Table Of
Contents
Where
to upload your
files:
Configuring
your FTP
clients:
Understanding
the web site file
system:
CGI Based
Programs:
The ins and
outs of DNS and how it effects your
domain:
Setting
up and managing
Sub-Domains:
Setting
up Domain
Email:
Where
to upload your files:
The
Home Directory:
Your html files, and or the files you want to make
accessible to the World Wide Web must be uploaded to your
account. When you first FTP into your account, you'll be
taken to your "Home" directory. Don't confuse this with your
"web directory." The home directory is "not" accessible to
the World Wide Web; it's a private directory where critical
system files reside. DO NOT delete files that have been
created by the system, otherwise your web site may disappear
into cyber oblivion!
The
public_html and www directory - (Where web accessible files
are placed)
These are the two directories,
where files you want accessed from the web must be placed.
Open the folder "public_html" , which is your "web
accessible directory." The folder named "www" is actually a
shortcut to public_html, (both of them take you to your web
directory). Upload the files you want accessible to your
visitors and feel free to make the appropriate
sub-directories you'll require.
Configuring
FTP Clients:
Configuring
Cute FTP
Based on version 4.2
Please note that there are a number
of older and current versions of Cute FTP floating around.
As a result, some of the instructions provided here cannot
possibly reflect all the versions, which have been released
in the past 5 years. The only small difference you may
encounter is where some of the options can be found
(depending on the client version you're using). In any
event, everything is pretty well much the same. Let's get
started:
1. Open Cute FTP
2. Select "File"
3. Select "Site Manager"
4. Select "New"
Options
you'll see:
- Label for site: Enter a name for
this account. For example, "My Root Account."
- FTP Host Address: www.mydomain.com
- FTP Site Username: Your main system login name
- FTP Site Password: Your main system password
- FTP Site Connection: Port: 21
- Login Type: Normal
Notes
About Cute FTP:
There are a few advanced features you may want to be aware
of. These features may need to be enabled if you're having
problems accessing your site via an FTP client. The
following will explain:
Trouble accessing your site via FTP:
This can sometimes occur if your accessing the Internet from
behind a firewall, personal router, or using an Internet
connection sharing system such as NAT (Network Address
Translation). This is often a class case scenario in a home
or small office where several computers are being shared by
one Internet connection. Symptoms include,
difficulty logging in via FTP, and or maintaining a reliable
upload or download session.
Use Passive Mode instead:
From your FTP main interface,
select:
1. Edit (from the main dropdown menus)
2. Settings
A dialog box called "Settings" now appears. Select:
3. Connections
4. Firewall
This opens the Connection/Firewall dialog box:
5. Check the box that says "PASV mode."
6. Click OK
Don't touch any of the other settings
Ignore all other settings you see here except for
the "PASV_mode" setting!
Give it a try and see how it works. If you're still having
problems, you should contact your ISP to see if they can
make the necessary changes required for you to access your
site via FTP. There are a vast number of network
configurations ISP's sometimes use, and some of which that
can cause problems for users wanting to access the web
beyond that of a browser.
How to view all files in your account (For Advanced
Users).
Advanced users may want ability to view "all hidden" files
in their directories. While most of these are critical
system files, there are a few, which can be manually edited
by "Advanced Users." This is done by inserting an entry into
the "File Masking" feature in the client.
Unmasking Hidden Files:
1. Open Cute FTP
2. Go to the site manager
3. Select your account
4. Select "Edit"
A dialog box opens called "Site
Properties":
1. Check the "Enable Filter" box
2. Click the "Filter" button
3. Check the " Enable Remote Filters (Server Applied Filer)
" box
4. In the "Remote Filter" window, type this command
-a
5. Click ok
That's it!
The -a command will unmask "all"
files in your web account.
Final Note:
NEVER REMOVE OR ALTER FILES, WHICH HAVE BEEN CREATED BY THE
SERVER or C-Panel!! Unless you're an advanced user,
please leave all files that have been created by the system
alone! Doing otherwise could cause serious problems with
your account, and in some cases take it offline completely.
When in doubt "ASK", do not
Delete!
Setting
Up WSFTP
Please note that there are a number
of older and current versions of WSFTP floating around. As a
result, some of the instructions provided here cannot
possibly reflect all the versions, which have been released
in the past 5 years. The only small difference you may
encounter is where some of the options can be found
(depending on the client version you're using). In any
event, everything is pretty well much the same.
Setting
up WSFTP:
1. Open your WSFTP client
2. The dialog box "WS_FTP" Sites should display. If not,
click the "Connect" button.
3. Select "New"
You should see this dialog box:
You'll be taken through
these options:
1. New
Site/Folder: Choose a name for this account
2. Host Name or IP
address: www.yourdomain.com
3. User ID: Main
system login
4. User Password:
Main System Password
5. Select "Save Password."
6. Select "Finish."
Done! Your can now FTP into your site
Notes About
WSFTP:
Main Username and Password:
The main Username and Password was sent to you in your
welcoming email, and are also the same ones used to access
C-Panel. If you've changed your "main" Username
and Password before setting this up, then use
you must use them instead.
Trouble accessing your site
via FTP:
This can sometimes occur if your accessing the Internet from
behind a firewall, personal router, or using an Internet
connection sharing system such as NAT (Network Address
Translation). This is often a class case scenario in a home
or small office where several computers are being shared by
one Internet connection. Symptoms include,
difficulty logging in via FTP, and or maintaining a reliable
upload or download session. If this is the case, try
"Passive Mode."
Setting Passive
Mode:
1. Open the WSFTP
account manager
2. Highlight your
account
3. Select
"Properties"
4. Select the "Advanced" tab
5. Check the box called "Passive
Transfers."
6. Click "OK"
Select passive mode, click
"OK", and try it again.
How to view all files in your account (For Advanced
Users).
Advanced users may want ability to
view "all hidden" files in their directory. While most of
these are critical system files, there are a few, which can
be manually edited by "Advanced Users." This is done by
inserting an entry into the "File Masking" feature in the
client.
Unmasking Hidden
Files:
1. Open the WSFTP account manager
2. Highlight your account
3. Select "Properties"
4. Select the "Startup" tab
5. In the "Remote File Mask" window, enter -a
The -a command will unmask all
files in your web account.
Final Note:
NEVER REMOVE OR ALTER FILES, WHICH HAVE BEEN CREATED BY THE
SERVER or C-Panel!! Unless you're an advanced
user, please leave all files that have been created by the
system alone! Doing otherwise could cause serious problems
with your account, and in some cases take it offline
completely. When in doubt "ASK", do not
Delete!
Understanding
the web site file system:
index.html
and why you should use it:
This again is where a number of
newer webmasters become stumped. They upload all of their
files and directories, and then want to access them with
their browser, but forgetting to create their welcoming page
as index.html, so here's what happens: They access their
site as http://www.mydomain.com
or using the associated IP number, for example,
http://216.33.24.192/test.html,
and what they see is their entire file directory structure!
Yikes!… It looks just like exploring the C drive on
your computer! You don't want visitors seeing that.
When you access your site by calling it as
http://www.mydomain.com or the assigned IP (for example),
http:// 216.74.122.26/, the web server looks for the
"index.html" file as the (default file) to be sent to
visitors, and thus this is why http://www.mydomain.com/ by
itself will automatically display the home or welcoming
page. It's because the server automatically looks for
index.html whenever a domain or directory is called without
a filename appended to it such as this, http://www.mydomain.com/file.html
If it can't find index.html, it will simply list "your
entire web directory" to everyone that access's it, which is
a MAJOR security risk! ALWAYS, use an "index.html" file in
any directory you create, including your "root" web
directory. In general, it's always a good idea to use
"index.html" as your main page in "all sub-directories" of
your account. Forgetting to place an index.html in your root
web, or any subdirectory of your web for that matter will
effectively leave all of its contents viewable to the
world.
Understanding
case sensitivity:
Another small detail, which can
throw many newer users into a tailspin. Unlike your local
PC, the Unix file system is very particular about
"uppercase" and "lowercase" file names. Therefore, if you
were to install a script, (let's say the wwwboard discussion
forum) for example), the name of this script would be
wwwboard.pl. If you name a file picture file called
me.jpg, then this is what you must call it as. Naming
it me.JPG for example, (observe the uppercase) tells a Unix
web server to treat it as a totally different file name.
Unix file servers are exceptionally fussy on this issue, so
make sure you pay close attention to 'case' when uploading
files, or installing and configuring cgi based scripts. The
same rule applies for all files including your .html pages.
Again, the server treats .html and .HTML as two entirely
different files. Want to keep in simple? Try to stick with
lowercase letters in all file names and extensions.
Uploading your files in the
correct mode (ASCII or Binary)?
Uploading in the wrong format for images or binaries will
result in a strange mess appearing in place of the
file. For CGI scripts, this mistake has to be the most
common cause of that annoying error known as the (Server 500
Error - Malformed Headers), or something to that lovely
extent. While this can be the result of many various
programming errors, the most popular amongst new users are
uploading their scripts in the "WRONG" format. Your cgi
scripts "MUST" always be uploaded in ASCII mode.
Alternatively, if you upload an image or .exe file, it must
be done in "BINARY" mode.
The difference between ASCII
and BINARY?
In short, html or text based files are supposed to be
transferred in ASCII mode. Uploading them in Binary mode
will append ^M's to the end of every line. In most cases,
this is OK, with html files because your browser will ignore
them. BUT, with other text files such as cgi scripts,
uploading them in binary will damage them, thus causing a
(server 500 error). This is because binary mode has added
^M's to the end of every line, which are not supposed to be
in the program. This of course, is what causes the
additional message of (Malformed Headers), which often
displays at the bottom of the "Server 500" message when a
CGI script has crashed.
Once again, BINARY mode is used for transferring executable
programs, compressed files and all image/picture files. If
you try to upload an image in ASCII mode, you observer a
strange mess appearing on the page where the image is
suppose to appear. ASCII mode in this case, has corrupted
the binary coding in the jpeg or gif image. If this happens,
just re-upload it in the Binary format
Setting
your FTP client to automatically detect ASCII and Binary
file transfers:
Most FTP programs have "AUTO" mode, which will tell the FTP
client to automatically detect the file type you're
transferring and will select the appropriate mode. By
default, most FTP programs will attempt to transfer
everything in binary mode, but when "Automatic" is selected,
the FTP client will check a list of known ASCII extensions,
(for example, .pl, .cgi, .txt). If it detects one of these
extensions, it automatically switches to ASCII mode.
By Default, most of the well-known files to be uploaded in
ASCII are already entered, however you can manually add
additional extensions that you would like to transfer in
ASCII mode by selecting the feature called "Extensions."
Here, you can any additional extensions that will cause the
FTP client to toggle to ASCII mode automatically upon
detecting an extension entered in its list. Remember, you
must set your transfer mode to "Automatic" for this to
work.
File
types and what they represent:
Various file types can effect both the behavior of your
files, as well as how the server treats them. While there
are numerous file extensions, which represent a host of
various file types, we'll stick to the basic ones in this
quick overview:
The .html file:
This is one is the most commonly used and the most one of
you are already familiar with. Html stands for (hypertext
Markup Language). Essentially, it tells the server, as well
as the clients browser to process and display the .html
coding in a way, which is meaningful to the end user through
a browser.
The .htm file:
Many of you have probably noticed this newer extension
appearing in place of the traditional .html one. In short,
.htm is most often created, and or generated from the
Microsoft FrontPage web editor. The two are essentially the
same and provide the same basic purpose. Unless you're using
FrontPage, you will probably use the .html extension at the
end of your web pages.
The .gif and .jpg file:
Most commonly used because of its good compression in web
page images. Generally, .gif files are the fastest loading,
as they remove a lot of information, which is not required
to maintain image integrity, but to a point however. .jpg
will allow more flexibility in compression and quality
settings, however can also result in larger files.
The .cgi and the .pl file:
.cgi and .pl are most often used for perl scripts. Perl
scripts are small text based programs, which are executed on
the server end, and will perform a host of interactive
functions for a web site. In short, when a .pl or .cgi file
is called, it tells the server to process it using the "Perl
Interpreter." The Perl Interpreter understands the
programming within the script, and will perform the set of
sub routines, which will yield your desired effect. This
desired effect could be anything from a simple web page
counter, to more complex programs such as discussion forums,
e-commerce platforms, to online auctions. In many cases, you
can download these "ready to go" scripts for free, and in
others you may have to purchase them.
FrontPage
and FTP:
If you're planning on using
Microsoft FrontPage to manage your web site, there are a
couple of issues things you may want to keep in mind:
There are two worlds. The General Unix hosting world, and
the Microsoft world. While this is not necessarily a bad
thing, Microsoft had indeed decided to play by its own
rules. As a result, FrontPage does not always conform
to the rules of Unix, so you should be extremely careful
when accessing a FrontPage web via FTP. It's easy to
damage the FrontPage web, as well as it's associated server
extensions, and if it happens, you may loose the ability to
administrate it from your FrontPage Explorer. To avoid
problems like this:
- Do not alter, or delete files
that are part of a FrontPage web
- Do delete, move, or alter
directories ending in _vtf. These are the FrontPage
extensions
The ultimate
solution:
If possible, try to create your FrontPage webs in
sub-directories of your root. For example, http://www.yourdomain.com/home.
This way, you can safely FTP into your root account to
perform other tasks, while avoiding the FrontPage webs,
which are safely out of the way in their own separate homes.
Remember! DO NOT delete any folders, which end in _vtf! This
will kill your FrontPage web, and we'll have to reinstall
the extensions for you.
Using CGI
programming:
Where to place your CGI
scripts:
Although there is nothing dangerous about placing cgi
scripts in random directories throughout your site, it's
best if you keep them in their own little home known as the
cgi-bin. This minimizes security risks and allows you to
maintain your cgi programs from one directory.
The path to
Perl:
One of the first things you must do when configuring a
script, is set the correct path to the Perl interpreter,
which is the engine responsible for processing the script.
The path to Perl on our servers is: #!/usr/bin/perl
The path to
Sendmail:
Some programs such as the ones, which send email will need
to know where the Sendmail program resides on the server.
The script will typically have a setting like this:
$mailprog = '/usr/sbin/sendmail'; and will want you to set
it appropriately. Sendmail on our servers can be found here:
/usr/sbin/sendmail or /usr/lib/sendmail.
Setting directories
within your cgi scripts:
When you configure a cgi script for "any" server, it may ask
you to set variables such as the base, relative, and CGI
directory/url settings. Here's an "example" using Matt
Wright's wwwboard.pl script. Obviously, each script may
vary, but this should provide you with some basic idea:
$basedir = "/home/yourlogin/public_html/wwwboard";
$baseurl = "http://www.yoursite.com/wwwboard";
$cgi_url =
"http://www.yoursite.com/cgi-bin/wwwboard.pl";
Most scripts come with documentation on how to set these
directories. Please make sure you read and understand it
before configuring the script. New to cgi? Here is a page
with questions and answers to numerous questions evolving
around the inns and outs of using cgi within your scripts:
http://www.w3.org/Security/Faq/www-security-faq.html
Another excellent site, which provides step by step chapters
is: http://www.cgi101.com/class/
Understanding File
Permissions:
There are a number of file permissions, which can be used
for a variety of different purposes, however we'll limit
this tutorial to the ones most commonly used. To begin with,
it's important you understand the three categories of
permissions, which are:
Owner Permissions:
The owner is you. In most cases, this is not so much of a
concern, as you can only obtain owner permissions in one of
two ways. 1. FTP into your account using your Username and
Password. 2. Login via Telnet with the same information.
Group Permissions:
The represents a group of users who have access to a
particular directory. For example, a password protected
directory, whereas only members can access it upon providing
the correct Username and Password. In this case, any
permissions you assign to "Group" would be applicable to
users with access to that particular directory.
Public Permissions:
This is the most important one of all. Public permissions
determine what your world wide visitors can and cannot do
with your files. ALWAYS make sure you understand what a
particular permission does before assigning it to a file. If
not, you may wakeup to find your website demolished by some
clown who was snooping about and gained access to your
files.
Setting File
Permissions:
To set file permissions:
1. Login with your
FTP client
2. Open the directory where the file you
wish to set permissions on resides
3. Right click on the file and select
CHMOD
A box similar to the one above will
appear
Observe how you can "select"
the individual permissions you want, or simply enter the 3
digit number if you know what it is. Most instructions
included with downloaded scripts will tell indicate this to
you.
By default, all files uploaded to
the server automatically have permissions set to 644. The
setting 644 is relatively safe, as it provides "Read" and
"Write" access to the owner, while limiting the rest of the
public to "Read Only" access.
When setting permissions for cgi scripts, the most common
permissions setting is 755. 755 allows the owner
"Read and Write" access, while allowing the Group and Public
"Read and Execute" permissions. So what are we actually
saying? In short, when users access your cgi script, the
server has been instructed to grant them permissions to
"Read and Execute" it. Sound scary? It's not
actually…
Remember that a script is a program that must be processed
by the server. As long as the script is written properly,
you can safely allow users to execute it, and thus providing
the desired results. For example, if they wanted to post a
message to your wwwboard discussion forum, then they would
need these permissions to execute wwwboard.pl, which would
write their new message to an html file, which is displayed
on the main forum. The new message would reside in a
directory on your site so other users could view it.
Most cgi, perl and other scripts you'll be installing
come complete with instructions telling you which
permissions you'll need to set them to.
WARNING!
Setting permissions on files is a relatively simple task,
however MAKE SURE you fully understand what it is you're
allowing the public to do with your files. For example, some
less experienced users often make the fatal mistake of
simply setting ALL of their files to 777. While 777 will
automatically allow executing privileges, it also allows
full "READ, WRITE, and EXECUTION ability to the entire
world!!!!
This is how web sites get hacked! While most visitors have
good intentions, all it takes is one person whom snoops
about your files seeking an "Open Back Door." This could
result is them gaining full access to your directories,
which means they can do anything from deleting your entire
site, to defacing it with obscenities.
New to cgi? Here is a page with questions and answers to
numerous questions evolving around the inns and outs of
using cgi within your scripts: http://www.w3.org/Security/Faq/www-security-faq.html
Using Server Side Includes -
SSI
SSI works in conjunction with a web page usually with the
.shtml extension. The .shtml extension tells the
server to do something different with the web page. When you
append the .html or .htm extension, this tells the server to
"read" the page only. The .shtml extension tells the server
to "Execute" the page, in addition to just reading it.
So, why would you want to execute the page? There are
various commands you can program into a web page, which the
server will look for and parse when the file is called as
.shtml. In many cases, this mode is used in conjunction with
Server Side Include (SSI) tags, to call a CGI script. For
example, you have a visitor counter script, and we'll call
it count.cgi. Every time someone visits your website, you
want the script to be called, so that it logs the visitor
into a file.
To do this, you would place an SSI tag into your web page.
The tag in this case, would look something like:
<!--#exec cgi="/cgi-bin/count.cgi"
-->
This small tag, which is hidden in the html coding of your
page is telling the server to:
1. Go to the cgi-bin
2. Execute count.cgi
That's it! The information has been captured and processed
by the count.cgi script. Of course, that's the short version
of what happens. The long version would no doubt, would take
us far beyond the scope of this document.
PLEASE do not use the .shtml extension on "all" of your web
pages unless it's absolutely necessary. With a busy web
site, this means that every page must be executed, as
opposed to just read. This as you can appreciate, can add
considerable memory and CPU load to the system. As always,
read the instructions that came with your script carefully.
They should provide specific instructions on how to
configure the script, as well as the SSI
tag.
The ins and
outs of DNS and how it effects your domain:
Understanding
DNS and Name Servers:
This is an area, which causes a
great deal of confusion amongst both webmasters and end user
clients. Before we go any further, let's look at this quick
analogy: DNS can be considered something similar to that of
a phone book. When you move from one location to another,
your last name stays the same, but your phone number may
change. In order to point your name to the new phone number,
you must contact the telephone service provider, which will
assign you the new phone number. In addition, they update
all directory information data basis to reflect you as
pointing to this new phone number.
What
is DNS?
DNS stands for "Domain Name Server." The domain name server
acts like a large telephone directory in that it's the
master database, which associates a domain name such as
(http://www.mydomain.com) with the appropriate IP number.
Consider the IP number something similar to a phone number:
When someone calls http://www.myhost.com/, your ISP looks at
the DNS server, and asks "how do I contact myhost.com?" The
DNS server responds, it can be found at: 157.238.46.231. As
the Internet understands it, this can be considered the
phone number for the server, which houses the
http://www.myhost.com web site.
Where are all of the DNS
records kept?
This is slightly more complicated, but for the purpose of
this overview, we'll try to keep it as general as possible.
There are 2 basic places DNS records reside:
International Root name servers (13 exist throughout the
world)
Your domain register, where your current DNS settings
reside.
When you register/purchase your domain name on a particular
"registers name server", your DNS settings are kept on their
server, and in most cases point your domain to the Name
Server of your hosting provider. This Name Server is where
the IP number (currently associated with your domain name)
resides.
The entire hierarchy is somewhat involved, but in short, the
world Root Name Servers can be considered the master listing
of all DNS records, and there are currently 13 of them in
the world. These name servers are where all the master DNS
records are kept. The DNS server of your ISP will typically
query the Root Name Servers once every 24-hours. This is how
they update all of their DNS tables, which in turn, resolve
www requests to the IP number of the server they reside
on.
Changing your Name Server
settings, so your domain points to your host
account:
Your "Name Server Settings" must be updated to point to your
account on your host company server. You originally
purchased your domain name from a register, and this
register is where your current DNS settings reside. That is,
unless you transferred your domain name to an alternate
register, in which case, you would control your DNS settings
from there.
The "Register" your domain resides on, communicates your
'current' DNS settings with the International Root name
servers, which is turn share this information with ISP's,
routers, and cache engines around the world. In essence,
it's like a worldwide directory that other computers can
refer to when they want to match a domain name with its
associate IP number. This IP number is how the particular
server your website resides on is located.
Accessing your domain
manager:
Simply go to your domain registers web site, and look around
for links, which point to something like, domain manager,
manage domain, or something of that administrative nature.
In your welcoming email, you were sent DNS settings, which
look similar to this example:
DNS1.MYHOST.COM 66.78.4.6
DNS2.MYHOST.COM 66.78.6.147
Most of the newer registers such as the (OPEN SRS) based
entities have turned this into a 5-minute process. You
simply login to the register, select 'manage domain' and
you'll be presented with an option to update your new DNS
numbers. Contrary to popular belief, Network Solutions 'now'
also provides an online interface to change these settings,
so this process with them is no longer as complicated as it
use to be, however it's still not as simple as the OPEN SRS
based systems. If your particular register 'does not'
provide a domain manager of some type, then you'll need to
send them a message requesting a change of DNS. This is an
unlikely scenario, as most every register now allows you to
manage your own domain settings from a web based
interface.
Once you've accessed the "management interface" of your
domain name, look for a setting, which says "change or
manage DNS settings." In most cases, you can simply cut and
paste the DNS settings we've sent you directly into the
spaces, which correspond to your DNS management settings.
Remember, the DNS settings we're displaying here are an
"example."
The 3 to 4 day propagation
period - Understanding what happens during this time
frame:
In short, patience is a virtue. Remember what we talked
about earlier in this chapter regarding the shear size and
scope of the worlds DNS system? In short, when you change
your DNS settings, these new settings must propagate
throughout the worlds DNS servers. It also means that every
ISP (Internet Service Provider), must update their DNS
records to reflect these new changes, which in most cases,
is done automatically every 24 hours, but not always
however...
Where
do the Root Name Servers receive their information from?
The Root Name Servers will query "domain registers" several
times a day. Domain Registers, being entities such as
Network Solutions, and the newer OPEN SRS based systems. The
Root Name Servers will gather this information from the many
registers now in existence, and update their master records
accordingly. Now your ISP must access the Root Name Servers,
and update their DNS records, which reside on their 'local'
DNS server. This process is fully automated and most ISP's
will check the Root Name Servers for updates every 24-hours.
Beware however, that some lame ISP's will delay this process
for as much as 2 to 4 days in some cases. If that happens,
it will no doubt cause additional confusion, as everyone
else will be reaching your new account on our servers except
you. This is because your ISP has not updated their DNS
records, and or have not cleared their DNS cache, which
means they'll still be pointing your domain name to your old
server. If it's a new domain name you've registered, then
you'll receive a blank "Site Not Found Page."
DNS Cache and your
ISP:
There is also the issue of DNS cache, which is something we
won't go into great detail about here, but here's the short
version. Every time you access a site from your ISP, they
cache the URL, as well as its associated IP number. If their
network is properly setup, these DNS cache records should
"Expire" at least every 24-hours. If they did not (which is
often the case), you'll experience this: You enter your
http://www.mydomain.com/
URL, and it keeps taking you back to your old server
account.
In a large number of cases, it's the result of an ISP who
"Did Not" configure their servers to "Expire" the DNS cache
records at the appropriate intervals. Unfortunately, this
adds additional confusion to their clients, and especially
the ones whom are trying to point their domain name to a new
server. Yes, it will make you want to scream sometimes,
however if you understand whom is actually at fault, then
you'll know who to scream at :)
The DNS propagation process is
not limited to ISP's!
HA.. Just when you thought you had it all figured out!
Unfortunately, there's more folks. The Internet itself must
update/clear its DNS cache as well. When we say the
Internet, we mean the numerous intermediate "points of
access" you're routed through before reaching your final
destination. For the most part, these intermediate points of
access consist of "Internet Routers" and "Internet Caching
Engines." These too, maintain their own DNS cache, which
assists them in routing traffic/resolving URL's to the
correct destination IP's. Don't worry though, as Internet
routers are usually faster at clearing their DNS cache than
ISP's are.
What to expect during this
2 to 4 day propagation period:
In most cases, the propagation process will take at least 48
hours to complete. The first thing that happens is the
"World Root Name Servers" will check all of the various
"Domain Registers for updates. Ok, so now the Root Name
Servers have done their job. The rest of it is up to the
many ISP providers who "should be" updating their DNS
records (at least every 24 hours), but a number of them will
not.
Side effects that can be
expected during the propagation time frame:
It's perfectly normal for strange things to happen within
the 48-hour propagation period, but sometimes longer. While
we could provide a full list of all the anomalies that can
occur during the DNS propagation period, we'll stick to some
of the most common scenarios that most people
experience:
HELP! My friends can reach my new site, but I'm still
being directed to the OLD ONE!
This is a class case of your friends ISP (who did update
their DNS records), but yours unfortunately did not. As a
result, your ISP is still pointing your domain name to the
old DNS record, which is your old hosting account. Wait a
couple of more days, and if it appears that everyone but you
can access your new account, then contact your ISP and tell
them to expire their old DNS cache records.
WOW! http://www.mydomain.com was taking me to my new
hosting account just a minute ago, but when I try it now,
I'm being taken back to my old hosting account - what's up
with this?
In all likelihood, your ISP may be in the process of
clearing their DNS cache, and or updating their local DNS
server records. During this small interval, it's normal to
fluctuate between the new and old web site, as the old DNS
records may not have completely expired from their cache
yet. Give it another several hours and it should be
fine.
HEY! My new site comes up for
me, but my friends are being directed to my old
one!
Break out the coffee and donuts, and consider yourself
lucky. Your ISP is on the ball and updates DNS records/
clears DNS cache in short regular intervals. Your friends
may be using an ISP, which is not as fast, and or efficient
at doing so. The only remedy for this is time. Eventually,
the other ISP's DNS cache will expire and be replaced with
the updated DNS records.
What's going on with my email? When I try to access it,
I receive a "host does not exist" or a "cannot authenticate"
error message.
This can happen for a number of reasons, but in most cases,
it's because your new DNS records have not fully completed
the propagation process yet. Consequently, you may be trying
to access your old email account on your "old server", which
you may have already cancelled, or it's in a state of DNS
flux, which means it points to the new server one moment,
and the next, points back to the old server.
Give it some more time and it will eventually settle down.
In the meantime, consider accessing email from your account
using the WebMail based reader. If your domain has not
propagated as of yet, you can access your email account via
WebMail with your IP number. Example:
http://12.23.36.78:2082/neomail/neomail.pl
This will allow you to access your default mailbox on
your account. Replace the IP number with the one we sent
you, and do not remove the :2032 port number in the
URL.
Microsoft FrontPage will not accept a Username and
Password, or displays the error message (FrontPage
Extensions Are Not Installed).
While you should be able to access FrontPage with your
associated IP number (until your domain is resolving to our
servers), this is not always the case. FrontPage can behave
in a number of different ways depending on which direction
the wind is blowing. In some cases, it will allow you to
initiate an upload session, but upon asking for your
Username and Password, will not recognize them. If this
happens, the best thing to do is wait until your domain name
is answering to our servers. One thing we know for sure, is
FrontPage will work without much of a problem if you're
using the full www.mydomain.com URL to manage your site
with. Feel free to try it with your IP, but we cannot
guarantee it will work.
It's been over a week. Everybody else can access my new
site except me!
Was your domain originally hosted by your ISP? If so, they
may not have deleted this entry in their DNS files. This
results in you, and or anyone else accessing the net from
this "particular ISP" being directed to your old web site on
their servers. A number of ISP's forget this small detail,
which can result in weeks of utter confusion and
frustration. If this is happening to you, contact your ISP
and make sure they've made the necessary changes to their
DNS records.
Checking your DNS update
status (outside of your ISP):
In the event you're becoming impatient, and or are wondering
if the rest of the world outside of your ISP can access your
new site, you can proxy yourself to another network and test
it there. In many cases, you'll be surprised to see your
site responding perfectly, yet when you attempt it directly
from your ISP's servers, it does not exist.
There are several services, which allow anonymous surfing
across the net. While this is not the intent here, they can
be used for trouble shooting domain resolution problems.
How? Because they proxy you through their network,
which means your URL requests are controlled by "their" DNS
cache records. These services update/expire their DNS cache
far more often than ISP's, which makes them well suited for
testing your domain name through a network, which operates
with the latest DNS updates across the web.
To run this check, you can try accessing your site through
one of these two services:
https://www.safeweb.com/o/_s:top.php3
http://www.anonymizer.com/
Both of them allow you to enter a
URL, and proxy your request through their servers. If your
site is accessible from these servers, then chances are your
ISP has yet to expire their old DNS cache records.
Checking
when the DNS propagation period is over:
One easy way to check and see if your domain is answering to
our servers yet, is checking the URL http://www.yourdomain.com
and see if it shows our holding page. When it does, you'll
know your domain name is answering to your account on our
servers, and has been officially transferred. If it is not
yet complete, you will get an error message.
The
personal DNS (for advanced webmasters).
Let's say your company was www.acmewebhost.com. If you
desire, you could setup your own custom branded DNS, which
could display as:
DNS.ACMEWEBHOST.COM 66.78.4.6
DNS2.ACMEWEBHOST.COM 66.78.6.14
This provides a somewhat more professional look to your
customers. In addition, if someone does a WHOIS lookup on
your domain name, it appears as your personal DNS, as
opposed to your hosting company. Not really a big deal, but
some webmasters do not want to advertise the host they're
with, as they feel it does not portray a professional and
independent look.
There is no superior advantage to having your own name
server unless you're a reseller, and or a web designer who
is also planning on hosting the websites they
build.
Setting
Up Sub Domains
What
is a Sub-Domain?
A sub domain is one, which resides
under your top-level domain name, but in many ways behaves
as a "totally independent domain". You'll observe that many
of the larger corporations use these, as they're somewhat
more professional looking, and do a better job of creating
an independent precedence for service or product lines,
which appear as separate web entities.
Example: You're a GM dealer with a site such as GM.com. You
sell everything from Pontiac's to Cadillac's. To better
organize your online presence, you could create sub domains
for your various automotive lines. These would appear as
http://pontiac.gm.com/
or http://cadillac.gm.com/.
Also note that in most cases, the domain need not be called
with the http:// or www protocol.
pontiac.gm.com can be called exactly how it appears
here.
Setting up a sub
domain:
Thanks to C-Panel, this task has
been made easier than ever and can be achieved as
follows:
1. Login to C-Panel
2. Select Sub Domains
3. Enter the name of your new sub domain
4. Hit "Add"
That's it! Your new sub domain is now ready for use. To find
it, login to your "main web directory" through C-Panel by
selecting "files" or simply use your favorite FTP client.
You'll see it residing as another directory. Upload your
files to this directory just as you would with any other.
For example, if you created pontiac, then a directory called
pontiac is what you'll be looking for.
Independent cgi-bin
All new sub domains are created with their own independent
cgi-bin. This means your new sub domain operates
independently of everything else, and is almost like having
a whole new domain. Feel free to configure all cgi scripts,
which are pertinent to the functioning of this sub domain. A
nice feature, as it saves your main cgi-bin from becoming
cluttered and somewhat disorganized; especially if you
utilize a lot of cgi programming.
Independent email for the new
sub domain - (In final development)
Yes, you'll observe duplicates of
all "configured pop email accounts" appearing beside
the sub-domain, and or all sub-domains you've
created. Now I know you'll be tempted to use (what
appears to be) a perfectly good email address's, BUT please
"Don't!" This is a feature that is in final
development. While it may look somewhat confusing at
first glance, it's really not. In the near future,
you'll be able to configure these email accounts for use
with your sub-domains. For example, if you configured
support.yourdomain.com,
then you'll be able to use the address mailto:tom@support.canada6000.com.
For the time being, please
configure email address's that correspond to your
standard "top-level" domain, and just ignore the
sub-domain duplicates. ALSO: Any duplicate
sub-domain email address's you see appearing in your pop
mail setup configuration "DO NOT" count towards your
allocated number of pop mail boxes we've
provided.
Configuring
Domain Email Systems:
Adding
a Pop Email account:
The difference between
private pop mail accounts, and simply using the "Catch-All"
method:
There are two kinds of email address's you can use, starting
with the "catch all" method:
With the catch all method, you don't have to worry about
setting up individual pop mail accounts. Simply set your
email client to your "default" email address (displayed in
C-Panel), and "all" email sent to anything@yourdomain.com
will land in this box, or whatever you've set your default
address to. This is an easy way to catch all email
sent to your domain.
In your Email client, feel free to
configure multiple outgoing accounts at many-different-names@youdomain.com.
It really doesn't matter, as everything@yourdomain.com
will land in the default account. Therefore,
you would configure all of your email accounts with the
"same" Username and Password as your "Default domain Email
Account."
EXAMPLE: Let's say you want to
receive mail from mailto:dianne@canada6000.com
and mark@yourdomain.com.
If both of these addresses are the ones you'll be using,
then the only thing that changes is the address - the
Username and Password is "always" the same.
The pop email account method:
In this case, you configure a
"private" pop email account for one or many users who will
be receiving and sending email from your domain. Once an
email address is configured as a pop mail account, it
operates privately and independently from your main
standard/default mail system. Any mail sent to a private pop
mail account "can only be received" by logging into that
account with the separate username and password you have
assigned it.
Your default "catch all" account
will not intercept any mail being sent to a pop mail
account, which is what makes it 'private'. Pop 3 accounts
are useful if there are a number of people (for example
employees) who would each need a private email account.
This way, everyone at your company can utilize private
email. The default email address plays a slightly different
role in this case: If a sender uses the 'wrong' Email
name or syntax, then that message would bounce to your
"default catch all" account, and at which time, you could
probably figure our who the sender was trying to contact.
They do however, have to at least send it to your correct
domain name, (i'e', oops@youdomain.com).
This would end up in your "default" mailbox.
How to configure a pop mail
account:
1. Login to C-Panel
2. Select "Add/Remove accounts"
3. Select "Add Account"
4. Enter an email name
5. Select "Create"
Just enter a name, (the @yourdomain part is added
automatically)
That's it, done! Your private pop 3
email account is now ready for use. If you're a little lost
on how to manually configure an email account into your mail
reader, please see the detailed tutorials on how to
configure Outlook and Netscape mail readers.
SPECIAL NOTE!
If you've enabled Sub-Domains,
you'll observe a duplicate email account appearing, which
corresponds to each sub-domain you've added. Please
ignore these duplicate addresses for the time being.
This is a new feature under development and will soon enable
the ability to configure email accounts for your
sub-domains. For example, if you configured
support.yourdomain.com, then you'll be able to use the
address mailto:tom@support.canada6000.com.
For the time being, please
configure email address's that correspond to your
"regular" domain, and just ignore the sub-domain
duplicates. ALSO: Any duplicate sub-domain email
address's you see appearing in your pop mail setup
configuration "DO NOT" count towards your allocated number
of pop mail boxes we've provided. In short, just
ignore them for now :-)
Setting
Your Default Email Address:
It appears pretty simple, but read
through this documentation, as this controls much more that
you'd expect. As mentioned in the previous chapter,
your "default email address" is the one, which can be used
as a "catch all", or in other words, to "catch all mail",
which is addressed to anything@yourdomain.com.
Using a catch all can be a blessing and sometimes a
curse.
The "catch all" is excellent if you
have a high frequency of people whom mistype your email
address, as these addresses (even though mistyped), will
simply be bounced to your "catch all" or "default" email
account. That is, providing they at least managed to spell
your domain name properly :)
If you're not planning on using
multiple "private email boxes", then you can keep life very
simple - just configure the default email address in your
mail reader and leave it at that. This way, you'll
receive everything sent to your domain. There are
indeed pro's and con's to this method, which will be
discussed in this tutorial.
Setting your default/catch all email
account:
Note: By default, or until you change it,
the default email address will be the same as your "login
name."
1. Login to C-Panel
2. Select "Default Address"
3. Select "Set Default Email Address"
4. Enter a desired default email address
Just enter a name, (the @yourdomain part is added
automatically)
Select "Change" and you'll see a
confirmation box, which displays your new default email
address. That's it- done!
Remember: In order
to receive mail, which finds its way into your "Default
Mailbox", you must configure the default address in your
mail reader. If you don't, then all mail, which
bounces to this address will sit on the server unread.
This is easy to do in Outlook Express, as it allows you to
configure and monitor multiple email accounts. Email
readers such as Netscape on the other hand, are limited to
"one" email account. Actually, you could re-configure
your mail reader to check your default email box every few
days, but who wants to be bothered with that trouble?
We suggest using an email reader, which allows you to
configure multiple email accounts.
The Webmail Alternative:
You can also check your default email account, or
another other mail account by logging into it through the
"WebMail" interface. Simply select the "WebMail" icon
at the bottom of C-panel, and log in to it using your
"Main Account" Username and Password.
This will allow to to check your default email box, as well
as other mailboxes without having to configure them in your
mail reader. In fact, using any pop accounts "Username
and Password" will log you into that particular account
through the "WebMail" interface.
The downside of enabling "Catch All":
Problems can sometimes arise when Spammers or junk mailers
use this feature as a means to pump their trash into your
mailbox. As long as the "catch all" is enabled, then all
they must do is send to whatever@yourdomain.com
and it will reach you.
On the other hand, if you're using
"specific pop email accounts", you could opt to disable the
"catch all", which would mean that "only visitors or
associates who you've given a specific address to" can send
mail to a particular email account on your
domain.
In this case, everything else,
(that you have not configured as a pop mail account) is
bounced back to the sender. In our opinion, we suggest
leaving your "catch all" enabled for the time being. If
Spammers begin sending random junk messages using
anything@yourdomain.com,
then you can disable your "catch all" feature.
Disabling your "Catch All
Feature"
Instead of entering a (syntax legal name), use illegal
syntax, which will effectively disable your email "catch
all." For example, using characters, which are known as
'illegal' to the email system such as
(>>>????) will work just
fine. These are characters, which cannot be used in an
email address, which in effect, will render the "Catch All"
feature useless. Go to your "change default email
address" and add something like the above as default
name.
What happens
now?
When Spammy or Jimmy junk mailer attempts to use a random
email address to Spam you, it will be bounced back to them.
That is, unless they happen to get a hold of one of your
"legitimate pop email account names", in which case, you'd
have a different problem on your hands. Yes, you could
either deal with it, or change the address.
Here is what now happens to a sender using
anything@yourdomain.com :
This is what the sender would receive. Please note that a
classic, but annoying junk mail example is being used
here:
This message was created automatically by mail delivery
software (Exim).
A message that you sent has not yet been delivered to one or
more of its
recipients after more than 24 hours on the queue on
yourdomain.com.
The message identifier is: 14m7gv-0007gl-00
The date of the message is: Mon, 04 June 2001 01:23:02
-0400
The subject of the message is: MAKE MILLIONS FAST!
The address to which the message has not yet been delivered
is:
anything@yourdomain.com
Delay reason: error in alias file
/etc/valiases/anything@yourdomain.com:
missing or malformed local part (expected word or "<") in
"******>>>" (Bad email syntax)
No action is required on your part. Delivery attempts will
continue for
some time, and this warning may be repeated at intervals if
the message
remains undelivered. Eventually the mail delivery software
will give up,
and when that happens, the message will be returned to
you.
So what actually happened here?
When the "Catch All" email address
(******>>>@yourdomain.com), attempted to
process an incoming message from anything@yourdomain.com,
and then forward the (junk message in this case) to the
"catch all/Default" email address, it freaked out, and said
forget it!! The default email address was set to
******>>> in this case, which is clearly an email
address using "illegal characters", so the sending process
was aborted. Therefore, the mail system bounced back the
above error message to the sender. There are numerous tricks
and special recipes you can 'manually' write into the Unix
email system for doing essentially the same thing, however
through C-Panel, this would certainly seem the easiest way
of accomplishing the task.
Configuring
Email Auto Responder's
What is an Email Auto
Responder?
Email auto responders will automatically send a customized
auto response (that you compose) to any visitor whom emails
the address configured with one. More specifically,
automated responses are sometimes used to send additional
information about your service or product by having a
visitor email something like moreinfo@yourdomain.com.
In most other cases, they are used to send a 'courtesy
reply' to anyone whom sends a query to your companies main
email address. When visitors email this address, they
recieve a response such as: Thanks for contacting our
company! Someone will be returning a response to your
question soon. If you require immediate assistance, please
call 555-222-1212. Thanks!), and so forth.
There are two types of Auto Responders:
The silent Auto Responder:
In this case, you configure the responder to send the
desired information when it's emailed, however you
'do not' receive copies of the inquiries that
people originally sent. This method is typically
used if you have a product and want people to email an
address for additional information on it. You simply
tell them to email moreinfo@yourdomain.com,
and they receive additional information on it. Again,
you 'will not' receive receipts of the visitors emailing the
auto responder. If you want to do this, please read the next
paragraph.
The Auto Responder that sends you the original
inquiry:
In this case, the auto responder is setup to work with a
(currently configured pop email account).
Now, the sender receives your automated response, and
you receive their 'original inquiry'.
How to setup an Auto Responder:
1. login to C-panel
2. Select "Auto Responders"
3. Select "Add Auto Responder"
4. Enter the "Email Address" to send the auto response
5. Enter a "From" name, (for example, my
company)
6. Enter a "Subject", (for example, thank you)
7. Enter your message in the "Body" area
Select "Create" and that's it! Your
auto responder is now online. To test it, email its address
and see if you receive the auto response. If you've
configured it to an existing pop mail account, you should
receive 2 responses. The first, which is your inquiry, (that
you just sent to yourself), and the second, which will be
the automated response.
Remember! If you
want to receive the "Incoming Inquiries" in addition to
sending the automated response, then add an email address,
which is "already" configured as a "pop email
account." If you "do not" wish to receive the original
incoming inquiry, then simply enter a name, which "Is Not"
configured as one of your existing pop mail accounts.
If at anytime you want to update, edit, or delete an auto
response, simply go back into "Auto responders" and you'll
see the current responders configured, as well as options
beside each of them to change or delete.
Blocking
Unwanted Email Messages:
From time to time, you may
experience either a junk mailer or some other menacing
individual whom keeps sending you annoying email messages.
C-Panel has a built in feature, which allows you to block
these email messages in a multitude of different ways. You
can block them by:
- Sender
- Subject
- Message Header
- Message Body
Of course, if all you want to do is block one specific email
address, then you don't have to worry about getting fancy
with it - just enter the email address to be blocked, and
that's it, done!
How to use the block email function:
1. Login to C-Panel
2. Select "Block an Email"
3. Select "Add Filter"
If all you want to do is block a
single email address, then simply leave the "current default
setting" as is, and enter in the email address to be
blocked. For example, annoying-nolife@nothingbettertodo.com
Click "Add Filter", and that's it done!
When you click "Back" or login to this feature next time,
you'll see the list of email address's, and or expressions
you've blocked. Beside each one of them will be a "Delete"
option, so that you can remove the block from your account
at a future time. NOTE: When you block an
email address, or some other keyword, this filtering will be
enabled on "All Email Accounts" within your domain.
Advanced Blocking:
For those of who whom experience frequent problems with junk
email messages, you'll be please to see this option provides
a broad range of blocking options. Instead of having us try
to explain every last one of them here, this is a feature
you'll really want to experiment with yourself.
Doing so, will allow you to become
familiar with the ways that email can be blocked, and will
also help you with customizing a recipe that works best for
your domain. Play around with the settings, and try to block
words, or phrases based on the From Name, Subject, or
Message Body Text. Now, send an email to your account and
see if the terms and criteria you selected are providing the
filtering you want.
It may take a little time to master, but it's fun, and a
great way to broaden your abilities on web site
administration. FINAL NOTE: If you're
totally new to email blocking, and wish to explore its full
potential, we highly suggest you test it before launching
your site. This way, you don't have to worry about
accidentally disrupting email for your entire
domain.
Hint: Unless
you're 100% sure of what a setting will do, always delete it
when you're finished, or until you have time to run a series
of tests on it. You want to ensure it's blocking what it's
supposed to, and not legitimate email
messages!
A big junk mail problem:
If you're experiencing a high volume of junk mail, then
there's a good possibility Spammers are taking advantage of
your "catch all" option. To disable this, please see our
tutorial on "Default Email Address."
Email
Forwarding:
Email forwarding is a feature,
which forwards an email that originated from your domain, to
another email address. The forwarding address can be another
email address within 'your domain', or to an 'external
email' address, (for example to your home ISP email
account). There are two types of email forwarding:
Forward silently to another address:
In this case, the email address from your domain (setup for
forwarding) will divert all messages to the forwarding
address you've selected, and without sending you a copy of
the original message. For example, you@yourdomain.com
will automatically forward all messages to you@mindspring.com.
Pretty straight forward. (no pun intended).
Forward to another address, but also send you the
"original inquirey":
This is the method most commonly used. For example, you have
two other partners who wish to receive all incoming
inquiries to the company. Perhaps you're the one who
responds to them, but your counterparts would like copies of
the incoming activity as well. The method for accomplishing
this is pretty well the same as above, except in this case
you would configure one of your "existing pop email
accounts", as that is how you'd receive a copy of the
original incoming message.
Example: When General@company.com
(your companies main address) is mailed, you would typically
be the only one to receive the response, however if you've
configured forwards for your two counterparts (Bob and
Mary), then bob@doodles.com
and mary@yourdomain.com
could also receive a copy of the incoming messages.
How to setup a mail forward:
1. Login to C-Panel
2. Select "Forwarders"
3. Enter a configured pop email account name if you want to
recieve original inquiries. (Enter a none configured
email address if you do not)
4. Enter the email address you want it to relay a copy of
the message to
5. Select "Add Forward"
All messages will now be forwarded to the forwarding
address, and with a copy sent to you
Need to Forward to more
than one person?
Simply repeat the above process
using the same address you've setup as the forward, and
enter the additional recipients you would like to send a
copy of the message to. All email forwards will be
listed in your "Email Forwarder" administrator. You can
delete forwards when you no longer require them,
Testing your forward.
If you want to test your new mail forward, it's recommended
that the email account you're testing from "is not" one of
the accounts you're using in conjunction with the forwarder
you've just setup. For example, if you've configured
harry@yourdomain.com
to forward copies to bob@doodles.com
and mary@yourdomain.com,
then send a test message from an email address, other than
one of the addresses you've just setup, otherwise it can
somewhat confusing in figuring out which message was coming
from the actual forward, and which was the original sent
from you.
Accessing your
mail through the web based interface
C-Panel extends the versatility of its
email system by allowing you to access any one of your email
accounts through its own web mail interface. You have the
choice of accessing all mail through the web, or any of your
private pop email accounts. Gone are the days of having to
create several email accounts on various free html based
mail systems, as now you have your own, which operates from
"your account."
Accessing your mail through the web mail
interface:
1. Login to C-Panel
2. Select "Web Mail"
You can choose from several
web-based email programs; possibly the easiest ot use is
NeoMail.
The first screen you'll see:
If it's the first time you're accessing this email account
through WebMail, a setup screen appears. Actually, all this
really does is display how you'll be identifying yourself in
email messages. Everything is pretty much the same as what
you setup the "original pop mail account" with, however
check it closely and make sure everything is appearing as
you want it.
Does everything look correct?
If so, then click "Save" and a dialog box pops up, which
confirms your settings as being saved successfully. Click
"Continue". A username and password prompt will appear, and
are the same as the username and password you created
with that particular account; you'll be taken to your
WebMail inbox Along the top of the screen, you'll
observe the following icons. Clicking on any one of
them will do the following.
Notes:
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Compose a new
message
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Refresh the
screen
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View user
preferences
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Open address
book
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View or add new
folders
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Empty your trash
folder
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To delete or move a message, select
the small box beside it. Select where you which to
place it using the drop down menu (top right of screen),
then click "Move".
- Open address book, allows
you to add and edit email addresses . You can also export
your Outlook or Netscape Address Book, which equips
your account with all the email address's you currently
use.
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