Question

I have a server (my laptop :P) that is running a web page with Windows Server 2008 and I would like to know if it is possible to make my own domain name instead of paying for a service? I know Windows Server 2k8 has a DNS service, but how easy is it to get this to work externally? Sounds like it would be tough because don’t domain names have to connect with an ISP? Please let me know.

Thanks

Answer 1

It’s really quite easy to ‘running a domain’ (a website, e-mail, etc.) on your computer without paying a hosting service:

1. Have a computer connected to the internet 24/7 that runs DNS.
2. Buy a domain-name from a domain-registrar. Let’s call it mydomain.com.
3. Configure mydomain.com to have an NS record that points users to the computer from step 1. That way, any subdomain queries like www.mydomain.com and mail.mydomain.com will get sent to that computer.
4. Add DNS entries on the computer from step 1 to send users to the right computer. Like redirect all www.mydomain.com to 12.34.56.78 (if that’s your webserver’s IP.)

Once you’ve done that, any DNS requests that query for www.mydomain.com will get sent to your computer’s DNS, and it will reply with 12.34.56.78.

It’s gets tricker if you don’t have a static IP for the computer from step 1, but there are free services to get around that, such as afraid.org.

Of course, seeing how cheap hosting is nowadays, you might be better off just hosting it. It really saves your a lot of extra hassle, at a small cost to customization.

EDIT: After re-reading the question, I realize you may have meant just setting up a DNS domain within your LAN or some other private network. I think the ‘external’ threw me off…