(dv) HOWTO: Setting Up Private Name Servers
This article explains how to use your Plesk (dv) Dedicated-Virtual Server as an authoritative Name Server using one or two domains.
WARNING: Unsupported Article
- The methods described in this article are to be attempted by ADVANCED USERS ONLY. The steps to upgrade your server to a different version of any core software are not trivial.
- (mt) Media Temple cannot be responsible for the accuracy of the information contained in this article or for the quality of the software downloaded from third party sites. This article was compiled from many online sources and although (mt) Media Temple has made every effort to verify and test these steps we cannot guarantee that they will work for everyone.
- If you upgrade any of the core software on your (dv) Dedicated Virtual server including, but not limited to, MySQL, PHP and Apache you will be responsible for all maintenance of that software. (mt) Media Temple cannot support software that was not included during the provisioning of your server.
- It is HIGHLY recommended that you do not try to upgrade any core software on a live or production server.
- If done properly this upgrade will not interfere with the (mt) Media Temple Update Option Program. Your server can stay enrolled.
- When in doubt please consult the Plesk official documentation: (dv) 2.0 (dv) 3.x and our own Statement of Support.
- Before following the instructions detailed in this article we highly recommend backing up your server configuration and data. Our (dv) Backups Add-on is useful for making complete backups of your (dv) server.
NOTE:
Setting up your own private name servers requires that the named service is running. By default all (dv)'s are provisioned with this service disabled. Please use the following guide to enable to service:
How to set up one domain to be your DNS in Plesk
You must first have the domain you wish to make your DNS already set up in Plesk. You will also need at least 2 IP's to use for your server. For reference, in this article 'mt-example.com' will refer to the domain name you are using. Make sure to replace this with your actual domain name.
- Log into your Plesk control panel as Administrator and select the domain from the Domains list you wish to make DNS.
- Select the DNS icon from your services list.
- Select the link mt-example.com from the Host list, with Record Type NS and Value ns.mt-example.com
- In the Enter nameserver field change the ns.mt-example.com to ns1.mt-example.com and select OK.
- From the Tools area select Add Record. For Record type select NS and enter ns2.mt-example.com in the Enter nameserver field and select OK.
- Select from your host list ns.mt-example.com with Record type A and change the value to ns1 and select OK.
- From the Tools area select Add Record again. For Record type leave as A, in the Enter domain name add ns2, in the Enter IP address enter your second IP address that you are going to use and select OK.
- You should now have 2 Record types with the NS value of ns1.mt-example.com and ns2.mt-example.com and under the Host list you will also have ns1.mt-example.com and ns2.mt-example.com with the Record type of A and they will have 2 separate IP's.
In order to have these added as DNS values for when you add new domains you will need to change the default DNS record in Plesk.
- Select Server from the list on your left.
- Select the DNS icon from the Services list.
- From the Host list select with record type NS and enter ns1.mt-example.com in the Enter nameserver field and select OK.
- From the Tools area select Add New Record. Change the Record type to NS and in the Enter nameserver field input ns2.mt-example.com and select OK.
If you want to use 2 separate domains for your DNS this is even easier, because Plesk has already created this for you. You must have 2 domains entered in Plesk and assigned separate IP's. You would then only need to create a DNS zone template the same way described earlier, only inputting ns1.mt-example.com and ns2.mt-example.com for your default values.
NOTE:
Please remember to substitute mt-example.com with the domain that you are planning on using as your DNS server.
The MOST IMPORTANT PART is to create these new DNS servers with your registrar. You will want to create or manage Name Servers with your registrar. You will need to log in to your account with them or contact them on how to go about setting this up. You will also want to set up your domain you are using to use your new DNS that you have created. This final process can take from 24-72 hours to propagate. This last step will need to happen before your new Domain Name Server will function correctly.
Revisions:
02-13-2009: Minor fix to step 3. Thanks for the comment Spencer.
Fields marked with an asterisk(*) are required. Comment on this article