DNS and Nameservers
From SuperbHosting Support Wiki
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What is DNS?
DNS is also known as Domain Name Service or Domain Name Server.
The Domain Name System (DNS) helps users to find their way around the Internet. Every computer on the Internet has a unique address (just like a telephone number) which is a rather complicated string of numbers. It is called its IP address. But it is hard to remember everyone's IP address. The DNS makes it easier by allowing a familiar string of letters (the domain name) to be used instead of the arcane IP address. So instead of typing 66.201.69.207, you can type www.netlingo.com. It is a "mnemonic" device that makes addresses easier to remember.
Translating the name into the IP address is called "resolving the domain name." The goal of the DNS is for any Internet user any place in the world to reach a specific Web site IP address by entering its domain name. Domain names are also used for reaching e-mail addresses and for other Internet applications. The DNS is a static, hierarchical name service that uses TCP/IP hosts and is housed on a number of servers on the Internet.
When your account is set up, information about your domain name is added to our name servers. The information is then sent from us through the central Registry (like Verisign for .com names) for your domain to be used by the other nameservers on the Internet. This makes it possible for people to find and access your server on the Internet. It usually takes about 48 hours before nameservers on other networks will be able to access the information after the Registry for your domain gets it. This 48 hour period is referred to as propagation.
SuperbRegistrar provides five server names to use for DNS hosting. Below are two nameservers that you can use.
- ns1.superbregistrar.net
- ns2.superbregistrar.net
SuperbRegistrar provides these nameservers as a free service to users whose domains are registered with SuperbRegistrar. These servers will allow users to utilize SuperbRegistrar's many value-added services such as email forwarding, DNS zone files, free parking pages and more.
If your domain is registered with SuperbRegistrar and you wish to use these services, simply select the SuperbRegistrar when editing your DNS servers and they will automatically be added. Also, if you are a Superb Internet customer, please use Superb Internet's nameservers as listed below:
- ns1.superb.net
- ns2.superb.net
- ns3.superb.net
- ns4.superb.net
- ns5.superb.net
DNS Hosting is different from Web Hosting
SuperbRegistrar's DNS hosting service will allow you to use our DNS servers for your domain so that you may set up more advanced DNS records, email forwarding, and URL forwarding. These types of services and records would normally require the use of your own DNS server or a paid service offered by your web host, but SuperbRegistrar offers this for free to customers whose domains are registered with us. This is also available for a fee if you have a domain registered elsewhere but still wish to use our DNS.
Here are just a few of the things you can do with SuperbRegistrar's DNS hosting service:
- Set up URL and email forwarding
- Set up subdomains and other advanced alias records
- Configure specific MX records
This service is perfect if you intend to host your site on your own server but don't want to set up complicated DNS software or if you have a dynamic IP address.
SuperbRegistrar allows you to take advantage of our other value added services such as having a:
- Temporary Parking page until you are ready to set up your web site
- Temporary For Sale page
- Temporary Coming Soon page
Domain Names and Web Sites are 2 different things
If Superb Internet is hosting your domain name, it does not necessarily mean that we are also hosting your web site. We do not host websites that you created elsewhere. Web Site hosting and Domain Name hosting are two different things.
Your domain has to be hosted on a nameserver so that when someone types your domain name into a web browser, it goes there first to look up information about the domain. From there, the domain name "points" to your web site, which is usually hosted on another server.
We are also a large web hosting company which provides lots of web hosting package. Please visit our website for more information on web hosting.
Changing your DNS over to Superb Internet
When you transfer a domain to SuperbRegistrar, all DNS information is retained. Therefore all settings remain the same, your website continues to resolve, and there is no downtime. As the transfer process will not be replaced with SuperbRegistrar nameservers, if you want to change from using a custom DNS to SuperbRegistrar, you will have to make that change after the domain is in your account.
Before you change your DNS over to Superb Internet, please note that you have 2 options available at this point:
- Select Superb as your new Domain Name Registrar
- Stay with your current registrar and change the DNS records of your domain
It is recommended that you first change your Domain Name registration over to Superb. To do this, you sign up for a separate account at Superb Registrar and do a "Domain Transfer".
To change your DNS, you will need to go to your domain name registrar to have your domain redirected from the current nameservers. You do this by logging in online with your account at your registrar and accessing a "domain manager", "domain administrator", or something similar. Within such a section, you will find an option to change the domain name servers for your domain. Please note that this is different from registering a DNS server. If you do not know your registrar's name, then do a WHOIS to determine this.
You will need to provide the following names servers for Superb. Please note that not all registrars require the IP address:
- ns1.superb.net - 207.228.225.5
- ns3.superb.net - 207.228.226.5
During the transition, it is advisable that you duplicate your web site identically over to Superb. If you want to make any changes or updates to your website, it is advisable to wait until after you make the move over and your site is running smoothly.
Managing your own DNS
For those of you that are managing your own DNS servers or delegating to a third party to handle your DNS records, please use the following DNS information. The example here uses example-domain.com as the domain name.
example-domain.com IN MX 10 smtp.superb.net
mail.example-domain.com IN CNAME mail.superb.net
smtp.example-domain.com IN CNAME smtp.superb.net
We use (CNAME) instead of (A) records due to the many servers involved in the cluster. (A) records may change from time to time and we will likely add more servers to the cluster.
Setting up URL forwarding
If you want to forward (point) your domain name to your website, please follow the instructions below.
- Login to myCP
- Click on Manage Domains
- Under My Domains, choose Domain Lists
- Click on the domain name you wish to work with
- Make sure that the domain is using SuperbRegistrar as the name server (if not, please update)
- Click on the link Parking Page / Redirection Page: Edit Page (if you cannot find it, then the name server is wrong, please update)
- Click on the link Edit Page
- Choose a template such as URL forward
- Type in the destination URL in the form
- Save the changes
Making changes to your nameserver IP address
To make changes to your nameserver IP address, the domain name must be in your account in order to change, delete or update the nameserver.
- Login to the account in myCP using the domain name
- Click on Manage Domains
- Under the menu My Domains, click on DNS Lists
- Click on the domain you want to work with
- Use the form to update, delete or add new name servers
If any domains are currently using that nameserver, you will not be able to delete it. Please allow 12 to 48 hours for the Registry to update the zone files. This period is referred to as propagation and we do not have the ability to make these changes happen any sooner.
Nameservers in Order
Nameservers can be listed in any order with the Registrar. However, each Registry does not require any particular order, and they list the nameservers in the order that they are set up to list nameservers. Typically, they are listed alphabetically, but not in all cases. It is up to the specific Registry.
It does not matter which order they are listed, because when the nameservers are queried, they are queried simultaneously, and the first one to answer is assigned by the Registry to that particular query as "primary" at that point in time.
What this means is that regardless of how they are listed, the order of the listing does not determine which nameserver is queried first. The order that the nameservers appear in the Registry is not up to the Registrar, and cannot be changed by the Registrar.
