About DnsExit.com Q. What services does DnsExit.com provide ? Q. How is dnsExit.com different from other registration services ? Q. Do I need to register my domain through dnsExit.com to get free DNS Service ?

	DNS Services Q. What is DNS ? Q. What is dynamic DNS and how to setup it up ? Q. My IP is different from the IP entered at DnsExit.com ? Q. Do I have to logon to the website every time my IP address changes ? Q. Where can I learn more about DNS ? Q. How can I know my DNS Settings on dnsExit.com is working ? Q. What is an MX record ? Q. What is Round Robin DNS? How to set it up? ? Q. What is Wild Card DNS? How to set it up? ? Q. How can I know the IP address of my PC ? Q. I have my servers behind DSL/Cable Modem Routers. Can I still use your DNS services ?

	Host Your Own Email Server Q. How do I setup DNS if I want to setup an email server for my domain ? Q. My ISP blocks SMTP port 25. Can I still host a mail server ? Q. How do I check if my email server is working ? Q. My domain uses Mail Backup service, how do I check queued emails and how do I force a dequeue ? Q. How do I setup my DNS to support Sender Policy Framework(SPF) ?

	Host Your Own Web Site Q. How can I host multiple web sites on one IP Address ? Q. My ISP blocked port 80, how can I run a web server ? Q. How can I know what ports are blocked by my ISP ?

	Domain Name Registration Q. What is a domain name ? Q. I have already registered a domain through other registrar. Can I transfer the domain to dnsExit ? Q. What does it mean to 'register a domain name' ? Q. What is a valid domain name ? Q. How can I know the domain registration is finished and when can I accessing my domain ? Q. I have accidentally registered the wrong domain name. Will the fee apply again to register the correct name ? Q. How do I modify the contact information (whois data) for my domain ? Q. How can I change my domain name servers (DNS servers) ?

Q.   What services does DnsExit.com provide? A.   We provide domain name registration, dynamic / static DNS services, URL forwarding, Backup Mail service, Email Forwarding service, Email Redirection service. DnsExit.com provides a convenient single-location, integrated, web-based domain manager for configuring all of the services provided. Click here to learn more. Back to Top           Q.   How is dnsExit.com different from other registration services? A.   Most domain registration sites leave customers without any DNS. DnsExit.com provides not only easy-to-use web interface for you to setup your DNS records, but also provide Dynamic DNS service so that cable modem, DSL, and dial up users can run web sites on their home pc. Back to Top           Q.   Do I need to register my domain through dnsExit.com to get free DNS Service? A.   No, our DNS Service that supports dynamic IP is 100% free for all domains regardless of the registrar of the domain. However, we do suggest you to have your domains with us by registering new domains or transferring existing domains to us. Domains with us do enjoy free services including URL Forwarding (with domain cloaking) that usually cost $6.99/year for domains out of our registry. Also, you get cheaper price for Email Forwarding Service. Back to Top           Q.   What is DNS? A.   DNS is the technology that ties text-based domain names to the numeric IP Addresses that are necessary to locate the domain's server on the net. Click here to view a simplified picture of how DNS works. Back to Top           Q.   What is dynamic DNS and how to setup it up? A.   Dynamic IP addresses are ones that are assigned to you when you log on to the Internet. The IP address that you use may change each time you log on. Most dialup Internet accounts use dynamic IP addressing. Most cable/DSL services use dynamic IP addressing as well, however, it may not change often. Because the IP keep changes, it is difficult to link a domain name to your changing IP. Our Dynamic DNS Service enable you to run your domain over a changing IP.Click here to know how to set it up. You may need dynamic IP update client to update your changed IP to our system. Back to Top           Q.   My IP is different from the IP entered at DnsExit.com? A.   Make sure your domain is using and only using DNS Exit name servers At DOS(Windows) or Shell(Unix/Linux) prompt, type command: c:\> nslookup -type=ns mydomainname.com You should see only DnsExit.com name servers. Otherwise, the domain's DNS on our system is not taking effect since queries to your domain are resolved by other name servers. For updates to your dynamic IP, the new IP can take up to 2 minutes to take effect. You may want to wait a little longer and try again. Within 2 days after switching your domain name servers to our name servers, your ISP DNS servers may be still caching your domain IP address getting from previous domain name servers while it was static IP.In this case, other people may getting the correct IP address of your domain while you are getting the old IP address. You can check if other name servers are reporting correct IP for your domain by using the following DOS/Linux/Unix command: c:\> nslookup > server NS10.NBA-HQ.COM //Or enter one of the following name servers > yourdomainname.com //Just an example, replace it with one of your subdomain/host The list of name servers you can try: NS10.NBA-HQ.COM; NS20.NBA-HQ.COM; dns-ext.ciesin.org; CHAOS.LDGO.COLUMBIA.EDU Login to your DnsExit account, bring up the DNS for your domain and check what is the IP in the system. Then you should query what IP address is reported by our name servers by using DOS/Linux command: c:\> nslookup > server ns1.dnsexit.com // Specify what name server to query IP. You may also try ns2.dnsexit.com > yourdomainname.com //Just an example, replace it with one of your subdomain/host The reported IP address should be the same as the IP address of your domain. However,in some rare occassions for unknown reasons, our DNS server could fail to reload the domain zone file after the update.In this case, you can manually force the update by bringing up the DNS for your domain at DnsExit.com and clicking on the SUBMIT button at the buttom of the page to force an update. Wait for 2 minutes and try the above DNS query again. Your should see the correct IP of your domain. Back to Top           Q.   Do I have to logon to the website every time my IP address changes? A.   No, dnsExit.com has dynamic update clients avalible for download. The dynamic update client sits in the background and updates your IP address on our servers when it does change. We have clients available for Linux/Unix, and Windows. Back to Top           Q.   Where can I learn more about DNS? A.   Here is the list of links: Click here for a simplified chart explaining how DNS works. DnsStuff contains all tools for domain testing. DnsReport to check domain DNS settings. DNS Resource Directory a Complete DNS Reference Guide. ISC BIND is the standard in DNS server software and is distributed for free at isc.org. Back to Top           Q.   How can I know my DNS Settings on dnsExit.com is working? A.   On Windows 2000/XP/NT, Linux, Unix, use command nslookup Make sure your domain whois data is pointing to our DNS servers by using command nslookup -type=NS yourdomainname.com If the response does not contain all of the dnsExit name servers, then you should contact your registrar and have them change it. Before the domain DNS servers pointed to our name servers, you can force nslookup to user our name server by: nslookup www.yourdomainname.com ns1.dnsexit.com To look for a certain record type, like the MX record or the SOA record, you can use the parameter -type=MX or -type=SOA nslookup -type=MX yourdomainname.com Back to Top           Q.   What is an MX record? A.   "MX" ("Mail eXchanger") records are used to specify what server on the Internet is running e-mail software that is configured to handle e-mail for your domain. If you want your ISP to handle routing the e-mail for your domain to you, you need to specify the domain name or IP address of your ISP's mail server. In addition, you can specify the rank of each mail server when you have more than one. Make sure your ISP knows that you're using their servers to route your domain's email, or all your e-mail will "return to sender"! Back to Top           Q.   What is Round Robin DNS? How to set it up?? A.   A load balancing technique in which balance power is placed in the DNS server instead of a strictly dedicated machine as other load techniques do. Round robin works on a rotating basis in that server IP address is handed out in rotation. To setup Round Roubin DNS at dnsExit, you can simply assign multiple IP addresses to the same host/subdomain. For example: www.yourdomain.com 23.22.28.1 www.yourdomain.com 23.22.28.2 www.yourdomain.com 23.22.28.3 In the above, each IP each gets 33.3% of the queries. If you want more hits to IP 23.22.28.2, you can add one more entry of www to that IP so that 50% of the query will go to 23.22.28.2 and the other 2 IPs will each get 25% of the queries. Back to Top           Q.   What is Wild Card DNS? How to set it up?? A.   You can specify a host/subdomain or alias with *.yourdomain.com and assign it the IP address or alias to host. All the undefined hosts/subdomains in your domain get the assign IP or alias the sepcified host. To set wild card DNS in our system, you can simply enter * in the host or alias filed. Back to Top           Q.   How can I know the IP address of my PC? A.   At the DOS prompt, type command ipconfig. However, the following command may not always reflect your true IP to Internet if your PC is behind a router or firewall. In this case, your can bring up your browser and type URL address http://whatismyip.com Back to Top           Q.   I have my servers behind DSL/Cable Modem Routers. Can I still use your DNS services? A.   Yes. The IP address of your subdomain (or host) will be the router's IP address assigned by your ISP. If you want to run your own web server, ftp server or email server, you will need to forward the corresponding ports on the router to the machine. The following ports are the most commonly used ports: 80 - www 21 - ftp 25 - email(SMTP) Suppose you have domain yourdomain.com and you would like to host http://www.yourdomain.com . First, find your router's IP address by typing http://www.whatismyip.com on your browser. Use that IP address for www.yourdomain.com. Then, login to the machine to host the web server, to find the local IP address, at command prompt type command ipconfig for NT or ifconfig for Linux/Unix. The IP address you see at the command will be the LAN IP for your server. Suppose you got the IP 192.168.1.100 . You will need to forward port 80 from the router to port 80 at 192.168.1.100 . The followings are Step by Step guide on how to setup port forwarding on routers: Linksys Cable/DSL Router - Single Ports Linksys Cable/DSL Router - Port Ranges D-Link Cable/DSL Router Back to Top           Q.   How do I setup DNS if I want to setup an email server for my domain? A.   First, you must specify the email server to receive emails for the domain. At the MX Section of the domain DNS, enter the email server name and assign it a numeric preference number. Multiple email servers are allowed; however, the one with the lowest preference number will become the primary email server for the domain. After submit the changes of the DNS for your domain, wait for a about 2 minutes. Then run the following DOS/Linux command to check what are the mail exchange servers for the domain name: c:\> nslookup -type=mx yourdomain.com We provide Mail Relay Testing Tool that you can use to test if you mail server is configured correctly to accept emails for your domain. Back to Top           Q.   My ISP blocks SMTP port 25. Can I still host a mail server? A.   You can run your e-mail server on other none-standard SMTP ports - 26 or 940. Mail Redirection service will help you go around the incoming port 25 blocking. When signing up for the service, you will be asked for the email server name and port (either 26 or 940). Our email server, smtp.dnsexit.com, will be assigned as the primary mail exchanger for the domain. Emails to your domain will be re-routed to your server at the SMTP ports specified in the setup. If you still can not receive emails for the domain after setting up the mail redirection, it is very possible your email server is not setup correctly. You can use Mail Relay Testing Tool to test if if you mail server is configured correctly to accept emails for your domain. Your ISP may also blocks outgoing SMTP port to prevent you sending emails. In this case, you should also signup for Mail Relay service. The service allows you to send out emails through port 26 or 940. Back to Top           Q.   How do I check if my email server is working? A.   First, check if email server is specified for your domain by running the following DOS/Linux command.You should see the email server of the domain. c:\> nslookup -type=mx yourdomain.com We have provided Mail Relay Testing Tool that you can use to test if you mail server is configured correctly to accept emails for your domain. Or, you can manually telnet to your mail server at port 25 and see if the server is accepting mails for your domain. If the email server is not configured correctly, you usually will get an error message after the rcpt to command. c:\> telnet youremailserver 25 > helo yourdomain.com > mail from:<yourname@anydomain.com> > rcpt to:<name@yourdomain.com> > data > Subject: //enter a test subject > .....//enter the mail message > . //enter a dot to indicate the end of mail message > quit Back to Top           Q.   My domain uses Mail Backup service, how do I check queued emails and how do I force a dequeue? A.   If your domain uses our Mail Backup service,our mail backup server will queue your emails only when your mail server is not available. To check if there are emails queued up on our mail backup server, click this link to check queued emails and force a dequeue Back to Top           Q.   How do I setup my DNS to support Sender Policy Framework(SPF)? A.   Our support for Sender Policy Frameword(SPF) is to add TXT DNS records to your DNS interface. SPF data is published in these TXT records. You can click this link DNSEXIT Support for Sender Policy Framework(SPF) for full details. Back to Top           Q.   How can I host multiple web sites on one IP Address? A.   Most web servers, such as IIS and Apache, support Name-based Virtual Hosting that allows multiple domains(websites) to run on the same web server. For the domains to run on the same web server, while setup DNS, you should setup the domains to point to the same IP address as the web server. The following links contains instructions to setup name-based virtual hosting on IIS and Apache: Apache: Name-based Virtual Host Support Microsoft IIS: Using Host Header Names in IIS Back to Top           Q.   My ISP blocked port 80, how can I run a web server? A.   Setup your web server to listen to other ports such as 8080 instead of 80. Then you will need DNS Plus Service that covers Web/URL Forward. Upgrade your DNS Service of the domain to DNS Plus Service. At the Web/URL Forwarding section of the DNS Setup Page, you will enter http://www.yourdomain.com forward to http://www2.yourdomain.com:8080 You can select cloaking option to keep the original URL in the location field of the browser. You also need to setup www2 as either a host or alias so that we know where to forward the URL to. Back to Top           Q.   How can I know what ports are blocked by my ISP? A.   In order to run a web server or email, you need to make sure your ports are open. If they are closed, then you may have to use different port numbers for your website. The best way to know what ports are blocked is to contact your ISP. Or these tools will scan your ports and let you know if your ports are open or closed. Try the following websites: MyServers.org- Good scanner, tests most ports, can submit your own port number to test. Sygate Online Services-Good scanner. Shields Up-Good, but no longer tests port 80. Back to Top           Q.   What is a domain name? A.   Similar to how your house address indicates where you live in the world, a domain name indicates where your web site's location is on the Internet. Generally people want domain names that are easy to remember so that others can locate their web site very easily. A domain name is an alias for a particular numeric Internet Protocol (IP) address. (An IP address is a string of four numbers ranging from 0-255 separated by periods called dots. A typical IP address could look something like: 192.134.12.212.) Every computer connected to the Internet has at least one IP address that uniquely identifies it from all other computers on the Internet. Because numeric IP addresses are relatively difficult for people to remember, the domain name system (DNS) was created to allow people to associate meaningful and easy-to-remember aliases with actual IP addresses. Since every IP address is unique, every domain name must also be unique. Domain names correspond to numeric IP addresses and the DNS matches domain names to IP addresses so that users of the Internet only have to remember domain names, not numbers. Back to Top           Q.   I have already registered a domain through other registrar. Can I transfer the domain to dnsExit? A.   Sure you can. Click here to start. Or your can click here to read the domain transfer FAQ. Back to Top           Q.   What does it mean to 'register a domain name'? A.   There is a central registry database of all domain names on the Internet. In order for your domain name to be recognized, it must be in the registry. 'Registering a domain name' means you are associated with that domain name for the period of the registration. That is the service we provide at dnsExit.com for individuals, companies and large corporations all over the world. Back to Top           Q.   What is a valid domain name? A.   A domain name can be up to 63 characters (letters, numbers or combination) long plus the 4 characters used to identify the domain extension (.com, .net, .org). The only symbol character domain names can include is a hyphen (-) although the domain name cannot start or end with a hyphen. Common symbols such as asterisks (*), under scores (_), and exclamation points (!) are not allowed. Domain names are not case sensitive, so domainname.com is the same as DOMAINNAME.com. They are the same name, and can never point to two different sites. When you are looking for a domain name, you can type the name in lower, upper, or mixed case - it makes no difference. Back to Top           Q.   How can I know the domain registration is finished and when can I accessing my domain? A.   After the domain is registered on InterNic registry, you will receive an email confirmation. However, you will need to wait until next day to be able to use the domain name since the global whois database is refreshed only once a day. Back to Top           Q.   I have accidentally registered the wrong domain name. Will the fee apply again to register the correct name? A.   dnsExit.com registers domain names in real-time. Once you have registered a domain, the process cannot be undone. If you wish to register another one, you must pay for each subsequent domain you successfully register. Domain registration fee is not refundable. Back to Top           Q.   How do I modify the contact information (whois data) for my domain? A.   After receiving domain registration confirmation email. You can just login to dnsExit.com member account and click on the 'whois' link next to the domain name to access your real-time domain control panel. Back to Top           Q.   How can I change my domain name servers (DNS servers)? A.   Login to your dnsExit account, click on 'whois' link next to the domain name and you will be brought to domain control panel. At the DNS section click on 'Modify' link to modify DNS servers. You do not need to type in the IP addresses. These are looked up automatically by the DNS. The DNS servers must be registered name servers otherwise errors will be thrown while submitting the changes. Back to Top