Hello

I'm looking for companies that provide only DNS and e-mail for people who either don't need a web site or would rather host it in-house.

What reputable companies would you recommend in the US?

Thank you.

You might take a look at no-ip.com.

I used their DNS service for about five years (first the free, then the paid) and found it rock-solid.

I think they are located in Nevada.

godaddy.com will provide DNS services for any domain registered or transfered to them. They also do e-mail hosting.

Thank you.

Am I correct in understanding this is how things work when accessing a service?

1. The registrar handles acme.com, and includes the IP address of one or more DNS servers that are authoritative for acme.com
2. The client (eg. e-mail server or web browser) contacts the DNS to find the IP address of either the MX server or WWW server
3. Finally, the client connects to the IP.

If this is correct, this means that I need to accomplish the following tasks to host a web site and a mail server at home:

1. At home, install an SMTP + POP + WWW servers
2. Find a company just to provide DNS services (no-ip.com, GoDaddy, etc.), and edit the data (MX + www) to point to my home server
3. Edit the DNS info at the registrar to point to my new DNS servers

Is this correct?

Thank you.

Yes, your assumptions and task list are correct.

Assuming your internet provider has allocated you a fixed IP address for your connection.

no-ip.com provides DNS service for DHCP addresses. You install a tiny application on your server that communicates regularly to no-ip.com and they keep the DNS updated. That's what "dynamic DNS service" means.

When I was self-hosting using no-ip.com services, I found their service very reliable for the five years or so before I moved to a hosting provider.

You might check your ISP's terms of service and reputation as regards self-hosting.

In the States, most consumer ISPs forbid self-hosting. Many of them won't bother you if you don't cause them bandwidth trouble (that is, don't get yourself noticed). Others are actively hostile and may actually block ports, such as port 80, commonly used for hosting unless you have a business-level account.