to convey information about the zone. Multiple TXT records are permitted but their order is not necessarily retained.
For example, you may add a TXT Record for yourname.com with the value as “This is my mail server”. Here if anybody was checking ALL or TXT records of yourname.com, they would notice the above text appearing in the TXT record.
TXT Record is also used to implement the Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and DomainKeys specifications.
Sender Policy Framework (SPF)
Sender Policy Framework is an extension to the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). SPF allows software to identify and reject forged addresses in the SMTP MAIL FROM (Return-Path), a typical nuisance in e-mail spam.
SPF allows the owner of a domain to specify their mail sending policy, e.g. which mail servers they use to send mail from their domain. The technology requires two sides to work in tandem -
i. the domain owner publishes this information in an TXT Record in the domain’s DNS zone, and when someone else’s mail server receives a message claiming to come from that domain, then
ii. the receiving server can check whether the message complies with the domain’s stated policy. If, for example, the message comes from an unknown server, it can be considered a fake.
DomainKeys
DomainKeys is an e-mail authentication system (developed at Yahoo!) designed to verify the authenticity of the E-mail sender and the message integrity (i.e,. the message was not altered during transit). The DomainKeys specification has adopted aspects of Identified Internet Mail to create an enhanced protocol called DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM).
VI. Start of Authority [SOA] Parameters Each Zone contains one SOA Record, which holds the following parameters for the Zone -
Name of Primary DNS Server - The domain name of the Primary DNS Server for the Zone. The Zone should contain a matching NS Record.
Mailbox of the Responsible Person – The email address of the person responsible for maintenance of the Zone.
Serial Number - Used by Secondary DNS Servers to check if the Zone has changed. If the Serial Number is higher than what the Secondary Server has, a Zone Transfer will be initiated. This number is automatically increased by our Servers when changes to the Zone or its Records are made.
Refresh Interval - How often Secondary DNS Servers should check if changes are made to the zone.
Retry Interval - How often Secondary DNS Server should retry checking, if changes are made – if the first refresh fails.
Expire Interval - How long the Zone will be valid after a refresh. Secondary Servers will discard the Zone if no refresh could be made within this interval.
Minimum (Default) TTL - Used as the default TTL for new records created within the zone. Also used by other DNS Server to cache negative responses (such as record does not exist, etc.).
Tags: Complete Control, DNS system, Dns Record Type, Dns Records, Dns Server, Dns Servers, Domain Name System, Domain Names, E Mail, Free Dns Service, Ip Address, Ip Addresses, Mail Exchanger, Mail Server, Mail Servers, Mappings, Mx Record, Mx Records, Resource Records, Server Mail, Web Hosting Companies
09 Mar 10 What hostname do I use to connect to my MySQL database?
To connect to MySQL from your PHP/CGI scripts, you can use localhost as the hostname.
In order to connect from a remote host, you need to use the IP Address of your hosting package to establish the connection. You can find this on the Order Details page in your Control Panel.
Tags: CGI, Cgi Scripts, Control Panel, Ip Address, Mysql Database, Mysql Php, Mysql Scripts, Php, Php Scripts
07 Mar 10 Using the IP Deny Manager to manage access to your website
By default, your website becomes visible to all people browsing the Internet. Typically, large websites running forums, blogs, ecommerce activities, etc. are prone to abuse from spammers, people posting malicious content, etc., causing disruption of website services. The most effective method of dealing with such nuisance is to deny access to your website from such mischief mongers.
Using Gossimer’s IP Deny Manager tool within your Web Hosting Control Panel, you can easily control access to your website based on the visitor’s IP Address. Moreover, you may deny access from all IP Addresses of a particular block of IP Addresses, if you are receiving constant abuse from the entire range of IP Addresses.
Follow the process listed below to block/allow access to your website based on IP Addresses:
- Login to your Control Panel and search for the domain name for which you have purchased this hosting package. Click here to know how >>
- In the search results view, click on the domain name. This will take you to the Order Details View.
- Click on Manage Web Hosting Service in the lower toolbar.
- In the Website Management interface pop-up that follows,
go to Manage Website -> IP Deny Manager, if you have a Windows web hosting package
or
go to Manage Website -> Web Server Manager -> IP Deny Manager, if you have a Linux web hosting package
- From this interface, you may either restrict access to your website or allow previously blocked IP Addresses to access your website. a. Restricting Access to your website – You may mention either one or more individual IP Addresses, or entire Blocks of IP Addresses on individual lines.
Examples
i. If you wish to block a single IP Address, simply input the same in the textbox as
1.1.1.1
ii. If you wish to block multiple individual IP Addresses, then you may mention them on separate lines
2.2.2.2
3.3.3.3iii. If you wish to block an entire range of IP Addresses, then you may mention them as
4.4.4.*
5.5.*.*
6.*.*.*IMPORTANT1. Use extreme caution when deciding to deny access to entire range of IP Addresses, as you might end up denying access to your genuine visitors.
2. IP Address of the type *.*.*.* is not allowed.
b. Allowing Access to your website - If you wish to enable access to a previously blocked IP Address, then you need to simply select that IP Address in the textbox and press the Delete key on your computer’s keyboard.
- Clicking on the Submit button would save all your settings.
In order to complete the action in case of Linux Hosting, the Web Server needs to be restarted. Random restarts affect other services running on the Server. In order to avoid this, the Server has been scheduled to restart at intervals of 20 minutes. Hence, the changes might take upto 20 minutes to be effective.
Tags: Block Ip, Browsing The Internet, Details View, Disruption, Ecommerce Activities, Gossimer, Gt Web, Ip Address, Ip Addresses, IP Deny Manager, Ip Tool, Linux, Linux Web, Manage Web Hosting Service, Management Interface, Manager Tool, Microsoft Windows, Mischief, Nuisance, Web Hosting Control, Web Hosting Control Panel, Web Hosting package, Web Hosting Service, Web Server, Web Server Manager, Website Management, website services
02 Mar 10 Adding a partial wild-carded Address record
Our Managed DNS service currently does not support partial wildcards in Address (A) Records. For instance, consider the following example, where Managed DNS services are purchased for domainname.com:
Domain name: domainname.com
Go to Manage DNS Records, and add the following A record
Hostname: *.something.domainname.com
Destination IP Address: 203.199.114.89
The system will throw an exception: Invalid Name *.something for A Records
In order to circumvent this, you would have to add a new Managed DNS Order for something.domainname.com, and create the wild-carded A record here, as below.
Domain name: something.domainname.com
Hostname: *.something.domainname.com
Destination IP Address: 203.199.114.89
Now, abc.something.domainname.com will point to 203.199.114.89
Tags: Abc, Address Record, DNS, Dns Records, Dns Service, Domain Name, Domainname, Invalid Name, Ip Address, Wildcards
28 Feb 10 Redirect Manager
The Redirect Manager (available ONLY with our Linux Hosting Packages) in your Control Panel gives you the ability to seamlessly forward requests for any local folder, sub-folder or file on your website to another Domain name, URL or IP address. For example, if you want http://www.your-domain-name.com/somepath to redirect to http://www.some-other-domain.com, then you can use the Redirect Manager to define a rule for this. It is very easy-to-use, and allows you to add as many such web forwarding rules as you want.
Enabling Redirection
1. Login to your Control Panel and search for the domain name for which you have purchased this hosting package. Click here to read how >>
2. In the search results view, click on the domain name. This will take you to the order details view.
3. Click on Manage Web Hosting Service in the lower toolbar.
4. In the Website Management interface pop-up that follows, go to Manage Website -> Web Server Manager -> Redirect Manager -> Add Redirect.
5. Here, specify the following details:
- Redirect from URL: The URL on your website which you wish to redirect
- Redirect to URL: The destination URL to which you wish to redirect
6. Click on Submit.
Modifying Redirection
1. Perform steps 1-3 mentioned in the above process.
2. In the Website Management interface pop-up that follows, go to Manage Website -> Web Server Manager -> Redirect Manager -> List Redirects.
3. Click on the Redirect From link to go to the Redirect Details page for that specific redirection.
4. You can modify the Redirect To URL field value.
5. Click on Submit.
Disabling Redirection
1. Perform steps 1-2 mentioned in the above (modifying redirection) process.
2. Select the checkbox adjacent to one or more redirects, which you wish to disable.
3. Click on Delete button and confirm the action by clicking on OK.
4. Click on Delete to provide the final approval for deletion.
In order to complete the action, the Web Server needs to be restarted. Random restarts affect other services running on the Server. In order to avoid this, the Server has been scheduled to restart at intervals of 20 minutes. Hence, each one of the above mentioned actions might take upto 20 minutes to be effective.
Tags: Checkbox, Control Panel, Destination Url, Details View, Domain Address, Domain Name, Final Approval, Forward Requests, Gt 2, Gt Web, Ip Address, Linux, Manage Web Hosting Service, Management Interface, Manager, Redirect Manager, Redirect Url, Search Domain, View 3, web forwarding, Web Hosting Service, Web Redirect, Web Server, Web Server Manager, Website Management
17 Feb 10 IMPORTANT: API Abuse
- If any Reseller exceeds the limit for number of calls defined in our OrderBox API Acceptable Usage Policy (AUP), their IP address will be temporarily blocked from accessing our servers, for a period of 24 hrs. During this time, they will be unable to make any calls to our Servers using the API. This block will be automatically cleared after 24 hrs and a notification to that effect will be sent to them. However repeated abuse will result in permanent blocking of the account.
- Moreover, if the number of simultaneous connections from a single IP Address, increases beyond a certain number, OrderBox would automatically drop these excessive connections of that Reseller.
Tags: Acceptable Usage Policy, Api, Ip Address, Orderbox, Servers, Simultaneous Connections
12 Feb 10 What is Managed DNS? Which types of Resource Records does Gossimer allow?
The Domain Name System [DNS] is a distributed database, arranged hierarchically, containing records for domain names. The DNS system’s main aim is to match a domain name to an IP Address. In order to fulfill this role, the DNS Server contains Records [called Resource Records] in a Zone File, which contains the domain name and IP address mappings for computers contained within that Zone. All Resource Records have a TTL [Time To Live], specifying the number of seconds other DNS servers and applications are allowed to cache the record.
Most Web Hosting companies do not provide you with an interface to manage your own DNS Records and/or the ability to select multiple providers for various Services like Web Hosting, Mail Hosting, etc..
Gossimer gives you complete control over the following Resource Records by using our Managed DNS Service:
I. Address Record [A Record]
The A Record is the most basic and the most important DNS record type. They are used to translate human friendly domain names such as “www.domain.com” into IP-addresses such as 1.2.3.4 (machine friendly numbers).
When you wish to host your domain name, you will be provided with an IP address that needs to be set as an A Record for that particular domain name.
II. Mail Exchanger [MX] Record
A MX Record identifies the mail server(s) responsible for a domain name. When sending an e-mail to user@xyz.com, your mail server must first look up the MX Record for xyz.com to see which mail server actually handles mail for xyz.com (this could be mail.xyz.com – or someone else’s mail server like mail.isp.com). Then it looks up the A Record for the mail server to connect to its IP-address.
A MX Record has a Preference number indicating the order in which the mail server should be used (only relevant when multiple MX Records are defined for the same domain name). Mail servers will attempt to deliver mail to the server with the lowest preference number first, and if unsuccessful continue with the next lowest and so on.
III. Canonical Name [Alias / CNAME] Record
CNAME Records are domain name aliases. Often computers on the Internet have multiple functions such as Web Server, FTP Server, Chat Server, etc. To mask this, CNAME Records can be used, to give a single computer multiple names (aliases).
Sometimes companies register their multiple domain names for their brand-names but still wish to maintain a single website. In such cases, a CNAME Record maybe used to forward traffic to their actual website. For example, www.abc.in could be CNAMEd to www.abc.com.
The most popular use of the CNAME Record type, is to provide access to a Web Server using both the standard www.domain.com and domain.com (without the www). This is usually done by adding a CNAME-record for the www name pointing to the short name [while creating an A Record for the short name (without www)].
CNAME Records can also be used when a computer or service needs to be renamed, to temporarily allow access through both the old and new name.
IV. Authoritative Name Server [NS] Record
NS Records identify DNS servers responsible (authoritative) for a Zone. A Zone should contain one NS Record for each of its own DNS servers (primary and secondaries). This mostly is used for Zone Transfer purposes (notify). These NS Records have the same name as the Zone in which they are located.
But the most important function of the NS Record is Delegation. Delegation means that part of a domain is delegated to other DNS servers.
You can also delegate sub-domains of your own domain name (such as subdomain.yourname.com) to other DNS servers. An NS Record identifies the name of a DNS server, not the IP Address. Because of this, it is important that an A Record for the referenced DNS server exists, otherwise there may not be any way to find that DNS server and communicate with it.
If a NS Record delegates a sub-domain (subdomain.yourname.com) to a DNS Server with a name in that sub-domain (ns1.subdomain.yourname.com), an A Record for that server (ns1.subdomain.yourname.com) must exist in the Parent Zone (yourname.com). This A Record is referred to as a Glue Record, because it doesn’t really belong in the Parent Zone, but is necessary to locate the DNS Server for the delegated sub-domain.
V. Text [TXT] Record
A Text Record provides the ability to associate some text with a domain or a subdomain. This text is meant to strictly provide information and has no functionality as such. A TXT Record can store upto 255 characters of free form text. This record is generally used to convey information about the zone. Multiple TXT records are permitted but their order is not necessarily retained.
For example, you may add a TXT Record for yourname.com with the value as “This is my mail server”. Here if anybody was checking ALL or TXT records of yourname.com, they would notice the above text appearing in the TXT record.
TXT Record is also used to implement the Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and DomainKeys specifications.
Sender Policy Framework (SPF)
Sender Policy Framework is an extension to the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). SPF allows software to identify and reject forged addresses in the SMTP MAIL FROM (Return-Path), a typical nuisance in e-mail spam.
SPF allows the owner of a domain to specify their mail sending policy, e.g. which mail servers they use to send mail from their domain. The technology requires two sides to work in tandem -
i. the domain owner publishes this information in an TXT Record in the domain’s DNS zone, and when someone else’s mail server receives a message claiming to come from that domain, then
ii. the receiving server can check whether the message complies with the domain’s stated policy. If, for example, the message comes from an unknown server, it can be considered a fake.
DomainKeys
DomainKeys is an e-mail authentication system (developed at Yahoo!) designed to verify the authenticity of the E-mail sender and the message integrity (i.e,. the message was not altered during transit). The DomainKeys specification has adopted aspects of Identified Internet Mail to create an enhanced protocol called DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM).
VI. Start of Authority [SOA] Parameters
Each Zone contains one SOA Record, which holds the following parameters for the Zone -
Name of Primary DNS Server - The domain name of the Primary DNS Server for the Zone. The Zone should contain a matching NS Record.
Mailbox of the Responsible Person – The email address of the person responsible for maintenance of the Zone.
Serial Number - Used by Secondary DNS Servers to check if the Zone has changed. If the Serial Number is higher than what the Secondary Server has, a Zone Transfer will be initiated. This number is automatically increased by our Servers when changes to the Zone or its Records are made.
Refresh Interval - How often Secondary DNS Servers should check if changes are made to the zone.
Retry Interval - How often Secondary DNS Server should retry checking, if changes are made – if the first refresh fails.
Expire Interval - How long the Zone will be valid after a refresh. Secondary Servers will discard the Zone if no refresh could be made within this interval.
Minimum (Default) TTL - Used as the default TTL for new records created within the zone. Also used by other DNS Server to cache negative responses (such as record does not exist, etc.).
Tags: Complete Control, delegate, DNS, DNS system, Dns Record Type, Dns Records, Dns Server, Dns Servers, Dns Service, Domain Name System, Domain Names, Domain Owner, E Mail, Internet Mail, Ip Address, Mail Exchanger, Mail Hosting, Mail Server, Mail Servers, Mappings, Mx Record, Mx Records, Resource Records, Sending Mail, Server Mail, SOA, unknown server, Web Hosting, Web Hosting Companies, Web Mail, Web Server, www.abc.com, www.abc.in, www.domain.com, Yahoo!
Gossimer in the News
- Gossimer Puts Indian Domain Extensions Up for Sale February 21, 2010Gossimer, the fastest growing domain name registration and web hosting company has announced a sale on Indian domain extensions. During the promotion period, domains ending with .in will be offered at discounted price. [PR.com] […]
- Gossimer Unveils a New & Improved Payment System February 14, 2010The Melbourne-based (Florida) web hosting and domain name registration company Gossimer has announced the inclusion of three more payment options in its system. From today the customers and the web hosting resellers can use AlertPay, WebMoney, and Liberty Reserve to pay for the domain registration as well as web hosting services. Gossimer already offered Pay […]
- Gossimer Has Opened Its Treasure Chest for Webhost Resellers January 16, 2010Gossimer, the fast growing domain name registration and web hosting company has yet again opened its door of their reseller program. This program offers a comprehensive web hosting product portfolio for resellers and resellers of Gossimer’s resellers. [PR.com] […]
- Gossimer Invites Customers to Try Digital Certificates for Free January 2, 2010Gossimer, the fastest growing domain name registration and web hosting company is offering 21 days free trial on digital certificates. This trail will allow webmasters to understand the role Https plays in building visitors’ confidence in their website. [PR.com] […]
- Gossimer Announces Special Domain Name Registration Deals December 25, 2009Gossimer, the fastest growing domain name registration and web hosting company has announced a special deal on 12 top domain extensions and that includes some CTLDs as well. This promotion is available on the registration of new domain names, and you can register as many domains as you want. [PR.com] […]
- Gossimer Announced a Transfer-in Domain Promotion to Allow Customers to Consolidate Their Domains Into One Account November 7, 2009Save money on domain name transfer to Gossimer. Gossimer is currently running an attractive promotion on domain transfer-in that will save a lot of money for the domain portfolio builder. You can transfer as many domains as you wish under this promotion. [PR.com] […]
- Gossimer Became Reseller of the Month for October October 17, 2009October brings another piece of good news for Gossimer. The fastest growing web hosting and domain name registration company has been chosen as the Reseller of the month for October by ResellerClub. [PR.com] […]
- Gossimer Offers One Year Free Extension on Domain Transfer October 3, 2009Gossimer, the fastest growing domain name registration company, is offering one year free extension with every domain name transferred to its system. This service when coupled with other services puts Gossimer in the position of price leadership. The company offers the most economic rate for domain name registration and webhosting services. [PR.com] […]
- New Deals Make Gossimer Bigger, Better and Smarter October 2, 2009October is going to be hot with offers, extended support, and enhanced serviceability, as Gossimer has acquired HiTek Networks, and launched new and improved Support desk. The web hosting world is abuzz by the two important developments in Gossimer. [PR.com] […]
- Gossimer Offers Unlimited E-mails for $1 September 28, 2009Gossimer, the fastest growing domain name and webhosting company, has announced a no-upgrade “The Ultimate Email Plan” that will give the buyer an access to unlimited email accounts for just $1/month. [PR.com] […]
Gossimer Promotions and Announcements
- TechSupport Notifications February 28, 2010Technical support information and notifications […]
- PHP4 Discontinuation - 18th September September 7, 2009As announced earlier, PHP4 will not be supported on our Linux Hosting Servers from the 18th of September, 2009. Please pass on this information to your Customers and Resellers to ensure that they can update their websites to work with PHP5. […]
- .CN Launch - Coming Soon August 16, 2009We are glad to announce the launch of .CN - the most popular and fastest growing ccTLD worldwide. The .CN domain extension has seen an exemplary growth since its launch throughout the world. Earlier this year, .CN crossed over 13 million registrations to become the second most registered domain extension after .COM. Moreover, with China now representing the […]
- Live Chat Product Discontinuation - Moved to 18th August August 16, 2009Based on feedback that we received from several Resellers, we have decided to postpone the Live Chat discontinuation to the August of 18th, 2009 at 12:30 UTC. From the 18th of August, it will not be possible to purchase new Live Chat packages but exisiting packages will continue to function normally. […]