Nameserver with only 1 IP

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Posted by mealto, 07-11-2008, 12:32 AM
So we just got our VPS. The host has only given us 1 IP for running our own DNS. They provided a 2nd nameserver + IP to use at the registrar level but since this name server does not match or domain name, the registrar obviously cannot let us register this. Is there an issue if we set ns1 to our IP and ns2 like so even though the 2nd name server is not registered at the registrar level? For instance: ns1.ourdomain.com (our IP) ns2.somedomainthehostprovided.com (which cannot be registered at the registrar level)
Posted by HL-Justin, 07-11-2008, 12:40 AM
Why dont you just setup. NS1.YOURDOMAIN.COM (Your IP) NS2.YOURDOMAIN.COM (Your IP) You lose redundancy, but you lose redundancy even if you have 2 unique IPs on one server I guess if pakistan steals your IP (COUGH YOUTUBE INCIDENT) you'd have a second to rely on But that probably wont happen here.
Posted by The Universes, 07-11-2008, 12:44 AM
From what I understand, what you need to do is setup ns1.yourdomain.com at your registrar and then point your domain to ns1.yourdomain.com and ns2.ispdomain.com nameservers.
Posted by plumsauce, 07-11-2008, 12:47 AM
That is absolutely fine. Would be even better. Let someone else take the load. Not fine. While some lame domain name reseller might let you sneak under the radar with this one, it is against every rule in the book.
Posted by foobic, 07-11-2008, 01:07 AM
Are you sure the second one isn't registered? You can't register it but the host / owner of somedomainthehostprovided can, should and probably already has. Provided that's the case it's a good setup. The other thing you could probably do (slightly iffy but it should work unless / until the host changes their nameserver ips) is to register ns2.ourdomain.com with the IP address of ns2.somedomainthehostprovided.com. If you want to go this way don't forget to create a matching A record for ns2 in your zone file.
Posted by mealto, 07-11-2008, 04:12 AM
Thanks for all the replies, that's great. How can I check if the host registered the 2nd IP?
Posted by foobic, 07-11-2008, 04:36 AM
Assuming it really is a .com you can query the .com nameservers direct: If that returns the IP address it's registered.
Posted by mealto, 07-11-2008, 05:05 AM
Where do we enter that command line? Is it on a website somewhere? Thanks for your patience.
Posted by torrentc, 07-11-2008, 05:32 AM
as far as i am aware if you use Cpanl it wont allow you to use the same ip for both nameservers, also i would always have at least 2 ips for this reason
Posted by foobic, 07-11-2008, 09:33 AM
From a *nix shell prompt. From Windows you can use nslookup or there are Windows binaries of dig available. But for the easy option just try to delegate a domain to those nameservers - your registrar probably won't let you do it unless they're both registered. Then check the domain with intodns.com or similar.
Posted by mealto, 07-11-2008, 11:41 PM
Using intodns.com, it showed 2 errors for the ns and IP that our host gave us: ERROR: One or more of your nameservers did not respond: ERROR: One or more of the nameservers listed at the parent servers are not listed as NS records at your nameservers. Does that mean the host did not register it properly?
Posted by foobic, 07-11-2008, 11:48 PM
Nope. The errors mean exactly what they say. But they do need fixing. One of them isn't working. Check the details - is it your ns1 or the host's ns2? You need to change your NS records (edit the zone file, or Edit DNS Zone in WHM) so they match the nameservers you delegated to. Edit: while you're editing the zone, check you have an A record for your ns1 pointing to the correct IP address.
Posted by mealto, 07-15-2008, 05:11 PM
It's ns2, the one that the host provided. I see. How does one edit the zone file inside Plesk. It doesn't seem to be as intuitive as cPanel. Any tips?
Posted by foobic, 07-15-2008, 06:23 PM
Not much you can do then except ask the host what's wrong. I haven't used Plesk as yet but a quick Google suggests System tab -> your domain name -> DNS icon. Perhaps someone else can provide first-hand experience.

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