Hi All,

I have a new linode (I'm a newbie..), but I am having problems setting up the DNS services / hostname etc.

I am using Debian, and I have a domain registered with
Godaddy. What exactly do I need to do to get it working from
setting up in godaddy, to setting the hostname / dns settings in
debian. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Also, I have noticed that heaps of common tools are missing,
and I cant seem to find them in the apt-get source ... which packages should I install, to initially set the box up?? I am also intestered in getting java running on my box.. (to play with some java coding..)

Sorry for all the q's..

Peter.

1. You need name servers. Get a free account on http://www.zoneedit.com/ . Enter your domain name ( from godaddy) & ip address (that linode gave you - see you linode conrol panel) . Zoneedit will give you the names and IP of you name servers.

2. Go to Gododdy, and the control panel for your domain. Enter the primary and secondary nameservers & IPs that zoneedit gave you.

3. It would take a day or two to deligate/resolve. Nothing you can do about it.
Try "ping yourname.com" from your linode & home machine. When it starts returning your linode IP address you are in business!

4. I have not set up the host name. I think you are confused - you set up godaddy to point to your name servers & name servers that point to your linode IP; you don't set set up your linode to point to the name servers or godaddy. You can have many domains pointing to your linode IP (I have four), & host multiple web sites using Apache off one linode & one linode IP.

5. I use www.webmin.com for common admin tasks. It will help you set up Apache.

Hey,

Thanks for your reply gmt.
I have my domain parked at Godaddy, and I have my domain
name pointed to my linode, and when i ping the domain name,
it returns my linodes ip addy.. so all good..

Per my linode, what exactly do I need to set? Do I have to set
the nameservers, domain name etc.. Which files do I have to
modify, and what should be in those files..

And any suggestions on the other q's?

Regards,

Peter.

You can't have both a parked domain at godaddy (ie enter your domain name into a browser & get a godaddy page ); &
be able to ping your domain & get your linode ip.

As I said before, godaddy points to your name servers and your name servers point to your linode IP. Follow thru the guide @ http://brokendomain.com/ if necessary

From your linode control panel, go to "ssh remote console and desktop". Assuming you are running a ssh client (like http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/ ) on your home machine you should be able to do each of the following:

1. secure shell to root@99.99.99 (your linode ip)
2. secure shell to root@yourdomain.com
3.secure shell to linode_user_name@hostX.linode.com
4. type your linode ip into a browser (should get a default apache page)
5. type your domain name into a browser (should get a default apache page)

If you can do this all is well. Its then you to you to work out what services you want to run. I think all linodes at least have Apache (ie web server) & sendmail (ie email) set up.

To add a user you can use the linux 'adduser' command. But I recommend installing www.webmin.com instead.

Assuming you added user 'gmt' & want to set up Apache for IP 99.99.99.99 you need to edit /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf using an editor such as vi and add:

<Directory "/home/gmt/public_html">
Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews execcgi
AllowOverride All
Order allow,deny
Allow from all
</Directory>

NameVirtualHost 99.99.99.99

<VirtualHost 99.99.99.99>
ServerName www.yourdomain.com
ServerAlias yourdomain.com
Options +Indexes
ServerAdmin webmaster@yourdomain.com
DocumentRoot /home/gmt/public_html/
</VirtualHost>


In this case go to /home/gmt/public_html/, and index.htm is the home page of www.youdomain.com and you can just keep adding files for your site.

Thanks!

I will give it a shot, and see what happens..

Peter.

Got it working!
Apache is running, I can ssh to everything etc.

Just a q, one thing I noticed is that on a friends login to his shell
his is listed as "testing / unstable".. yet mine isnt.. He explained to me that he was using software that wasnt fully supported yet.

At the moment, I am going to stick with stable and get things running ok first, but later on.. how do I add other packages etc. not fully supported.. (do I need to add 'unstable' source paths etc.?)

And finally, any ideas on getting java going (so I can use java, javac, etc. etc.?)

Thankyou so much for your help!

Regards,

Peter.

I know what you mean here but, yes you can do this in the somewhat confusing labels that GoDaddy use on their menu.

GoDaddy provide free DNS with a registered domain. To make use of it you need to leave your domain 'Parked at GoDaddy' which in their case means, 'use our dns servers'.

For simple stuff (ie A, MX and CNAME) you don't need ZoneEdit for a domain at GoDaddy.

Ross