DNS/Nameserver black arts

[DRYALLS]

I've read the manuals, I've watched the flash movies, I've looked at the howtos, I've looked at others questions but still I am completely confused.

So let me say what I'd like to do, and hopefully somebody can tell me exactly how.

Currently I have 4 domains all running on the same IP (in WHM/CPanel). Each domain is its own virtual host.

The first domain (domain1) is registered at easyspace

The other domains (domain11, domain12, domain13) are registered at various registrars with name servers of ns1.domain1.com and ns2.domain1.com

I have bought a dedicated serverrunning PLESK. It has an IP address (IP1). I have gotten a second IP (IP2) to use for domain1, domain11, domain 12, and domain 13. And I have been allocated 2 further IPs (IP3 and IP4) for ns1.domain1.com and ns2.domain1.com

So, what do my DNS settings need to look like in PLESK for domain1?

And what do my domain settings need to look like for the other 3?

Where do I add the nameserver entries? In all the DNS tables or just domain1?

Which are masters and which are slaves? Which should be anabled and which should be disabled?

And when all this is set up correctly, I'm expecting that all I need to do is to change the nameservers at Easyspace for domain1, and eventually the www will learn where the new ns1.domain1.com and ns2.domain1.com name servers are, so that the new locations for the other 3 domains will propogate without needing to involve their registrar?

 

[phoenixisp]

More than likely IP1 is the IP for shared hosting. You can check by logging into the control panel, click Server - IP Adresses and see which IP does not look like a crown. If I'm right about this just save IP2 in case you need an exclusive IP in the future. Assuming IP1 is the shared hosting IP, let's setup domain1.com first

domain1.com NS ns1.domain1.com
domain1.com NS ns2.domain1.com
domain1.com A IP1.xxx.xxx.xxx
www.domain1.com CNAME IP1.xxx.xxx.xxx
ftp.domain1.com CNAME IP1.xxx.xxx.xxx
mail.domain1.com A IP1.xxx.xxx.xxx
domain1.com MX mail.domain1.com
ns1.domain1.com A IP3.xxx.xxx.xxx
ns2.domain1.com A IP4.xxx.xxx.xxx
domain1.com PTR IP1.xxx.xxx.xxx

Then for each other domain set them up like this:

domain2.com NS ns1.domain1.com
domain2.com NS ns2.domain1.com
domain2.com A IP1.xxx.xxx.xxx
www.domain2.com CNAME IP1.xxx.xxx.xxx
ftp.domain2.com CNAME IP1.xxx.xxx.xxx
mail.domain2.com A IP1.xxx.xxx.xxx
domain2.com MX mail.domain1.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------

domain3.com NS ns1.domain1.com
domain3.com NS ns2.domain1.com
domain3.com A IP1.xxx.xxx.xxx
www.domain3.com CNAME IP1.xxx.xxx.xxx
ftp.domain3.com CNAME IP1.xxx.xxx.xxx
mail.domain3.com A IP1.xxx.xxx.xxx
domain3.com MX mail.domain1.com
-------------------------------------------------------------
domain4.com NS ns1.domain1.com
domain4.com NS ns2.domain1.com
domain4.com A IP1.xxx.xxx.xxx
www.domain4.com CNAME IP1.xxx.xxx.xxx
ftp.domain4.com CNAME IP1.xxx.xxx.xxx
mail.domain4.com A IP1.xxx.xxx.xxx
domain4.com MX mail.domain1.com

Once you do this and change the nameservers with your registrars it could take up to 48 hours to propagate throughout the web.

 

[DRYALLS]

Thank you thank you thank you. Nothing could have explained it more clearly. However .....

IP1 came with the server. IP2, 3 & 4 were requested by me for these domains and name servers.

Do I *have* to use IP1 that came with the server for my domain1? It's the one I'm forced to use for PLESK access and I want to keep it private.

And to clarify, all the PLESK DNS settings are 'masters' for each domain? I don't have to make any of them 'slaves'?

And I only have to inform the domain1 registrar?

 

[phoenixisp]

Yes, that's the one you use for shared hosting. In fact, I forgot an entry for domain1.com DNS. What is your system's hostname? It can be found through shell. Just do:
#hostname

It should come back with something like:
# hostname host.domain1.com

or something similar. Once you find the hostname you'll need to enter an A record for it.

Nah, with both IPs on the same machine you'll be OK.

And finally, no - you need to set each domain's (domain1.com through domain4.com) nameservers to ns1.domain1.com and ns2.domain.com.

Hope I didn't forget anything else.

 

[DRYALLS]

Thank you. Now I am starting to get confused again.

The hostname does not have .domain1.com in it. With many PLESK clients and domains eventually going to be on the server, does it *have* to have domain1.com in it? At the moment it's of the form foo.ev1servers.net

The domain11 domain12 and domain13 ALREADY have entries with their registrar that say the name servers are nsX.domain1.com. Do I have to tell the registrar *again* to trigger them reresolving to the new IP, or will the www just 'learn'.

 

[phoenixisp]

Unfortunately I am not familiar with how ev1 works. I imagine you would need to change the hostname (foo gives it away), but then again I'm not sure. Why don't you contact them and see what they say about the server's hostname and nameservers. They might be a "standard" ev1 setup.

 

[DRYALLS]

Thank you. FYI when they (ev1) set up a server up for you, as soon as you start up PLESK for the first time, you are asked to choose a hostname. The default is PLESK.ev1servers.net.

As there will be lots of domains on the server, it's difficult to know which domain should be part of the hostname.

I will ask them as you suggest.

 

[DRYALLS]

I've got this fixed now. For the record, I had a step missing. I needed to ask my registrar to add the custom name servers to my domain at their registry.

The hostname is a red herring, but it does generate a few warnings at www.dnsreport.com