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I have a domain with Godaddy (mysite.com) which is pointing to my AWS EC2 box.

Now I need a launchpad link on my website so that if the user clicks on it it would point to launch.mysite.com

This link should also point to the same AWS EC2 box and in there I would then capture the incoming host through Apache's VirtualHosts and redirect it accordingly.

What confuses me most is now how to create the launch.mysite.com ?

Do I create a 'forward Subdomain' and forward it to my ip? Or Do I create a CNAME pointing to the same ip?

Many Thanks,

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2 Answers

up vote 3 down vote accepted

Simply add an A record pointing to @ in GoDaddy's Domain Manager with the appropriate content (launch, in your case). When you visit your website at www.mysite.com, guess what the www is? It's just an A record that is pointing to @, which represents mysite.com with nothing in front of it.

NOTE: GoDaddy's approach is highly non-standard. The more common approach would be to add an A record with the server's IP, or create a CNAME to the server's @ record. BIND won't allow an A record to @. When you query for that record, it'll say it doesn't exist. A fine point, but worth noting.

CNAMEs don't point to IPs, they point to other DNS records.

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ahhh of course. So once launch.mysite.com is created as A-Record and points to my box. Apache can then tell it came from launch.mysite.com and not from mysite.com, correct? – Kave Aug 7 '12 at 16:39
That is correct, @Kave – Frederik Nielsen Aug 7 '12 at 16:40
Yes, Apache uses the host header sent by the browser to decide what content to present. – Joel E Salas Aug 7 '12 at 16:40
+1 Excellent. Thank you very much. – Kave Aug 7 '12 at 16:44
up vote 1 down vote

You should create a normal A record pointing to the IP of your AWS EC2 box, as a CNAME-record is kinda like a redirect, but is actually an alias for another domain, which is not what you want to do, as far as I can read.

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A CNAME is not a redirect. The concept of a "redirect" happens between the web browser and the web server, long after the DNS lookup has taken place. – Joel E Salas Aug 7 '12 at 16:35
I didnt say a CNAME is a redirect. I say that it is kinda like a redirect. Big difference ;) – Frederik Nielsen Aug 7 '12 at 16:36
And by the way.. Why the downvote? My answer is not incorrect at all. – Frederik Nielsen Aug 7 '12 at 16:36
1  
Actually I didn't downvote. "Redirect" has a very specific meaning and using it out of context (even as a comparison) is probably confusing for beginners. – Joel E Salas Aug 7 '12 at 16:37
1  
@FrederikNielsen "Redirect" has extremely explicit meaning. Too many people get confused by the comparison and the IT Profession is miles ahead by not putting that word anywhere near DNS terminology. I understand your thought process, but it's something like saying 'not quite dead' and 'healthy' are the "same thing". – Chris S♦ Aug 7 '12 at 16:47
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