What are private name servers?

Private name servers are name servers that are the same as your domain name: ns1.yourdomain.com and ns2.yourdomain.com

What are my private name servers IP's?

For ns1.yourdomain.com the ip would be the ip listed in your welcome email.

For ns2.yourdomain.com the IP will be the same except change the last number in the IP to be one digit higher. Example: If the IP listed in your welcome email was 216.7.170.57 your ns2.domain.com name servers IP will be 216.7.170.58

What are the benefits of having your own name servers?

Many resellers choose to have their own name servers for appearance reasons. Using our name servers of ns1.earthstardns.com and ns2.earthstardns.com can be less professional looking for a hosting company. Other then the "look" of using private name servers there are no benefits.

How do I go about getting my private name servers set up?

You will now need to create the name servers at the place you registered your domain from. Every registrar has a different process for creating private name servers. Further down this page are detailed instructions. If your registrar is not listed, email us, we will help you!

Try and look for something along the lines of "register DNS" "create DNS" or "add DNS" or "add name servers" from within your account with your registar. The only way to create Name Servers is by using the IP addresses we assigned to your ns1 and ns2.yourdomain.com. If there isn't a field asking for the IP, you are not at the right place.

Private Name Server Notes

Changing your domains DNS is not the same thing as registering name servers. You will not be able to change your sites DNs to private name servers until your private name servers are registered with your domain registar and are resolving to our servers. Some regsitrars don't even have an option for you to create private name servers on our own. In many cases emailing them to do it is the only option.

Help

If you can't figure out how to register your private name servers with your registrar read their FAQ and look for a question along the lines of "How do I register name servers".

If you can't figure it out from either reading their faq or navigating through your account with them you will need to email them asking...

"I want to create name servers for my domain. They are ns1.yourdomain.com with the IP of (insert the IP we assign here) and ns2.yourdomain.com with the IP of (insert the IP we assign here)"

My private name servers are registered now what?

After your Name servers have been created you will be able to use them for all of your domain names hosted with us. Be sure to point the name server names to your private name server names.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SPECIFIC REGISTRARS:

DirectNIC

If you registered a domain with directNIC, you can register nameservers associated with the domain. You need to make sure the IP address is static and valid.

To register your own nameserver:

1. Click on “Domain Manager” and click the “Change nameserver” information icon next to the domain desired.
2. Click on the “Create Nameserver” link at the top of the page.
3. Enter your hostname and IP address for the nameserver and click Create Nameserver.

Warning, this page will create an actual nameserver for which advanced configuration and software is required at the ip address of the computer. Do not create a nameserver unless software has already been installed to run the nameserver.

To modify name server:

1. Go through the above step 1, 2, 3.
2. Click on "Modify" link to the right of the nameserver and then replace the old IP with your new IP address.
3. Click on "Modify Nameserver" button and submit the change.

The change should be propagated through the Internet within 48 hours. You need to resubmit the nameserver change for all the domains using the nameserver you modified.

IP address stands for Internet Protocol, this is the number your server or computer is assigned by the network you are on (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx)

FQDN stands for Fully Qualified Domain Name which, essentially is the nameserver itself (ns.domainname.com)

OpenSRS

To create a nameserver based on your existing domain, please follow these steps:

1. Log into http://manage.opensrs.net with the domain name, username and password. If you don't have these you will have to contact your Reseller.
2. Choose "Name Servers" from the options at the top of the page.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page, where it says "If you want to create of modify a name server based on domain name, click here".
4. Click there :)
5. You will see a set of boxes, one of which will accept data. The second box will not be editable, and will display your domain name. Choose a nameserver prefix and type it into the box. PLEASE NOTE: DO NOT USE WWW or MAIL AS A NAME SERVER PREFIX! ns1 or dns1 would be a good idea. The full contents of these boxes (eg. Dns1.yourdomainname.com) will be the name of the new nameserver. In the IP box, you will need to type in the IP number of your domain's name server.
6. Click on the "Create Nameserver" option.

You should see a note that says "Name server dns1.yourdomainname.com is registered. This means the registry "knows" of the existence of your name server. It will be 24 - 48 hours before your nameserver info propagates to the rest of the world.

Dotster

If you would like to register your name servers, you will first need to get the two IP addresses from your ISP, and then follow these instructions:

1. Please log into your account.
2. Click on "Domain List."
3. Click on the link of the domain you would like to register a name server for.
4. Click on the "Register Name Server" link at the bottom of the screen.
5. You are then prompted to add the first part of the name server extension. We strongly suggest that you use ns1 and ns2 as the beginning extensions. The rest of the name server appears by default as your domain name.

NOTE: Please DO NOT enter www as the beginning extension for your name server. This will cause forwarding problems in the future.

6. Enter the IP address in the text boxes directly below name of the server, EXACTLY as the ISP has given them to you.
7. Then click on the "Update" button, and your name server is registered.

*You can then register a second name server.

GoDaddy

You can register your name servers under your account's Domain Host Summary section. Registering your name server IP addresses allows you to define a name for your server based on your domain name. You can register any host name you wish, in the format:

* host.domain.tld (example: "nameserver1.godaddy.com")

If you understand what is involved and have made the necessary preparations, please follow the steps below to register your name servers.

First, log into your customer account:

* Go to the Go Daddy Account Login Page.
* Log in using your account username (which may be the same as your customer number) and password.

If you have trouble logging in, our password reset form may help you. You can find this form through the following link:
Password Reset Form

Once logged in just follow these steps:

* Select 'Manage Domains' from the 'Domain Names' menu at the top of the page.
* Click on the domain you wish to configure nameservers for.
* Click the '+' next to 'Domain Host Summary' from the menu that appears on the right.
* Click on the link named 'Click here to see details or to modify'.
* Enter the first name server with it's IP address.
* Click 'Save Changes'.

You can click 'Add New Host' to register more than one server. When complete, please allow a full 48 hours for the server names' registration. These changes to the settings on your domain take a full 48 hours to become effective across the internet because of the number of networks involved, and because these networks are controlled by several different agencies. This delay applies to all domains with any Registrar, not just Go Daddy.

Network Solutions

In order to create or modify an IP address that is associated with your Name Server, it will first be necessary to log in to the Account that contains the parent domain of the name server you want to create or modify. (i.e. if you want to modify the IP address of the host "ns1.yourdomain.com", you must be logged in for the domain yourdomain.com.)

1. Visit our website at http://www.networksolutions.com .
2. Enter your User ID and password in the dialogue box provided beneath the "Customer Log In" header, click "Log In".
3. Click "Manage host Servers" at the bottom of the left navigation. If "Manage Host Servers" does not appear once you have logged in, cut and paste the following URL into your browser: https://www.networksolutions.com/en_US/manage-it/manage-nameservers.jhtml
4. Enter the name of the host server to be created or modified into the first dialog box provided, click "Continue".
5. Enter or verify the IP address. Click "Continue".
6. Confirm the changes to the host server. If the information is correct, click "Apply Change".
7. Your changes have been submitted. Click "Back to Account Manager Home".

It may take up to 72 hours for this change to be recognized across the Internet.

Wild West Domains

1. Log into your account.
2. Go to the domain names page, click on the domain you want to point to these nameservers.
3. Go to the bottom of the page and click on Domain Host Information.
4. Enter the name of your nameserver and the IP address it should point to.
5. Repeat this for the second nameserver.
6. Set the Name Server Information to the new nameservers.
7. Done.

Now these nameservers are registered. If you want to use them for another domain you just need to enter the Name Server Information. The Domain Host Information only needs to be done once per nameserver.