Ftp and Domains

[h8tobl8]

Hi,
I am new to this, somewhat. Been playing around a while with html, java, and so on and I am begining to like it alot.
I've been playing around with my ip's free web space that was given to me and was also provided a ftp, I quess, site. No big deal. What I don't understand is, how does it work when you purchase a virtual domain, or web space or whatever. Where are the pages and information that I would normally store on my ftp site ?

Also the pages that I'm building are just for a small family business advertisement. Am I on the right track? Is this the route I have to take? If not, what should I do?

Thank you,
Casey

[PeOfEo]

when you buy webspace your website is on the server that the host operates that you bought space from. A domain, a .com, can be bought for dirt cheap from verasign, but then you have to run dns, domain name system, to tell the domain where your site is to point to it. If you have a static ip, its no biggie, but if it is not, which most are not, you need dynamic dns, which generally costs money, or you have to run it yourself. You can get free dynamic dns at www.no-ip.com it is a pretty good service. I use them because it puts my eggs in one basket. I have the redirect and the dns together and I do not have to open another port since I am running a server here at home.

[h8tobl8]

Thanks, but a litlle confused. When you say static ip address, are you talking about for my home computer, or for my "space"? I don't have a static ip.

Abouth the dns....So the dns service is run by no-ip.com, and you just give them the necessary info?

Lastly....When you say you are running a server from home, do you mean the you are using your computer as the server, and the net is linking to your computer for necessary files?

Sorry if I sound too unexperienced, but I havn't messed with this any. I have been enjoying the "creation" process for a while. lol

Thanks

[PeOfEo]

when I say static ip, I mean the server your site is on. If you are on a host you do not need dns, because you can have the domain direct to your subdomain, but if they do not allow them you will need dns server. For this you actually will not be able to use no-ip.com, cos you can't run the dynamic dns agent off their server. Just letting you know how the domain name gets to the server. The server is running off of my home computer, and the request goes to the com root server, then goes to the dns at no-ip.com which will send the user to my current ip address and wham bam thank you mam they see the site on my computer.

[h8tobl8]

Thanks alot, but I think you may have lost me.

How much would it cost me to get set up where I have access to my stuff for editing and updating from time to time and get my site on the web and let some one that understands the needs better than me, handle this stuff?

Where do I look?

[PeOfEo]

I don't know. Hosting where you do the work can be as little as $0... but where someone else does the webdesign is going to vary. It depends on how much maintenance they do, what kind of scripting the do, what kind of graphics. The price will be different everywhere.

[h8tobl8]

Thanks alot,

I checked out verasign. Not bad. Everything for under $100.00 a year.

What do they mean, or what determines your "bandwith" per month? I'm allowed 3gb od bandwith per month.

[Jupac]

bandwith is any trafic from your site
ie:html files , pitues and any thing else

[PeOfEo]

data transfer over time. They track it on the server.

[h8tobl8]

So, everytime someone visits and messes around in my site, and it requests data. That data transfer is what adds up?

Is 3gb a month good?

Does it stop after 3 gb, or they charge you for certain amounts over?

[Aronya1]

3GB is plenty, unless you have an unusually popular site. Even large websites are usually well under 1MB in size, so even if your site was huge (1MB), you'd need 3000 visitors/month, each one viewing every page, document & image on your site, to reach your bandwidth limit.

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It's just a means of transferring your files from your home computer to the server so the rest of the world can see them. You don't have an "FTP site."

[PeOfEo]

3gb is enough unless you run a high traffic site (ie google, something that everyone visits). Yes the images + client side content (html css java script) = bandwidth per time.

[h8tobl8]

Thanks,

When I go to "ftp://LOGONNAME:PASSWORD.home.bellsouth.net", and it takes me to a site, kind of like a folder, and I put my pages and images and stuff there from my computer. What is that called?

What I mean is my pages and images, are linked to there.
But it is free, and not part of the world wide web. Bellsouth is the host.

Is this the same thing I will see when I join verasign or whoever?

[PeOfEo]

that folder is your ftp folder. Verisign just runs the com root servers (some of them). It is part of the world wide web and it does go through a root server. But not the com root servers, it goes through the net root servers. See anything in common .com = com .net = net. It goes through .net then through the dns then to the ftp server at bellsouth.

[Aronya1]

PeOfEo,
You're talking geek-speak to a novice.

h8tobl8,
The folder you're looking at is the space on your host's computer reserved for your website. You're looking at your site at the file level, just like in Windows Explorer. If you have this webspace available to you, you also have a web address of some sort; maybe something like www.mysite.bellsouth.com

You don't join Verisign. You can use them to register a domain name (a web address: www.whatever.com). Verisign no doubt has hosting services you can use, but if you want to use another company to host your site, you will need to know what the primary & secondary nameserver addresses are. Get that info from the host company. If the web address for the location of your site where it is right now is acceptable to you, there is no need to register with Verisign or anyone else.

Hope this helps.

[h8tobl8]

Thanks,

What I meant when I said "join" verasign, is to register a domain name, and use their hosting service. But I think I understand what you are saying.

So when I pull a name out of my head, say, newatthis; I can just create register that with verasign as www.newatthis.com, if its not taken, and link it to my ftp space that bellsouth has provided me?

You are correct about the address, but its huge! Its like www.home.bellsouth.net/p/s/community.dll?ep=16&ext.......blah,blah,blah. It';s not acceptable. I mean whos gonna remember that when I tell them to check out my site?

Thanks,
Casey

[PeOfEo]

you can just register a domain and just point it at your subdomain. Usually hosting services will run your domain off their dns if they have a dynamic ip address or something but if you need a go between make an account at www.noip.com and just use your domain in there and they will run the dns. That server I would bet has a static ip.

[h8tobl8]

I think I got ya.

You're saying that I can create me a new name, or domain as you call it, and have it point to my "elongated and annoying" bellsouth address.

But if verasign doesn't have a "static" ip address, I should use someone like noip, and use my name that I registered with verasign, and then point it to my bellsouth address.

But, correct me if I'm wrong, just registering a name or domain by itself just gives you ownership of the "name, right? No space or anything. Thats where the host comes in.(with the static ip address)

Its starting to click.

[PeOfEo]

verisign has a static ip address, you should be ab le to point your verisign domain at bellsouth, but if you cant go through a middle man, noip.com is what I suggested. You can just point your domain to your elongated bellsouth address through there if neccessary. That clear it up at all?

[h8tobl8]

Sounds good.

Thanks Alot!!!

PeOfEo, you and Aronya have helped me alot. Thanks for your patience and understanding.
Much appreciated.

Casey

[PeOfEo]

No prob, If you have any more problems setting it up just post back again.

[Mysteriously]

This is a bit unrelated (I think?), but I checked out that no-ip place, and it's really sweet! I got an account, and now I have a nice li'l name to give out to people so they can access my site, which I am hosting off my computer, with nasty-@$$ dial-up. Now, I'm just doing this for bits and pieces, I'm not running a full-on site here.


***EDIT***
Incase you wanted to see it, here's my li'l name:
http://www.mysteriously.no-ip.com

[h8tobl8]

Did you register the name, or did you have one already and you're just using their dns service to link the name to your computer? Am I getting this right when I say "your computer", meaning it actually links to a folder in your directory where your pages and files are stored? How can you do this without a static ip address; or do you have one from your isp already?

[Mysteriously]

I got the name from them, when I registered. See, I have the server on my computer, and I have dial-up, with a dynamic IP. So, using their DNS service, instead of giving people my ever changing IP so they can look at something on my site, I can now just give them the name, and no-ip.com fixes the problem of my dynamic IP (At least, that's what I got out of looking at their site).


***EDIT***
I believe I get it now. Every time I have to reconnect, all I have to do is go to http://www.no-ip.com and log in, then I have to update my IP in one place. It's better than having to update it whever I have a link to something.

[h8tobl8]

ooooh... I see. So every time you get ready tohost, you have to, basically, tell noip your new addy so they can do the linking of your name to your computer.

Now, let me ask you this... I deal with networking somewhat at work; data highway, ethernet, stuff like that; how do you address the place where the files are on your computer? I mean is it similar to a "shared folder"? Is it like--
"10.10.11.155/C:/windows/my documents/shared folder" ?
LOL, or something to that effect.

[PeOfEo]

No, its a folder your server uses. The root directory for IIS is C:\Inetpub\wwwRoot it will be different for other servers and you can change it. But it is not a share folder because you have to have server software on your computer. A port on your router or switch will need to opened too and then mapped to your local ip at the router. So if IIS runs on port 80, you would go into your router (get your local ip from command->ipconfig first) and open port 80 on the router and have it send all http requests to your machine. All of the routers I have seen have an http server selecting and dns, smtp, pop3, and other things, and you can add your own.

[Aronya1]

You're welcome.