I'm a bit of a server-newb here. I have a LAMP/Apache server in my home running Ubuntu Server OS, which I use for personal and small-scale projects. When I want to access the site on the server from another computer, I must go to 65.206.[---].[---]/FolderOnServer/index.php. How can I register the IP of my server to have an actual name, so that I can go to, for example, www.mySite.com/FolderOnServer/index.php? Is there any free way to do this? If not, are there any recommendations for good services that can do this?
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2That is not a programming question! Google for "domain name registration" and you will find many ads for business that will register domain names for you. It costs money, but not very much.– Henning MakholmAug 7, 2011 at 3:30
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It's hard to tell if he's asking if there is a way to do this on his local machine, or if he's asking for a tutorial on how to register a domain name.– pukNov 8, 2011 at 0:27
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3 Answers
As for free domain registration options, you might check out the following:
- dyns.net
- dyndns.org
- dynamic-dns.net
- afraid.org
- changeip.com
- mydns.com
These are just a few, some with a mix of free and paid services.
You have to use a domain register to have DNS work from anywhere. This also requires your computer to have a static IP.
However if your concern is only to have your local machine or other machines you work access the site you can modify the 'hosts' file in your system. In Linux the file is located typically in /etch/hosts in Windows it varies but this is a good article on both its location and fixing it if necessary:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/972034
A typical hosts entery looks something like: 10.10.10.50 mydomainname.local
By using this file you can change the lookup of anything on the local machine.
You go to a domain registrar, pick a name that's not used, pay your few bucks to register it (it's probably worth also paying them for DNS service, as you're clearly in no position to handle that yourself), then point the necessary names at your IP address. Don't forget to configure your webserver to handle the domain name you use, otherwise it won't work (see virtualhost).
