Has anybody here registered a domain?
 

Do you like the registrar you used? Did they have decent account management?

I ran into a problem with one registrar. They told me they're "in the process" of upgrading their systems to handle static IP addresses. Did I miss something?? Isn't that what they are SUPPOSED to handle? How else do you resolve a domain name into an IP? Guess?!?

No, they're quite right...

The names are handled by the registrars,
the ip numbers by the ISPs.
There is usually a block of numbers allocated to an ISP and with the new ipv6 introduction, it has brought out all the holes in the ipv4 numberspace and the crazy tricks ISPs used,
so a lot of cleaning up is being done...

Eh?

Care to clarify this one peter?

What kind of tricks are we talking here, and I'm also confused on what exactly their problems might be.

One assumes that a registrar would simply take your domain, register it in global dns and then serve it up using their dns machines.

I'm confused about where the 'holes' are in this process and would be equally confused as the esteemed Helmet if I was told similar.

Slick.

I was under the impression the registrar would take a domain name & IP address pair, enter them into their own domain name servers, and then, through some networking process, that information would be disseminated to other DNS servers on the Internet.

It wouldn't surprise me if there's more activity going on than I'm aware of, but it's just not readily apparent (to me anyways...).

Sorry, it sounded simple as I wrote it...;)

Some isp's have been using Class A allocations for their customers, and routing the external ip address into the customer space with ARP tables, leaving the Class A allocation unchanged.

ISPs have also been allocating duplicated block between continents for dhcp based services, eg dialup and adsl.
Because no NEW inward traffic is generated to a dynamic allocation, they can share these blocks behind NATted routers.

If someone wants a static number , they allocate one from the blocks they are paying for, and route it fully into the segment, which can create a routing problem on shared segments such as cable services, putting both external and 'internal' numbers on the same segment.
The idea of wasting 4 numbers to get 1 static number with a gateway, (a 242 netmask), isn't needed under ipv6.
Each static allocation requires a routing test from the source of the number's block to the customer's end point. So some external numbers would require massive routing table additions to be possible.
The systems I have used are fully automatic, dishing up a static number based on which segment and possible subnet can be used & loading routing changes during the overnight backups/mirors.

I understand the initial ipv6 allocation policy recommendation is to allocate a 48 bit address to each host, effectively making them static, dhcp or not, with a whole Class A size subnet available behind it.
This will certainly make any allocations easier, if his system can handle it...
So, if your registrar is changing his system to suit static addresses, I'd suspect he is engineering for the ipv6 numberspace and automatic allocation/inception.

I've never dealt with a registrar that allocated numbers as well.
I've always given them the names and numbers to be loaded.
It's only a bit of software to join both the dns and routing together and then sequence the posting to servers and routers, so I guess it makes sense to do it at the same time.

I knew I was rusty about networks, but didn't know I was THAT rusty. I believe I can follow that explanation reasonably well, but I'll have to pick it apart later to make sure I understand all of it.

In the meantime, could you describe the process of registering a domain? I'm not interested in being spoon-fed, but I'd like to know who the "major players" are. I'm at point A: I have a static IP from my ISP. I want to get to point B: emailing to user "username@mydomain.com". If I know what's involved, then I can research the stuff myself and understand who needs what, why, and what reasonable prices are for their services.

I registered a domain with godaddy.com. I have never had any sort of problems what so ever with them.

Network Solutions has always been my first choice. Their new DNS management service is just the ticket for admins/hobbyists who want to be able to create A's, MX's, CNames etc. on the fly as boxes are brought up or changed. Give them a looksie, although I am sure that for all my excellent experiences with them, someone else has a horror story!

Jeff

I've registered well over one hundred domains through godaddy.com and they've been excellent. I've also used dotregistrar.com and a few others, but none have compared to the price and power of godaddy.com.

If you have a vague idea of how DNS works, I would highly recommend registering your domain name with godaddy and creating a DNS management account at www.mydomain.com.

In godaddy, point your name servers at ns1.mydomain.com and ns2.mydomain.com, add your domain in mydomain.com and voila; you have virtually complete control over your DNS as far as being able to point to web servers and mail servers and the like. Mydomain.com also gives you the ability to auto forward mail to your local ISP based email account if you so wish.

The only things that Mydomain.com don't allow you to do, is add resource style DNS records (SRV) and change the Time-To-Live (TTL) details on your domains to speed up the update and replication process.

TechBrat Out.

>I knew I was rusty about networks, but didn't know I was THAT rusty.

I didn't know I was rusty at all, until I read that. It's been a few years since I've worked at an ISP, but nothing like that was going on then.... I had no idea.

Thanks for the heads-up on that Peter.. :)

Back on topic, I registered a domain or two about urm.. 5 years ago with register.com. All done through their web interface which worked faultlessly. I use *their* DNS servers, rather than my own, mind you. Since then they've billed me and left me alone. I'm quite happy with their service.

Slick.

I really appreciate the feedback guys. Thank you very much.

I'm narrowing the field, and the two front-runners are godaddy.com since there are a number of people here who like it, and Alice's Registry (www.ar.com). Alice's supposedly supports free software through the registration fee. However, they do not have a list of the software projects they support. I'll have to dig a little deeper to verify their claim. They also offer DNS hosting (which was the missing piece I was referring to earlier) bundled in their registration fee. They're a bit pricey ($70 for a 2-year registration; $35/year renewal), but if they do support free software, it might be worth it.

I haven't covered all the registrars yet (network solutions and register.com are still on the list). There are quite a few of them out there...

Hey,
I've personally never heard of AR.

I think anyone that thinks they can charge more that $15-20 for a domain name needs to look at their business model. There are too many people selling the major TLDs for $15.

If you're new to domain names, go with the company that you believe offers you the best all-in-one service so you don't have to go linking various systems and the like.

My first domain name years ago was registered through easydns.com. They were awesome, but when I got more, they were too pricey. I got to understand DNS a whole lot better and now just register my domains through godaddy and use my own name server to handle the DNS.

Free software? They wouldn't be charging $35/year for free software. ;) More like charging $20 for the domain and $15 for the software. Chances are someone out there is providing it for free anyway and you can get your domain for $8.95US at godaddy.

A registrar is a very simple service and shouldn't need to support any particular standard or software. I'm a bit lost when you say the "projects they support".

TechBrat Out.

Alice's claims that a portion of the registration fee is used to support free software projects; free as in "open source". Whether that is the same as software under GPL (or a similar license), is a bit confusing. I read somewhere that GNU believes there is a difference between "open source" and "free software", but I can't remember the distinction.

This is the program they sponsor:
http://www.ar.com/sourceFund/index.jsp

Here's a list of projects that have received donations/support/whatever:
http://www.ar.com/sourceFund/awards.jsp

Not to be devils-advocate, but I wouldn't count on it for funding of an open source/GPL'd project that you're working on.

I'd still use godaddy (or a cheaper, reliable registrar) and if you're keen on supporting open source developments, pick a project that you're interested in and make a donation or alternatively save the money for funding of your own.

Techbrat Out.

Hehehe... no, I'm not part of a GNU project.... yet...

Actually, I've already made a donation to FSF to become an "Associate Member". If I need to do something (such as register a domain), and there's a route that will support free software, I look into it.

But like I said, I haven't looked at all the registrars yet. So no decision has been made, and your points are well taken.