Setting up VSFTP at Home - Please Help

Good Day All,

I am trying to setup an ftp server at home so I can make some files
available over the internet. I am using VSFTP with redhat 8.0 and it works
fine as long I use the IP of my server at home provided by ISP. Here is the
trick, instead of using
ftp://192.168.1.1/docs I want to be able to use something like
ftp://training.linuxathome.com.

I don't have a lot of networking background, so please bare with me and
hopefully by answering these I'll have better Idea where to start.

1) Do I need to setup DNS ?
2) If I do, that means I need to have domain name hosted by my ISP, correct?
3) I heard that some companies offer free DNS hosting, if that is correct,
who are these companies?
4) what is the best way to approach this?

Your help is greatly appreciated.
Thank you

mohamad2181 wrote:
> Good Day All,
>
> I am trying to setup an ftp server at home so I can make some files
> available over the internet. I am using VSFTP with redhat 8.0 and it works
> fine as long I use the IP of my server at home provided by ISP. Here is the
> trick, instead of using
> ftp://192.168.1.1/docs I want to be able to use something like
> ftp://training.linuxathome.com.
>
> I don't have a lot of networking background, so please bare with me and
> hopefully by answering these I'll have better Idea where to start.
>
> 1) Do I need to setup DNS ?
> 2) If I do, that means I need to have domain name hosted by my ISP, correct?
> 3) I heard that some companies offer free DNS hosting, if that is correct,
> who are these companies?
> 4) what is the best way to approach this?
>

You do not need to set up a DNS server, it's sufficient to
have a suitable DNS record at a willing public server.

Have a look at <http://www.dyndns.org/>.

There are other similar services, Google for 'dynamic dns'.

--

Tauno Voipio
tauno voipio (at) iki fi

PS. I'm happily using Dyndns services - they work like the
proverbial charm.

TV

Hi,

"mohamad2181" <mohamad2181@rogers.com> wrote in message
news:6c-dnak7lap-0THfRVn-rw@rogers.com...
> Good Day All,
>
> I am trying to setup an ftp server at home so I can make some files
> available over the internet. I am using VSFTP with redhat 8.0 and it
> works
> fine as long I use the IP of my server at home provided by ISP. Here is
> the
> trick, instead of using
> ftp://192.168.1.1/docs I want to be able to use something like
> ftp://training.linuxathome.com.
>
> I don't have a lot of networking background, so please bare with me and
> hopefully by answering these I'll have better Idea where to start.
>
> 1) Do I need to setup DNS ?
> 2) If I do, that means I need to have domain name hosted by my ISP,
> correct?
> 3) I heard that some companies offer free DNS hosting, if that is
> correct,
> who are these companies?
> 4) what is the best way to approach this?
>
> Your help is greatly appreciated.
> Thank you
>

See my reply on comp.os.linux

Cheers.
Charif

On Sun, 12 Jun 2005 10:55:37 -0400, "mohamad2181"
<mohamad2181@rogers.com> wrote:

>Good Day All,
>
>I am trying to setup an ftp server at home so I can make some files
>available over the internet. I am using VSFTP with redhat 8.0 and it works
>fine as long I use the IP of my server at home provided by ISP. Here is the
>trick, instead of using
>ftp://192.168.1.1/docs I want to be able to use something like
>ftp://training.linuxathome.com.
>
>I don't have a lot of networking background, so please bare with me and
>hopefully by answering these I'll have better Idea where to start.
>
>1) Do I need to setup DNS ?
>2) If I do, that means I need to have domain name hosted by my ISP, correct?
>3) I heard that some companies offer free DNS hosting, if that is correct,
>who are these companies?
>4) what is the best way to approach this?
>
>Your help is greatly appreciated.
>Thank you
>


Domain Name Howto

These are the steps that you need to follow in order set up your
domain name:
*
Purchase a domain name from a registrar.
*
Find a DNS name server to be authoritive for your domain.
*
Configure your name server's DNS records for your domain.
*
Let your registrar know who is the authorative name server for
the domain.

Getting A Domain Name

Getting a domain name is relatively straight forward, you find a
domain name registrar, chose a name that's not already registered, and
pay the fee. All of this can be done via the registrar's website.
Registration is for a fixed period of time, the minimum time being one
year. A list of accredited registrars can be found at ICAAN. There are
quite a few bargain registrars where the price is under US $10 per
name per year, so shop around before you buy. Make sure that you chose
a registrar that will allow you to configure your account online (more
about that later).

The .com, .net and .org domain names are freely available for
registration by anyone. But virtually any name that's in the
dictionary will have already been taken, either by someone who
actually uses it, or by someone whose speculating that they can sell
it to someone else at a profit. Names made from groups of words are
more likely to be available. There's no way that you'll get hotel.com,
but you could well find that you can get TheBrisbaneHotel.com. You
have to be a bit creative. The registrar's web site will be able to
tell you if the domain you want is available.

The registrars for country specific domains (such as mydomain.com.au,
au for Australia ) may be more restrictive. They may require that your
domain name is the same as your company or organisation name, and the
registrar may not allow these names to be sold to a third party. You
are also less likely to find a bargain rate.
Your Domain Needs An Authoritive Name Server

Once you've got a domain name, you have to make it point to your host
site. That is to say, you have to make the name resolve to the ip
address of your host site. This is where the Domain Name System (DNS)
comes in.

Computers on the internet find each other using ip addresses, people
find computers on the internet using their domain names. The Domain
Name System maps domain names to ip addresses. DNS is based on a
globally distributed network of name servers. A query to a DNS name
server will yield the ip address of the submitted domain. The name
server is said to resolve the name to an ip address. Your domain needs
a DNS name server that's authoritive for it.

When your web browser (or email client or whatever) tries to contact
another computer on the internet, it asks the closest name server for
the ip address for that computer's domain name. This name server will
'ask around' other name servers and will find the name server that is
authoritive for the domain. The authoritive name server will relay the
ip address back to the requesting application.

You have to designate a specific DNS name server to be the authoritive
server for your domain name. You can use your ISP's name server, but
you'll most likely have to pay for the service. Your domain name
registrar may also provide this service, possibly for a fee. But there
are free DNS name servers if you look around, Google 'free DNS'. You
also have the option of hosting your own authoritive name server, but
unless you're a large organisation with a fixed ip address and
multiple servers, it won't be worth the trouble. A good, free DNS
service can be found at www.zoneedit.com.


DNS Records

When you've found someone to provide a DNS service for you, create an
online account with them and add your domain name to it. Now you have
to configure your name server with information about your domain. This
is done mainly with the 'A' record and 'MX' record.

The 'A' record lists the ip addresses for your domain. Each ip address
will have one or more names associated with it, either the domain name
itself, and/or associated subdomain names.

If you have a mail server its name must be in the 'A' record and thus
have an ip address associated with it. This name will also have to be
entered in the 'MX' record, designating it as the mail server.

Your domain can have as many subdomains as you like. Each subdomain
has it's own entry in the 'A' record, its own ip address. The ip
addresses can be different, or the domain and subdomains can share the
same address. Two common subdomains are 'www' and 'mail'. The 'www'
subdomain often shares the same address as the domain, and you'll find
that you can usually use either 'www.mydomain.com' or 'mydomain.com'
in your web browser. The 'mail.mydomain.com' is often the entry found
in the 'MX' record.


Telling The World

At this point you have a domain name and a DNS name server that will
resolve that name to an ip address. But now you have to let the other
name servers on the internet know where to find this authoritive name
server for your domain. This is where you go back to your registrar
and tell them where the name servers for your domain are. Notice that
I've said name servers, plural. You need a second name server to act
as a backup in case the first one goes down or is unreachable. But
normally the DNS service that you use will provide you with both a
primary and secondary name server. At the beginning of this howto I
suggested that you use a registrar that allows you to configure your
account online. This is where you configure your account so your
domain name has an entry for both the primary and secondary name
servers. Enter these in the appropriate place and that's it, except
that now there's a bit of a delay. It will take somewhere between 24
to 72 hours before this information propogates to other name servers
on the internet. Don't expect name resolution for your domain to work
reliably before this time.

"Dan" <dan@dontspammecauseidontlikit.com> wrote in message
news:8bdsa1dik590ug381sqo451luq1fugmp3h@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 12 Jun 2005 10:55:37 -0400, "mohamad2181"
> <mohamad2181@rogers.com> wrote:
>
>>Good Day All,
>>
>>I am trying to setup an ftp server at home so I can make some files
>>available over the internet. I am using VSFTP with redhat 8.0 and it
>>works
>>fine as long I use the IP of my server at home provided by ISP. Here is
>>the
>>trick, instead of using
>>ftp://192.168.1.1/docs I want to be able to use something like
>>ftp://training.linuxathome.com.
>>
>>I don't have a lot of networking background, so please bare with me and
>>hopefully by answering these I'll have better Idea where to start.
>>
>>1) Do I need to setup DNS ?
>>2) If I do, that means I need to have domain name hosted by my ISP,
>>correct?
>>3) I heard that some companies offer free DNS hosting, if that is
>>correct,
>>who are these companies?
>>4) what is the best way to approach this?
>>
>>Your help is greatly appreciated.
>>Thank you
>>
>
>
> Domain Name Howto
>
> These are the steps that you need to follow in order set up your
> domain name:
> *
> Purchase a domain name from a registrar.
> *
> Find a DNS name server to be authoritive for your domain.
> *
> Configure your name server's DNS records for your domain.
> *
> Let your registrar know who is the authorative name server for
> the domain.
>
> Getting A Domain Name
>
> Getting a domain name is relatively straight forward, you find a
> domain name registrar, chose a name that's not already registered, and
> pay the fee. All of this can be done via the registrar's website.
> Registration is for a fixed period of time, the minimum time being one
> year. A list of accredited registrars can be found at ICAAN. There are
> quite a few bargain registrars where the price is under US $10 per
> name per year, so shop around before you buy. Make sure that you chose
> a registrar that will allow you to configure your account online (more
> about that later).
>
> The .com, .net and .org domain names are freely available for
> registration by anyone. But virtually any name that's in the
> dictionary will have already been taken, either by someone who
> actually uses it, or by someone whose speculating that they can sell
> it to someone else at a profit. Names made from groups of words are
> more likely to be available. There's no way that you'll get hotel.com,
> but you could well find that you can get TheBrisbaneHotel.com. You
> have to be a bit creative. The registrar's web site will be able to
> tell you if the domain you want is available.
>
> The registrars for country specific domains (such as mydomain.com.au,
> au for Australia ) may be more restrictive. They may require that your
> domain name is the same as your company or organisation name, and the
> registrar may not allow these names to be sold to a third party. You
> are also less likely to find a bargain rate.
> Your Domain Needs An Authoritive Name Server
>
> Once you've got a domain name, you have to make it point to your host
> site. That is to say, you have to make the name resolve to the ip
> address of your host site. This is where the Domain Name System (DNS)
> comes in.
>
> Computers on the internet find each other using ip addresses, people
> find computers on the internet using their domain names. The Domain
> Name System maps domain names to ip addresses. DNS is based on a
> globally distributed network of name servers. A query to a DNS name
> server will yield the ip address of the submitted domain. The name
> server is said to resolve the name to an ip address. Your domain needs
> a DNS name server that's authoritive for it.
>
> When your web browser (or email client or whatever) tries to contact
> another computer on the internet, it asks the closest name server for
> the ip address for that computer's domain name. This name server will
> 'ask around' other name servers and will find the name server that is
> authoritive for the domain. The authoritive name server will relay the
> ip address back to the requesting application.
>
> You have to designate a specific DNS name server to be the authoritive
> server for your domain name. You can use your ISP's name server, but
> you'll most likely have to pay for the service. Your domain name
> registrar may also provide this service, possibly for a fee. But there
> are free DNS name servers if you look around, Google 'free DNS'. You
> also have the option of hosting your own authoritive name server, but
> unless you're a large organisation with a fixed ip address and
> multiple servers, it won't be worth the trouble. A good, free DNS
> service can be found at www.zoneedit.com.
>
>
> DNS Records
>
> When you've found someone to provide a DNS service for you, create an
> online account with them and add your domain name to it. Now you have
> to configure your name server with information about your domain. This
> is done mainly with the 'A' record and 'MX' record.
>
> The 'A' record lists the ip addresses for your domain. Each ip address
> will have one or more names associated with it, either the domain name
> itself, and/or associated subdomain names.
>
> If you have a mail server its name must be in the 'A' record and thus
> have an ip address associated with it. This name will also have to be
> entered in the 'MX' record, designating it as the mail server.
>
> Your domain can have as many subdomains as you like. Each subdomain
> has it's own entry in the 'A' record, its own ip address. The ip
> addresses can be different, or the domain and subdomains can share the
> same address. Two common subdomains are 'www' and 'mail'. The 'www'
> subdomain often shares the same address as the domain, and you'll find
> that you can usually use either 'www.mydomain.com' or 'mydomain.com'
> in your web browser. The 'mail.mydomain.com' is often the entry found
> in the 'MX' record.
>
>
> Telling The World
>
> At this point you have a domain name and a DNS name server that will
> resolve that name to an ip address. But now you have to let the other
> name servers on the internet know where to find this authoritive name
> server for your domain. This is where you go back to your registrar
> and tell them where the name servers for your domain are. Notice that
> I've said name servers, plural. You need a second name server to act
> as a backup in case the first one goes down or is unreachable. But
> normally the DNS service that you use will provide you with both a
> primary and secondary name server. At the beginning of this howto I
> suggested that you use a registrar that allows you to configure your
> account online. This is where you configure your account so your
> domain name has an entry for both the primary and secondary name
> servers. Enter these in the appropriate place and that's it, except
> that now there's a bit of a delay. It will take somewhere between 24
> to 72 hours before this information propogates to other name servers
> on the internet. Don't expect name resolution for your domain to work
> reliably before this time.
>

and your input answers the OP how?
I think the OP didn't ask for a domain name howto, but rather on how to
setup FTP at home and wether DNS was needed or not!

On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 12:40:21 +0900, "Charif Lakchiri"
<charif@nospam.com> wrote:

>and your input answers the OP how?
>I think the OP didn't ask for a domain name howto, but rather on how to
>setup FTP at home and wether DNS was needed or not!

This is what he said:
>>>instead of using
>>>ftp://192.168.1.1/docs I want to be able to use something like
>>>ftp://training.linuxathome.com.

That's all about domain names( resolving an ip address to
training.linuxathome.com). That's exactly what the howto covers.

Dan

On Sun, 12 Jun 2005 15:21:56 +0000, Tauno Voipio wrote:

> mohamad2181 wrote:
>> Good Day All,
>>
>> I am trying to setup an ftp server at home so I can make some files
>> available over the internet. I am using VSFTP with redhat 8.0 and it works
>> fine as long I use the IP of my server at home provided by ISP. Here is the
>> trick, instead of using
>> ftp://192.168.1.1/docs I want to be able to use something like
>> ftp://training.linuxathome.com.
>>
>> I don't have a lot of networking background, so please bare with me and
>> hopefully by answering these I'll have better Idea where to start.
>>
>> 1) Do I need to setup DNS ?
>> 2) If I do, that means I need to have domain name hosted by my ISP, correct?
>> 3) I heard that some companies offer free DNS hosting, if that is correct,
>> who are these companies?
>> 4) what is the best way to approach this?
>>
>
> You do not need to set up a DNS server, it's sufficient to
> have a suitable DNS record at a willing public server.
>
> Have a look at <http://www.dyndns.org/>.
>
> There are other similar services, Google for 'dynamic dns'.

Yeah, I have been using everydns.net...very easy setup and free.

Dan