WP101 Hosting and Domains - 2013 Chicago WordCamp

Demystifying Hosting & Domains
Suzette Franck
2013 WordCamp Chicago #wcchi
Chicago
Friday, June 28, 2013
Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple

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Who Am I?

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Suzette Franck with a “ck”
★(mt) Media Temple WordPress Evangelist
★18+ Years Coding & Web Development
★Regular Speaker: WordCamps & Meetups
★Reg. Contributor on WPwatercooler.com
★Blogs frequently at: suzettefranck.com
★Twitter: @mt_Suzette
★Slides: speakerdeck.com/suzettefranck

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Did I mention Franck has a “ck”?
★Using WordPress Since 2008
★Exclusively Since 2010
★5-year-old Chihuahua Mix
“Puppy”

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What We Will Cover
“Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.”
― Dalai Lama XIV

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★WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org
★Acronyms and Definitions
★IPs and Domain Names
★Web Hosting Basics
★Putting It All Together w/Zone Files
Demystifying Hosting and Domains

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WordPress.com
vs.
WordPress.org

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WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org
Hosted
WordPress.COM
Self-hosted
WordPress.ORG
COST free varies
CUSTOMIZATIONS limited yes
DOMAIN NAME additional fee yes
INSTALL PLUGINS no yes
SETUP & MAINTENANCE yes no

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OMG Acronyms!
There are over 4,750,600 definitions at AcronymFinder.com

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★ISP - Internet Service Provider
★IP - Internet Protocol
★URL - Uniform Resource Locator
★TLD - Top Level Domain
★DNS - Domain Name System
★SOA - Start of Authority
★TTL - Time To Live
Common Internet Acronyms

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(ISP) Internet Service Provider
Provides access to the Internet *
* May or may not provide web hosting and domain services

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(IP) Internet Protocol Address
74.125.224.72
Number that is a unique
identifier for devices on the Internet

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(URL) Uniform Resource Locator
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File
%3AHollywood_and_Vine.png
Web address of a
file or directory

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(TLD) Top Level Domain Name
Highest level in Hierarchical Domain Name System (DNS)
i
i
.com
.edu
.gov
.org
.net
.us
.pro .tv
.mobi
.info

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(DNS)
Domain Name System
Global & distributed keyword based lookup system

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(SOA) - Start of Authority
★Where? Web Hosting Information
★Who? Owner Contact Information
★How long? (TTL) Time To Live

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(TTL) Time To Live
Tells ISP how long to save or “cache” information
Phonebook = 1 Year

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Who Handles What?
For Self-hosted WordPress, you will need:
Internet Access, Domain Registrar, Web Hosting

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(ISP) Internet Service Provider
Provides access to the Internet *
* May or may not provide web hosting and domain services

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Domain Registrars
SELLS Domain Names and TELLS Start of Authority (SOA)
+ Most Web Hosting Companies

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Web Hosting Companies
Rent space on their hardware for your files and databases
Make available on Internet via an IP Address
* May or may not maintain and upgrade server software
depending on the type of account

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IPs and Domain Names

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Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers
http://www.internic.net/whois.html
One World, One Internet
Service of ICANN
Coordinated by ICANN

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IP Addresses
An Internet Protocol (IP) Address is a
unique number assigned to a network
device so that other devices on the
Internet can communicate with it.
74.125.224.72
http://whatismyip.com

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Domain Names
Domain Names were invented to make it
easier to get around on the Internet
google.com = 74.125.224.72
http://74.125.224.72

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What’s In A Name?
Top Level
Domain
.com .org
.net .edu
.gov
mail.google.com
TLD
Subdomain
SLD
Second
Level
Domain

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(DNS)
Domain Name System
Name to IP = Domain Resolution

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Role of Internet Service Provider
★ISPs keep a local copy of DNS which expires after TTL
caching = saving a local copy to improve performance
ISP DNS TTL

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Web Hosting Basics
“Decide you must how to serve them best”
― Yoda

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Types of Hosting
Type Expense Access
Ward 3rd Party 0 0
Dorm Shared $ +
Condo Dedicated Virtual/
Dedicated Private
$$ ++
House Dedicated $$$ +++

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3rd Party Hosting
Good For: Beginners, Bloggers
➡FREE
➡Easy To Use
➡Their Rules
➡Limited Customization

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Shared Hosting
Good For: Personal & Small Business Websites
➡Cost Effective
➡Host Manages Server
➡Performance & Security
➡No Root Access

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Dedicated Hosting
Good For: High Traffic Business Sites
➡Yours Alone
➡Fast
➡Expensive $200/mo
➡You are Responsible

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Dedicated Virtual /
Dedicated Private Server (VPS)
Good For: E-Commerce, Dynamic Sites, Business Sites
➡Root Access ➡Your Responsibility

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Nameservers
NS1.DOMAINAME.COM (primary)
NS2.DOMAINNAME.COM (secondary)
★Domain Name Servers
★Handles website and email queries
★Given to you by Web Host
★Important Information to retain
★You need to give to Registrar

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Hosting Considerations
Storage Space
Bandwidth/Transfer
No. of Domains
No. of Databases
Email Requirements
Acceptable Use
Support Method
Scalability

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v5.2.4+
v5.0+
Server Requirements for WordPress

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Putting It All Together
You tell your Registrar where your site is hosted -
but HOW?

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Two Ways To Tell Registrar
1. Edit Nameservers at Registrar (easiest)
2. Edit DNS Records at Registrar (more flexibility)
★A Records (website & subdomains)
★CNAMES (subdomains)
★MX Records (mail)

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Editing Nameservers

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Nameservers
NS1.DOMAINAME.COM (primary)
NS2.DOMAINNAME.COM (secondary)
★Domain Name Servers
★Handles website and email queries
★Given to you by Web Host
★Important Information to retain
★You need to give to Registrar

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Nameservers
Domain Details Screen ... Look for Nameservers

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Set Nameservers

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Editing DNS Zone Files

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Zone File
★Contains all DNS Records
★Plain text file or User Interface to edit
★Info about domain owner
★Domain name to IP mapping instructions

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Most Common DNS Records
(A) Host Records
Name to IP
(CNAME) Canonical Name Records
Name (or subdomain) to a Name
(MX) Mail Exchanger Records
Email to Name or IP

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Zone File
$TTL 43200
@! IN! SOA!
ns.webair.net.! webmaster.180security.com. (
! ! ! 2012040101! ; Serial
! ! ! 10800! ! ; Refresh
! ! ! 3600! ! ; Retry
! ! ! 604800!
! ; Expire
! ! ! 43200! )! ; Minimum
! IN! NS! ns.webair.net.
! IN! NS! ns2.webair.net.
! IN! MX! 10 filter.180security.com.
! IN! A! 209.200.16.162
ns1!
IN! A! 216.130.161.1
ns2!
IN! A! 216.130.161.6
www!
IN! A! 209.200.16.162
ftp!
IN! A! 209.200.16.162
mail! IN! A! 216.130.191.1
filter!
IN! A! 216.130.191.236

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Zone File

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DNS Propagation

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DNS Propagation
Automated process of updating all the
DNS Records as they exist everywhere
around the world

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Perils of DNS Propagation
★Can take up to 72-96 hours
★No one can speed up propagation
★Hosting Company cannot speed up
★Domain Registrar cannot speed up
★Dependent on all DNS records of ISPs

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How To Avoid DNS Propagation Delay
★Edit the DNS 3 days before actual go-live
date, set TTL (Time To Live) to 5 minutes or
300 seconds
★Can’t change if you are using Nameservers

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Questions?
Suzette Franck
[email protected]
https://speakerdeck.com/suzettefranck
@mt_Suzette
Tweet Me!

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WP101 Hosting and Domains - 2013 Chicago WordCamp

WP101 Hosting and Domains - 2013 Chicago WordCamp

Suzette Franck

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