Member Avatar for jbennet

Ok, im 16 and in the UK. We have NTL 1mb Broadband and i have a router and an old server which has apache running on it (FC4). The server and broadband are slow (266mhz and 1mb) but it will at max have 2 or 3 people visting it each day.

How do i get a . and link it to our IP address (It says DHCP but has never changed in about 5 years). Will i need to get a static ip and how much will this and the domain cost

After I have got the domain will i need to run a dns erver etc... or is that up to my ISP.

Thanks!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by dhundee

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Generated

Quick, practical plan that fills gaps left by earlier replies from , and .

For a .co.uk name the normal route is registration through a Nominet registrar (registrars sell the name and usually include DNS control); the registry itself (Nominet) manages the .UK namespace. Register via any UK registrar and use that registrar’s DNS or bring the name to a DNS provider that supports programmatic updates. (nominet.uk)

If the home IP is fixed, add an A record that points the domain to the public IP and forward ports 80/443 from the router to the server. If the IP is dynamic, use an automatic updater: either a small client (ddclient or similar) or a script that calls the registrar/Cloudflare API to change the A record when the public IP changes. Configure Apache with an explicit ServerName/VirtualHost for the domain so requests match correctly, then obtain TLS with an ACME client (Certbot/Let’s Encrypt) to enable HTTPS. (github-wiki-see.page)

Minimal examples (replace placeholders with real values):

Update Cloudflare A record (run from server or router periodically):

IP=$(curl -s https://ipv4.icanhazip.com)
curl -X PUT "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/dns_records/$RECORD_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data "{\"type\":\"A\",\"name\":\"www.example.co.uk\",\"content\":\"$IP\",\"ttl\":300}"

Apache vhost skeleton:

<VirtualHost *:80>
  ServerName example.co.uk
  ServerAlias www.example.co.uk
  DocumentRoot /var/www/example
</VirtualHost>

Practical cautions and checks: confirm the ISP does not use CGNAT or block inbound ports (residential plans sometimes do or require a business/static-IP add-on); verify the public IP with a public check service and use short DNS TTLs (e.g. 300s) while testing. If uptime, power or bandwidth are concerns (home power cuts, slow upstream), low-cost external hosting remains a simple alternative. (download.firebrick.co.uk)

Summary: for a low-traffic family site self-hosting is feasible — register the domain via a registrar, decide static vs dynamic-IP flow (API/ddclient), set router port-forwards, configure Apache, and use Certbot for HTTPS.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for DanceInstructor

I think you want to use a dynamic domain name service. There are many free ones available (but I'm not sure about the . part). You can try dyndns or no-ip. Essentially you would get a domain name like this: . Both sites above actually have different base domains for you to choose from like: blogdns.com, homeip.com, etc. You won't have to setup your own dns server with this option. Did I mention this is FREE?

The other option is to register a domain name with an ICANN accredited registrar such as godaddy. You will have to pay the registrar fee usually not more than $10 US. Using this option you will have to setup your on dns name server.

Member Avatar for jbennet

Thanks, will i need to get a fixed ip address from my isp?

Member Avatar for DanceInstructor

Not really. Your router may have a utility to actually connect to dyndns.com and auto update your ip (mine does - netgear). Another option is to download a client to run in the background and update the ip (both dyndns and no-ip have one). If your ip doesn't change much you may just update it manually, its up to you. You can check to see what your ip is by going to:

http://checkip.dyndns.org/

Member Avatar for dhundee

why don't you get yourself from hosting trouble and host your website somewhere instead? there are many hosts nowadays that offers from 2-5 dollars a month... that is if you wanted to :)

that way you will need need to worry about it's stability from time to time. you can even save from making sure your server being online 24 hours a day. any thoughts? did i make any sense? :S

Member Avatar for John A

why don't you get yourself from hosting trouble and host your website somewhere instead? there are many hosts nowadays that offers from 2-5 dollars a month... that is if you wanted to :)

that way you will need need to worry about it's stability from time to time. you can even save from making sure your server being online 24 hours a day. any thoughts? did i make any sense? :S

You get a lot more flexibility if you self-host your site. This doesn't seem to be in issue here, but if you have the resources to do it (basically a server and Google), go ahead with self-hosting.

Set up your Apache server, DHCP will probably be alright (I never had to do anything to make it work), and if you only have 2-3 people visiting, you should be fine. The only concern would be your bandwidth. If it's asnchronous, your visitors may experience slow downs (this is what happened on my server with ADSL).

Member Avatar for dhundee

yes that is true, flexibility, I tried that once myself, unfortunately as time passes I realized that self hosting my websites aren't helping me that much. I just gave me additional tasks and worries. Cause the Internet Connection in our country (Philippines) is not as stable as in the US or other countries (I suppose).

We'll my comment above is just true for myself. Cause most of the times when I am outside the house, I worry most about my server for several factors.

1. There might be a power Interruption, and my computer might shutdown and the website will be down. I decided to Get a 1 hour UPS. for that purpose. but fot those power interruptions longer than 1 hour, and there are cases where I am 6 hours away from home. It's a big trouble.

2. Internet connection might go down. (like I said DSL connection in the Philippines is not that stable) and even costs higher.

3. Cost of Electricity to power up your computer 24hours a day may also be considered.

Uhmnn we may not consider the Cost of internet connection you will have that anyway even though you don't host at home. :)

Actually I'm still hosting some sites of mine at home using a WRTG54 Linksys Router and a Speedtouch ADSL modem, hosting at home using these is very easy, those that have less than 10 visitors a day, and those that requires a very low bandwith. If these Increase, you need to think twice. If you are just serving a small website and your visitors are your friends and/or relatives at least you can tell them that.

I have both Static and Dynamic IP on my two connections. :) there are really quite some advantages and disadvantages over. It's realy up to you and to consider these factors.

Good luck.

Member Avatar for dhundee

Oh btw, one good advantage of it is that you get to learn the way these things are being done, you can play with your server, install anything you like and so forth. You can use any webserver you wanted, any OS and so forth. I like that part. :D

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