Domain w/ M.LionSvr

[iampaulb]

I have set up my server pretty well, i have set it up under the "local network and using VPN" setting...

but i seem to read most places, people have set it up with a domain name.

is this a case of going to somewhere like godaddy and buying a domain name to set it up with?

Can someone explain the difference between the two settings please...FYI I plan on setting up a VPN also.

 

[ghellquist]

Domain names are like the current website called "macrumors.com". You pay a yearly rent for the domain name.

On the internet a computer has an IP address, often written something like 118.11.103.12 ( Note I just made up the address ) .

So, if you know the IP address you can connect to the various services on the server from anywhere in the internet world. If you do not want to remember the IP address, the domain name can be given instead. Functions in the net does the lookup for you, the function you see is called DNS.

So basically, if you want your computer to have a globally known domain name, you have to rent the name and also rent the translation service (storing your domain name and the ranslation into IP address) from someone "on the net". There are service companies that does this for a fee.

But, for a server at home, there often is an additional complication as the IP address is not static. Instead you get a temporary IP address which might change once a day or so. Some internet carries allows you to pay extra for a static address.

Even if you cannot get a fixed IP address from your internet carrier, there are solutions.

But, it is not uncommon for your internet carrier to block incoming calls to your server, unless you pay extra charges.

Beeing a server owner can sometimes be a bit complicated.

// Gunnar

 

[iampaulb]

so if i bought a domain name such as homeserver.net i could use that as my host name for the server?

 

[switon]

RE: Domain names...

so if i bought a domain name such as homeserver.net i could use that as my host name for the server?

Hi lampaulb,

Yes, if you "buy" a domainname from some registry service, then you could refer to your server from the Internet by its domainname instead of by its IP address. There are alternatives for some but not all residential accounts including ones whose IP addresses are not static. (As long as your ISP does not block the "server ports" incoming to your residential IP address, then this should work. Some ISPs block the so-called server ports and want to charge customers additional fees to open these ports -- usually known as a business or commercial account.)

So, if you ISP does not block your server ports, then you can obtain a domainname and use it for access from the Internet. There are services that provide "free" domainnames, such as no-ip.com and dyn.com. These services actually provide dynamic domainnames, so if your ISP changes your residential IP address, the new IP address is automatically updated for your domainname.

Personally, I would run your own DNS server at home to generate hostnames for your devices on your local LAN, such as "AppleTV.homeserver.private", "BigNAS.homeserver.private", and "MyMBP.homeserver.private". This way you can access these devices by name and not by LAN IP address. You could then VPN into your LAN from your LAN using these local hostnames. In addition, you would have a registered domainname, say "MyHomeServer.dyndns.com", that allows you to VPN into your home LAN from anywhere on the Internet using its domainname and not its Internet IP address. Once you VPN into your home LAN from the Internet using "MyHomeServer.dyndns.com", you can then refer to your devices by their local hostnames, such as "BigNAS.homeserver.private".

Regards,
Switon

 

[iampaulb]

So if i went with something like this, it would be ok?

But then the DNS in Mountain Lion server...would that still need to be switched on? or does the server i potentially buy with the domain name do my dns for me?

 

[switon]

RE: local caching DNS server...

So if i went with something like this, it would be ok?

But then the DNS in Mountain Lion server...would that still need to be switched on? or does the server i potentially buy with the domain name do my dns for me?

Hi lampaulb,

The DNS service you purchase for your domainname does the DNS to get back to your server from the Internet. You still use your ML OS X Server software to provide a local DNS service for your local network (LAN). The ML OS X Server's DNS server thus supplies local hostnames for your devices on your local network, and when a request comes into your local DNS that it cannot handle (such as a request for an Internet website), it forwards the request to its "next upstream" DNS server, and so forth until the request is filled. Your local DNS server also acts as a caching DNS server, thus multiple requests for the same domainname's address are filled faster since the results are cached by your DNS server and the requests are filled by your DNS server instead of having to go out to the Internet DNS servers with every request. This speeds your access to the Internet. This is the other reason why running your own DNS server is useful (beyond supplying hostnames for your local devices), its acts as a caching DNS server for your LAN's devices, speeding your Internet access.

Regards,
Switon

P.S. I would "shop around" for better pricing than what you show on your application. There are numerous service companies available, all with their own pricing and each providing slightly different capabilities. You can even find "free" dynamic DNS services, albeit with limited capabilities and naming.

 

[iampaulb]

thanks swinton! Ill look into it