Question : How to properly configure DNS settings for multiple website(23 clients) hosting on a windows server 2008?

Hi, I have a dedicated server (win 2008 32bit) with IIS7 and Microsoft DNS server installed
My domain name is yourhostingcompany.com and its nameservers at godaddy are the nameservers given by theplanet.com.
I am not going to use any control panel like plesk.  I am creating and app to automatize few functions like creating a new website, an application pool, virtual folders, and dns configurations.
The client websites will be identified in IIS7 by their host names not IPs or port  numbers.
How should I setup DNS settings for yourhostingcompany.com and for the client sites?

I already registered my own nameservers NS1.YOURHOSTINGCOMPANY.COM and NS2.YOURHOSTINGCOMPANY.COM at godaddy and pointed them to the 2 IPs of my server.

Now how would you start adding the main site yourhostingcompany.com and then 1 other client site with IIS7 and what configurations should I make with the included DNS server?

thanks

 

Answer : How to properly configure DNS settings for multiple website(23 clients) hosting on a windows server 2008?

Hey :)

DNS:

1. Create a Forward Lookup Zone for yourhostingcompany.com
2. Add the public records for ns1 and ns2.yourhostingcompany.com
3. Add Host (A) records for ns1 and ns2.yourhostingcompany.com
4. Check that the SOA record refers to ns1 (or whichever server is the Primary)
5. Add Host (A) records or Alias (CNAME) records for hosts within the domain

For client domains:

1. Create a Forward Lookup Zone for someotherdomain.com
2. Make the NS Records for this domain ns1 and ns2.yourhostingcompany.com (referencing the zone above)
3. Check the SOA record
4. Add Host or Alias records as applicable

In IIS:

For each site you run, make sure all names used to access the site are listed in the Host Headers. For example, to access a site on http://www.someotherdomain.com and http://someotherdomain.com you will need to add a host header value for each of those names.

Common mistakes...

If you're not  experienced with DNS then there are a few common errors you should  watch out for. These can really ruin someones day.

1. Private Addresses - Never include private addressing within public zones. Especially for NS and SOA records.

2. Stealth Name Servers - All name servers in the zone should be listed with glue on the parent.

3. Active Directory - Never ever mix it with a public zone. It won't work. I know you didn't mention having this one, but the number of small companies claiming to provide hosting that do this is disturbing, hence the mention.

4. Recursive Lookups - If you're providing public DNS services you should not permit Recursive lookups from the server. They open up a potential attack vector and and unnecessarily increase the load on the service.

5. Redundancy - The reason the Registrar wants two addresses from you is because they expect you to be able to provide redundancy in the event of server or network failure. Not being able to offer that isn't so good.

6. TTLs - DNS propagation for changes is based on the TTL of a record or zone. While an extremely low TTL may be beneficial in some cases it will adversely effect your server as it increases the number of requests it must service.

HTH

Chris