NOTE : The below instructions apply only for customers under dedicated (and some reseller customers who requires private nameservers) hosting plan.

Why should I register nameservers ?
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If you do not register nameservers for the site on the dedicated server, instead we would be required to maintain an A record on our nameservers to point your website to your dedicated server's primary IP. If you plan to use our nameservers nsx.lunarpages.com, what happens here is, each time you need to create a subdomain, or a parked domain or addon, you would need to contact us.

Since registering your own nameservers should be absolutely free with your domain name registrar, we encourage users to do this.  It also associates all content for search engines and domain searches via your primary domain as well as facilitates faster lookups for the domains on your server and quicker resolving for connections to your sites.


Technical reason
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To avoid the classical chicken-egg problem. Let me *try* to explain how.

There is no technical need to tell the registry if the name servers are not in the domain (i.e when you are hosted on our shared servers).  The only thing the parent NS needs to know in this case is the NAME of the name servers (because they can be looked up using the DNS. i.e ns1.lunarpages.com will be looked up using DNS).

As all of you are aware, nameserver is a server/service whose primary duty is to map a computer usable identifier (IPs / numbers) of a system or host to a human usable identifier for that host (domainname.com), and vice versa  To explain why, I need to start with DNS system

Let's see how the DNS system works,

a) You are accessing lunarpages.com. The browser passes the request to DNS Client present on your machine, which looks the local cache for an IP of lunarpages.com. If we get IP from cache, then the process is complete.
b) If the IP is not in the cache, DNS client service uses a nameserver list (usually provided by ISP and ordered as primary, secondary and tertiary) to query external DNS servers. When a DNS server receives a query, it first checks to see if it is authoritive for that domain name. If it is authoritive, it resolves the name, and the process is complete.
c) Else, a process called DNS recursion takes place at ISP's nameserver, where the recursor asks root nameservers the IP of lunarpages.com. The IPs of root nameservers are mapped to the host name. (/var/named/named.ca on your server)
eg: It asks for IP of lunarpages.com at A.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. resolved to 198.41.0.4
d) The root server replies with a delegation, meaning roughly: "I don't know the IP address of lunarpages.com, but I do know that the DNS server at 192.5.6.30 has information on the com domain."
e) The local DNS recursor then asks that DNS server (i.e. 192.5.6.30) the same question it had previously put to the root servers, i.e. "what is the IP address for lunarpages.com?". It gets a similar reply - essentially, "I don't know the address of lunarpages.com, but I do know that the DNS server at 216.193.194.212 has information on the lunarpages.com domain."
f) Finally the request goes to this third DNS server (216.193.194.212), which replies with the required IP address.

See the attachment for a complete trace of DNS Query made from my local system.
 
So in Step e) how did 192.5.6.30 (one of the root server for .com domains) got the IP of ns1.lunarpages.com as 216.193.194.212 ? They gets the IP only when we register the nameservers.

If you notice, lunarpages.com have nameservers as ns1.lunarpages.com and ns2.lunarpages.com and ns1.lunarpages.com is a subdomain of lunarpages.com. As you know subdomains, won't get resolved without getting the nameservers of primary domain.

So here we are in a chicken-egg situation. We need the IP address of ns1.lunarpages.com to resolve the IP address of lunarpages.com and without knowing how to contact the nameservers of  lunarpages.com, we won't be able to get the IP address of ns1.lunarpages.com. That is when we need to regsiter the nameservers. We say at the root level nameserver database that ns1.lunarpages.com has the IP 216.193.194.212 and we are using them as nameservers for the primary domain.

Most registries/registrars require seperate registration of the nameservers beforehand you change the nameservers.

Registering name servers makes them available for lookup by anyone on the Internet. If name servers are not registered then no one outside your network will know they exist and registrars (e.g. Network Solutions, Register.com, etc.) will not let you point domain names to them.

Another situation where we need to register the domain is as below,

1stdomain.com  uses nameservers as ns1.2nddomain.com and ns2.2nddomain.com ..while 2nddomain.com uses the  nameservers as ns1.1stdomain.com and ns2.1stdomain.com. So what happens here,  is that the resolution goes on for a loop which is called DNS gluelessness in the technical terms. To avoid such situations also, we strongly recommend you to register your private nameservers. To help you out in registering nameservers, we include howto's on registering your private nameservers for four popular domain registrars.  Please note that these howto's are based on the control panel interface of the domain registrars at the time of this writing.

OpenSRS
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For registering the nameservers,

1. Login to https://manage.opensrs.net
2. Click the "Manage Nameservers" link or change the address to
https://manage.opensrs.net/index?action=manage_nameservers
3. Scroll down to see "Create nameserver"
4. Server Hostname as --> ns1 and Server IP as primary nameserver info, we sent you.
5. Repeat the process for ns2 also with  IP  of secondary nameserver,.
6. Once you did that, choose "NameServers" in the top menu and change the
primary and secondary nameservers.
                                                                               

Network solutions
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To create or update your name servers:                                                                                 
1. Log in to Account Manager
2. Click on the domain name for which you want to register or edit a DNS server (only domain names may be selected to Add/Edit DNS Servers)
3. Click on the Edit link to the right of Designated DNS (if you have already assigned custom DNS to this domain) OR click on the Edit link to the right of Custom DNS Setting (if this is the first custom DNS for this domain)
4. In the Move DNS To A New Name Server section, click on the Continue button
5. Confirm that you want to move your name servers by clicking on the button
6. Type the name of the first new name server in the Name Server 1 text box, or select an existing name server from the drop down menu
7. Type the name of the second new name server in the Name Server 2 text box, or select an existing name server from the drop down menu
 a. If you want to add additional name servers, click on the Add More Name Servers button and type the new name servers in the appropriate text box(es) then click on the Continue button
 b. For each new name server, type the associated IP address in the Please Input Name Server IP Address text box then click on the Continue button
8. Carefully review the DNS changes and if correct, click on the Save DNS button
                                                                         
Your name server(s) has been created or updated.

RegisterFly
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1. Login to RegisterFly at https://registerfly.com/scripts/account.php
2. After logging to the Domain Manager, avert your eyes downward the left of the page, to see POPULAR OPTIONS and the submenu option mentioned "Register a nameserver". ( Access it directly at https://registerfly.com/scripts/nameserver.php )
3. On the page that loads, you can see "Check status of a name server registration" and also "Register a Name Server"
4. Scroll down to see the section "Register a Name Server".
5. In the first input box, where it says "Name Server:" put the nameserver name (default wll be NS) to use for your private nameservers. You may need to change it ns1 or anything you like and choose your domain from drop down box.
6. In the next input box, add your IP address that you assigned you for your primary nameserver.
7. Click Submit
8. To create the secondary nameserver, repeat steps 5 through 7.
9. Once you have successfully created your own nameservers, you may need up to 72 hours for them to fully propagate, before changing the nameservers of your domain to the private nameservers,you just registered.
10. You can check the status of Nameservers registered anytime, using the "Check Status of a name server registration". But I won't rely on the results.

If you don't see the "Register a Name Server" under POPULAR OPTIONS, you may need to take a long route to reach the page.
                                                                               
Manage Domains --> Your Domains --> Check the domain you want to create your Nameservers --> Modify Selected Domains --> Modify DNS. You will see the below message in the top of the page that loads
                                                                               
You are doing a Bulk change for Modify Name Servers (DNS):
Select the name server you would like to use, if you are unsure it is recommend you use Registerfly.com's name servers. You cannot enter an IP ADDRESS as the name server. It must be a fully qualified and registered name server. To create a nameserver, please click <<here>>

Go Daddy
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1. Log into your Go Daddy account by clicking on the "My Account" link located just below the menubar of the webpage.
2. Good! Now that you have logged into your account, select the "Manage Domains" menu item from the "Domain Names" drop down menu located on the left side of the webpage.
3. Below the "Domains Names" menu, select the domain for which you will be creating nameservers. Here you will use,
4. In the bottom right hand corner of the webpage (you may have to scroll down), expand the "Domain Host Summary" box by clicking on the "+" icon.
5. Click on the "Click here to see details or to modify" link below to begin creating the your nameservers.
6. On the right side of the webpage, enter the host name of your first name server in the entry box labelled "Host". The most common names are "ns1" or "dns1".
7. Just below, add the IP of the nameserver in the "IP Address" entry boxes.
8. Now create the nameserver by clicking on "Add New Host".
9. You will need to create at least 2 nameservers. To create a second nameserver, repeat steps 6 to 8. Common practice dictates that the second nameserver will be named "ns2" or "dns2".
10. The last part of the ip address of the second nameserver will be incremented by 1 to the IP of ns1.domainname.com
11. At this point you could add additional nameservers but it is not required. To save your nameservers, click on "Save Changes".

Register.com
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1. Log into Account Manager at: https://new.register.com/retail/myaccount/productdisplay.rcmx
2. Click on the domain name for which the changes are to be made.
3. Click on the Advanced Technical Settings link and select "Manage Registered Name Servers"
4. Scroll down to the "REGISTER NAME SERVER" section and enter the desired prefix (ns1) for the DNS Server that you wish to register.
5. In the next field enter the IP Address (A Record) for the DNS Server you entered as mentioned in the welcome email.
6. Click Continue to confirm the DNS Server registration
7. Repear the steps for the creating second nameserver ns2.domainname.com

eNom.com
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1. Go to www.enom.com
2. Click on "my enom"
3. Login
4. Click "Domain Names"
5. Click "Register DNS"
6. Enter ns1.yourdomainname.com in the "NameServer" Box
7. Enter the IP address given for NS1 in the "IP Address" Box
8. Click "submit"
9. Repeat the steps for the ns2 domain (with the IP address given for ns2)

More howtos on registering nameservers at different registrars will follow, and you are welcome to post a howto on  registering nameservers at your registrar.. Meanwhile, if you have any question, please let us know.

We now have flash based tutorials for registering private nameservers at different registrars. Access them all at http://www.lunarpages.com/tutorials/ (Dedicated Hosting Tutorials --> Creating Private Nameservers )

Melbourne IT
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1. Login to the Domain management portal. The URL as of today (Oct 1st 2006) is 
https://www.melbourneit.com.au/cc/maintenance/displayLoginPage?lid=imh-manage
2. Now look for the Name Server Details and a subsection named Name Server Functions. This actually  has the URL which links to  https://www.melbourneit.com.au/maintenance/nameserver/
3. Add the new nameserver in the page that loads. You will see a page having the option to add the nameservers

New Name Server

Host Name       IP Address           Add

4. Input hostname as ns1.domainname.com and it's IP as sent in the Welcome Email.
5. Repeat the same for ns2.domainname.com as well.

It must show the newly registered nameservers below in the same page, which gave you the option of registering the nameservers. Now you are done and wait for the propagation.

Added enom.com, 8th July 2006 - Stephan

wicked info! thanks!

My registrar is TUCOWS INC, how can i do to register private nameserver?


Thanks.

Hi, I'm setting up my VPS, and trying to figure out the nameserver setup. This post is exactly what I needed, thanks.

One question, though. You say that when creating the nameserver record in my registrar, the second nameserver will have an IP that has the last number incremented by one from the first.

The problem is, I was only given one IP address with my VPS. The next address clearly points to someone else's VPS, because it shows the default page of cPanel when I go there with the browser (I'm using plesk). So I DEFINITELY don't want to use that IP for ns2.

Can I use just the one IP, and point both to it?

When I try to use the same ip address for both on NetworkSolutions I get this error:

Name Server IP Addresses may not be the same.

And it says I must enter at least two nameservers

Hello GrrrlRomeo,

Thank you for sharing a fix for this kind of setup.

I believe Abhilash meant that you can proceed with the next steps by "Here you will use,". So after selecting the domain you will be working with, go to the step 4.

I hope this helps.

See the attached Picture

I have recently upgraded from a shared account to a dedicated linux box.  I was dumb when I bought this URL from "bravenet". 

I need to know what to put in the rest of the fields.  For Email servers and such.  I hate to be a pain, but I'm at a loss.  I've spent many hours on the phone with support today already, and hate to call again.  Any help is welcome.

Thanks,

-Marcus