how to point a domain to a host?

[Madison Kelly]

peter smerdon wrote:
> Hello
> I have registered a .ca domain with www.internic.ca
> At this point in time I am unsure If I will purchase some hosting
> space or set up a Debian/Apache server at home.
> 
> What I wanted to know was what is the next step? If I choose to host
> the site at home, how do I get the dns servers all over the web to
> point my domain name to my specific host?
> 
> If I decide to purchase hosting, will they take care of that step for
> me? What are some reputable hosting companies here in the gta? I have
> a simple need, a site that could run wordpress and serve up some pics
> etc, 300-500mbs of disk *should* be enough,
> 
> Any help with this would be really appreciated...
> thanks.
> Peter.

Full Disclosure; I work for Nouvelocity, a hosting (and other) company. :)

If you host from home you will need to either have a static IP and run a 
DNS server. Generally two are required by most registrars, so that might 
be tricky. With the DNS server up you need to create a SOA (Start Of 
Authority) record for your domain and then tell your registrar that DNS 
servers X and Y are the SOA.

If you have a dynamic IP address, you will want to look into dDNS 
(dynamic DNS). I haven't played with this, as I have a couple full DNS 
servers. There is a lot of info on the web though!

If you want someone to host for you, generally they will handle the DNS 
for you. In this case, you point your registrar at their DNS servers and 
they handle the rest. As for hosting, there are a lot of options. Some 
run on Windows servers, some on *nix, and others give you a choice. With 
*nix hosts (like ourselves), some give you shell access, others use a 
web-based interface (we give shell access). Some offer limitied number 
of email addresses and so on and so on.

With us specifically, we are starting to branch into general hosting. Up 
until now we've hosted only for our programming and service customers. 
With John McGregor though, we've started hosting for anyone. :) 
Currently we have one package; $50/year for 3GB of disk space and up to 
200GB transfer/year.

We offer DNS for you, and allow unlimited (within reason; ie: <100) 
subdomains and email addresses. We give you shell access, and can help 
with setup of MySQL and PgSQL databases. We support perl and php scripts 
and will install (most) modules you may need.

Being that we are new at general hosting, we're being pretty liberal as 
we learn what most people are looking for. Also, we want to make you 
happy so that you spread the word. :)

Madi

PS - If you want to give me a ring my cell number is 647-501-5200.
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