Welcome to
the Online Operating Manual
The AZ
Hosting Online operating manual will
assist in making you familiar with the
many features we have to offer. Whether
you're looking for a quick start to
uploading your files, or would like to
familiarize yourself with our many
advanced features, this manual provides
easy to follow step-by-step instructions
on just about everything you'll need to
know. New users are encouraged to print
this manual and read it over at their
leisure.
Assuming you've just signed up with AZ
Hosting, you're probably wondering
how to test out a few of the features
and begin populating your web site with
files. You're only a couple steps from
doing just that, but first things first.
Your welcoming email contains the basic
information you'll need to access your
account and get things underway. Print
it out, or open it up in a separate
window, as you'll need to refer to it
during these tutorials.
Table Of Contents:
Account
Basics:
Where to
Upload Your Files:
Configuring
Your FTP Clients:
Understanding
the Web Site File System:
Using CGI
Programs:
The Ins and Outs of
DNS and How It Affects Your Domain:
Setting Up
and Managing Subdomains:
Configuring
Email for Your Domain:
Using Microsoft
FrontPage:
Account Basics:
Username and Password
These are
stated in the first paragraph of the
welcoming email. Until you change them,
they're needed to authenticate
everything including FTP, email access,
Control Panel, and MS FrontPage if
you're using it. In short, use this
Username and Password for any access
you're attempting to your account.
NOTE: When
submitting a tech support issue to the
help desk, you'll be asked for a
separate username and password. DO NOT
use your 'main account' username and
password for the login!
Accessing your account
via its URL or associated IP number
If you've just
signed up to AZ Hosting, chances are
you've begun the process of transferring
a domain to our servers. In all
likelihood it will take from 48 to 96
hours for all worldwide DNS records to
report your domain name as residing on
our servers. While our welcoming email
refers to the domain name you signed up
with, we recommend that you use the
accompanying "IP" number until
you can verify your domain name is
actually resolving to your new account
on the AZ Hosting servers.
The IP we've
provided you will soon be registered to
your domain name. Until such time as
your domain is officially answering to
our servers, you can use your new IP to
access and set up your web site. For
example, if your assigned IP was
75.126.164.178, your welcoming email would
provide the URL http://75.126.164.178 as an option
for accessing your new account. Again,
it's a great way to test features and
make sure everything is functioning
smoothly before launching your web site
to the world.
Accessing
"IP-less" accounts
Account packages
are "IP-less" accounts. This
means the IP is shared with several
domains as opposed to being dedicated to
one. There are a few small differences
regarding how you access these accounts
and most notably how you access them
before your domain name is officially
pointing to our servers. Instead of
accessing the account with a plain IP
number, you access it with an IP and
your associated Username. Both of these
were sent to you in your welcoming
email. Let's try an example:
Your username is tom
Your IP is 75.126.164.178
To reach your account via the web, you
would access this site as: http://75.126.164.178/~tom/ Don't forget
the ~ before your name! Also remember
that the IP we're using in this case is
an example. Check your welcoming email
for the IP number and Username that was
assigned to your account. Once again,
when your new DNS settings have
propagated across the world's DNS
servers, you'll be able to access your
domain by referring to it in the
standard way, which is
http://www.yourdomain.com.
Accessing
your account via FTP
IP-less accounts are accessed by FTP in
generally the same way as a dedicated IP
account would be. Again, if your domain
name is not officially pointing to our
servers yet, use the IP and Username
that were sent to you in your welcoming
email. If you have additional questions
regarding the ins and outs of FTP,
please see our FTP support section,
which covers it in broad detail.
Accessing your Control
Panel
To access your
Control Panel account manager, point
your web browser to:
http://www.mydomain.com/cpanel/
(For name based accounts)
or
http://75.126.164.178/~username/cpanel/ (For IP-less
accounts, but change the IP number to
the one we sent you)
Again, if your domain name is not
pointing to our servers yet, referring
to it with your IP will enable you to
access your account.
Where to Upload
Your Files:
The Home directory
Your HTML files and/or the files you
want to make accessible to the World
Wide Web must be uploaded to your
account. When you first FTP into your
account you'll be taken to your
"Home" directory. Don't
confuse this with your "web
directory". The home directory is not
accessible to the World Wide Web; it's a
private directory where critical system
files reside. DO NOT delete files that
have been created by the system,
otherwise your web site may disappear
into cyber oblivion!
The
public_html and www directories (where
web accessible files are placed)
These are the
two directories where files you want
accessed from the web must be placed.
Open the folder "public_html"
, which is your "web accessible
directory". The folder named
"www" is actually a shortcut
to public_html (both of them take you to
your web directory). Upload the files
you want accessible to your visitors and
feel free to make the appropriate
sub-directories you'll require.
Configuring
FTP Clients:
Configuring
Cute FTP (based on version 4.2)
Please note
that there are a number of versions of
Cute FTP floating around. The
instructions provided here cannot
possibly reflect all the versions that
have been released in the past 5 years.
Don't worry: the only small differences
you may encounter are the locations of
some options. Let's get started:
1. Open Cute FTP
2. Select "File"
3. Select "Site Manager"
4. Select "New"
Options you'll
see
- Label for
site: Enter a name for this account. For
example, "My Root Account."
- FTP Host Address: www.mydomain.com
- FTP Site Username: Your main system
login name
- FTP Site Password: Your main system
password
- FTP Site Connection: Port: 21
- Login Type: Normal
Notes About Cute FTP
There are a few advanced features you
may want to be aware of. These features
may need to be enabled if you're having
problems accessing your site via an FTP
client. The following will explain:
Trouble accessing your site via FTP:
This can sometimes occur if you are
accessing the Internet from behind a
firewall, personal router, or using an
Internet connection sharing system such
as a NAT (Network Address Translation).
This is a classic scenario in a home or
small office where several computers are
being shared by one Internet connection.
Symptoms include difficulty logging in
via FTP and/or maintaining a reliable
upload or download session.
Use Passive Mode instead
From your
FTP main interface, select:
1. Edit (from the
main drop-down menu)
2. Settings
A dialog box called "Settings"
now appears. Select:
3. Connections
4. Firewall
This opens the Connection/Firewall
dialog box:
5. Check the box that says "PASV
mode."
6. Click OK
Don't touch any of the other settings
Ignore all other
settings you see here except for the
"PASV_mode" setting!
Give it a try and see how it works. If
you're still having problems, you should
contact your ISP to see if they can make
the necessary changes required for you
to access your site via FTP. There are a
vast number of network configurations
ISPs sometimes use, some of which can
cause problems for users wanting to
access the web without a browser.
How to view all files in your account
(For Advanced Users).
Advanced users may want ability to view
all "hidden" files in their
directories. While most of these are
critical system files, there are a few
which can be manually edited by advanced
users. Viewing these is done by
inserting an entry into the "File
Masking" feature in the client.
Unmasking Hidden Files
1. Open Cute FTP
2. Go to the site manager
3. Select your account
4. Select "Edit"
A dialog box
opens called "Site
Properties":
1. Check the "Enable Filter"
box
2. Click the "Filter" button
3. Check the "Enable Remote Filters
(Server Applied Filer)" box
4. In the "Remote Filter"
window, type this command -a
5. Click ok
That's it!
The -a command
will unmask "all" files in
your web account.
Final Note
NEVER REMOVE OR ALTER FILES THAT HAVE
BEEN CREATED BY THE SERVER or Control
Panel!! Unless you're an advanced user,
please leave all files that have been
created by the system alone! Doing
otherwise could cause serious problems
with your account and in some cases take
it offline completely. When in doubt
ASK, do not delete!
Configuring
WSFTP
Please note
that there are a number of versions of
WSFTP floating around. The instructions
provided here cannot possibly reflect
all the versions that have been released
in the past 5 years. Don't worry: the
only small differences you may encounter
are the locations of some options. Let's
get started:
Setting up WSFTP
1. Open your WSFTP client
2. The dialog box "WS_FTP"
Sites should display. If not, click the
"Connect" button.
3. Select "New"
You
should see this dialog box
You'll be
taken through these options
1. New Site/Folder: Choose a name
for this account
2. Host Name or IP address: www.yourdomain.com
3. User ID: Main System Login
4. User Password: Main System
Password
5. Select "Save Password."
6. Select "Finish."
Done! You can now FTP into your site
Notes
About WSFTP:
Main Username and Password
The main Username and Password was sent
to you in your welcoming email and are
also the same ones used to access your
Control Panel. If you've changed your
main Username and Password before
setting this up, then use the new ones
instead.
Trouble
accessing your site via FTP
This can sometimes occur if you are
accessing the Internet from behind a
firewall, personal router, or using an
Internet connection sharing system such
as a NAT (Network Address Translation).
This is a classic scenario in a home or
small office where several computers are
being shared by one Internet connection.
Symptoms include, difficulty logging in
via FTP and/or maintaining a reliable
upload or download session. If this is
the case, try "Passive Mode."
Setting
Passive Mode
1. Open the WSFTP account manager
2. Highlight your account
3.
Select "Properties"
4. Select the "Advanced" tab
5. Check the
box called "Passive
Transfers."
6. Click "OK"
Select
passive mode, click "OK", and
try it again.
How to view
all files in your account (for advanced
users)
Advanced users
may want to view all "hidden"
files in their directory. While most of
these are critical system files, there
are a few which can be manually edited
by Advanced Users. Viewing these files
is done by inserting an entry into the
"File Masking" feature in the
client.
Unmasking
Hidden Files:
1. Open the WSFTP account manager
2. Highlight your account
3. Select "Properties"
4. Select the "Startup" tab
5. In the "Remote File Mask"
window, enter -a
The -a command
will unmask all files in your web
account.
Final Note
NEVER REMOVE OR ALTER FILES THAT HAVE
BEEN CREATED BY THE SERVER or Control
Panel!! Unless you're an advanced user,
please leave all files that have been
created by the system alone! Doing
otherwise could cause serious problems
with your account and in some cases take
it offline completely. When in doubt
ASK, do not delete!
Understanding
the Web site File System:
index.html and why you
should use it
This is where a
number of newer webmasters become
stumped. They upload all their files and
directories and then want to access them
with their browser, but they forget to
name their welcoming page index.html.
Here's what happens: They access their
site as http://www.mydomain.com
(or using the associated IP number, for
example, http://75.126.164.178/)
and they see their entire file directory
structure! Yikes! It looks just like
exploring the C: drive on your computer!
You don't want visitors seeing that, do
you?
When you access your site by calling it
as http://www.mydomain.com/ or
the assigned IP (for example), http://75.126.164.178/,
the web server looks for the "index.html"
file as the default file to be sent to
visitors. This is why http://www.mydomain.com/
by itself will automatically display the
home or welcoming page. Again, the
server automatically looks for
index.html whenever a domain or
directory is called without a filename
appended to it such as http://www.mydomain.com/file.html
If the server can't find index.html it
will simply list your entire web site
directory to everyone that accesses it,
which is a MAJOR security risk! ALWAYS,
use an "index.html" file in
any directory you create, including your
"root" web directory. In
general, it's always a good idea to use
"index.html" as your main page
in all sub-directories of your account.
Forgetting to place an index.html in
your root or any subdirectory of your
web site will effectively leave all of
its contents viewable to the world.
Understanding case sensitivity
Another small
detail that can throw many newer users
into a tailspin is case sensitivity.
Unlike your local PC, the Unix file
system (which is used on the web server)
is very particular about
"uppercase" and
"lowercase" file names.
Therefore, if you were to install a
script, (let's say the wwwboard
discussion forum, for example), the name
of this script would be wwwboard.pl. If
you name a picture file me.jpg on the
web server, then this is what you must
call it in your HTML as well. Another
file named me.JPG (note the uppercase)
is treated as a totally different file.
Unix file servers are exceptionally
fussy on this issue, so make sure you
pay close attention to "case"
when uploading files or installing and
configuring CGI-based scripts. The same
rule applies for all files including
your .html pages. Again, the server
treats .html and .HTML as two entirely
different file extensions. Want to keep
it simple? Try to stick with lowercase
letters in all file names and
extensions.
Uploading
your files in the correct mode (ASCII or
Binary)
Uploading in the wrong format for images
or binary files will result in a strange
mess appearing in your web browser
instead of the file. For CGI scripts,
this mistake is one of the most common
causes of annoying errors. While there
are many various programming errors, the
most common among new users is uploading
scripts in the WRONG format. Your CGI
scripts MUST always be uploaded in ASCII
mode. Alternatively, if you upload an
image or .exe file, it must be done in
"BINARY" mode.
The
difference between ASCII and BINARY
In short, html or text files are
supposed to be transferred in ASCII
mode. Uploading them in Binary mode will
append ^M's to the end of every line. In
most cases, this is OK with html files
because your browser will ignore them.
BUT, with other text files such as CGI
scripts, uploading them in binary will
damage them, thus causing a "server
500 error". This is because binary
mode has added ^M's to the end of every
line, which are not supposed to be in
the program. This, of course, is what
causes the additional message,
"Malformed Headers", which
often displays at the bottom of the
"Server 500" message when a
CGI script has crashed.
Once again, BINARY mode is used for
transferring executable programs,
compressed files and all image/picture
files. If you try to upload an image in
ASCII mode, you will see a strange mess
appearing on the page where the image is
suppose to appear. ASCII mode in this
case, has corrupted the binary coding in
the jpeg or gif image. If this happens,
just re-upload it in the Binary format.
Setting your FTP client
to automatically detect ASCII and Binary
file transfers
Most FTP programs have an
"AUTO" mode, which will tells
the FTP client to automatically detect
the file type you're transferring and
select the appropriate mode. By default,
most FTP programs will attempt to
transfer everything in binary mode, but
when "Automatic" is selected,
the FTP client will check a list of
known ASCII extensions (for example,
.pl, .cgi, .txt). If it detects one of
these extensions, the client
automatically switches to ASCII mode.
By Default, most of the well-known files
that need to be uploaded in ASCII mode
are already entered, however you can
manually add additional extensions that
you would like to transfer in ASCII mode
by selecting the feature called
"Extensions". Here, you can
enter any additional extensions that you
want to cause the FTP client to toggle
to ASCII mode automatically. Remember,
you must set your transfer mode to
"Automatic" for this to work.
File types and what they
represent
Various file types can affect both the
behaviour of your files as well as how
the server treats them. While there are
numerous file extensions that represent
a host of various file types, we'll
stick to the basic ones in this quick
overview:
The .html file
This is one is the most commonly used
and the one most people are familiar
with. HTML stands for Hypertext Markup
Language. Essentially, it tells the
server, as well as the client's browser,
to process and display the .html coding
in a way that is meaningful to the
end-user through a browser.
The .htm file
Many of you have probably noticed this
newer extension appearing in place of
the traditional .html one. In short, .htm
is most often created and/or generated
from the Microsoft FrontPage web editor.
The two are essentially the same and
provide the same basic purpose. Unless
you're using FrontPage, you will
probably use the .html extension at the
end of your web pages.
The .gif and .jpg file
These are image files, most commonly on
web sites used because of their good
compression. Generally, .gif files are
the fastest loading, as they remove a
lot of information that is not required
to maintain image integrity, but only to
a certain point. .jpg will allow more
flexibility in compression and quality
settings, however it can also result in
larger files.
The .cgi and the .pl file
.cgi and .pl are most often used for
Perl scripts. Perl scripts are small
text based programs that are executed on
the server end, and will perform a host
of interactive functions for a web site.
In short, when a .pl or .cgi file is
called it tells the server to process it
using the "Perl interpreter".
The Perl interpreter understands the
programming within the script and will
perform the set of subroutines that will
yield your desired effect. This desired
effect could be anything from a simple
web page counter to more complex
programs such as discussion forums,
e-commerce applications, to online
auctions. In many cases, you can
download these "ready to go"
scripts for free, and in others you may
have to purchase them.
FrontPage and FTP (what
you should know)
If you're planning to use
Microsoft FrontPage to manage your web
site, there are a couple of issues you
may want to keep in mind:
There are two worlds: The General Unix
hosting world and the Microsoft world.
While this is not necessarily a bad
thing, Microsoft has indeed decided to
play by its own rules. As a result,
FrontPage does not always conform to the
rules of Unix, so you should be
extremely careful when accessing a
FrontPage web via FTP. It's easy to
damage the FrontPage web, as well as its
associated server extensions and if it
happens you may loose the ability to
administer it from your FrontPage
Explorer. To avoid problems like this:
- Do not
alter or delete files that are part
of a FrontPage web
- Do not
delete, move or alter directories
ending in _vtf. These are the
FrontPage extensions
The
ultimate solution:
If possible, try to create your
FrontPage webs in sub-directories of
your root. For example, http://www.yourdomain.com/home. This
way, you can safely FTP into your root
account to perform other tasks, while
avoiding the FrontPage webs, which are
safely out of the way in their own
separate homes. Remember! DO NOT delete
any folders, which end in _vtf! This
will kill your FrontPage web, and we'll
have to reinstall the extensions for
you.
Using CGI
Programs:
Where to
place your CGI scripts
Although there is nothing dangerous
about placing CGI scripts in random
directories throughout your site, it's
best if you keep them in their own home
known as the cgi-bin. This minimizes
security risks and allows you to
maintain your CGI programs from one
directory.
The path
to Perl
One of the first things you must do when
configuring a script is set the correct
path to the Perl interpreter, which is
the engine responsible for processing
the script. The path to Perl on our
servers is: #!/usr/bin/perl
The
path to Sendmail
Some programs, such as ones that send
email, will need to know where the
Sendmail program resides on the server.
The script will typically have a setting
like this: $mailprog = '/usr/sbin/sendmail';
and will want you to set it
appropriately. Sendmail on our servers
can be found here: /usr/sbin/sendmail or
/usr/lib/sendmail.
Setting
directories within your CGI scripts
When you configure a CGI script for any
server, it may ask you to set variables
such as the base, relative, and CGI
directory/url settings. Here's an
"example" using Matt Wright's
wwwboard.pl script. Obviously, each
script may vary, but this should provide
you with some basic idea:
$basedir = "/home/yourlogin/public_html/wwwboard";
$baseurl = "http://www.yoursite.com/wwwboard";
$cgi_url = "http://www.yoursite.com/cgi-bin/wwwboard.pl";
Most scripts come with documentation on
how to set these directories. Please
make sure you read and understand it
before configuring the script. New to
CGI? Here is a page with answers to
numerous questions concerning the ins
and outs of using CGI scripts: http://www.w3.org/Security/Faq/www-security-faq.html Another excellent site
that provides step-by-step chapters is: http://www.cgi101.com/class/
Understanding
file permissions
There are a number of file permissions
that can be used for a variety of
different purposes, however we'll limit
this tutorial to the ones most commonly
used. To begin with, it's important you
understand the three categories of
permissions, which are:
Owner Permissions:
The owner is you. In most cases, this is
not much of a concern, as you can only
obtain owner permissions in one of two
ways: 1. FTP into your account using
your Username and Password; 2. Login via
Telnet with the same information.
Group Permissions:
This represents a group of users who
have access to a particular directory.
For example, a password protected
directory where only members can access
it upon providing the correct Username
and Password. In this case, any
permissions you assign to
"Group" would be applicable to
users with access to that particular
directory.
Public Permissions:
This is the most important one of all.
Public permissions determine what your
worldwide visitors can and cannot do
with your files. ALWAYS make sure you
understand what a particular permission
does before assigning it to a file. If
not, you may find your web site
demolished by some clown who was
snooping about and gained access to your
files.
Setting
file permissions
To set file permissions
1. Log in with your FTP client
2. Open the directory where the file you
wish to set permissions on resides
3. Right
click on the file and select CHMOD
A box similar
to the one above will appear
Note that you
can "select" the individual
permissions you want, or simply enter
the 3 digit number if you know what it
is. Most instructions included with
downloaded scripts will indicate this.
By default, all
files uploaded to the server
automatically have permissions set to
644. The setting 644 is relatively safe,
as it provides "Read" and
"Write" access to the owner,
while limiting the rest of the public to
"Read Only" access.
When setting permissions for CGI
scripts, the most common permissions
setting is 755. 755 allows the owner
"Read and Write" access, while
allowing the Group and Public "Read
and Execute" permission. So what
are we actually saying? In short, when
users access your CGI script, the server
has been instructed to grant them
permission to "Read and
Execute" it. Sound scary? It's not
actually…
Remember that a script is a program that
must be processed by the server. As long
as the script is written properly, you
can safely allow users to execute it,
and thus produce the desired results.
For example, if they wanted to post a
message to your wwwboard discussion
forum, then they would need these
permissions to execute wwwboard.pl,
which would write their new message to
an HTML file, which is displayed on the
main forum. The new message would reside
in a directory on your site so other
users could view it. Most CGI, Perl and
other scripts you'll be installing come
complete with instructions telling you
which permissions you'll need to set.
WARNINGS and
security issues
Setting permissions on files is a
relatively simple task, however MAKE
SURE you fully understand what it is
you're allowing the public to do with
your files. For example, some less
experienced users often make the fatal
mistake of simply setting ALL of their
files to 777. While 777 will
automatically allow executing
privileges, it also allows full
"READ, WRITE, and EXECUTION"
ability to the entire world!!!!
This is how web sites get hacked! While
most visitors have good intentions, all
it takes is one person who snoops about
your files seeking an open "back
door" to gain full access to your
directories, which means they can do
anything, from deleting your entire
site, to defacing it with obscenities.
New to CGI? Here is a
page with answers to numerous questions
revolving around the ins and outs of
using CGI
within your
scripts: http://www.w3.org/Security/Faq/www-security-faq.html
Using Server
Side Includes (SSI) and .shtml
SSI works in conjunction with a web page
usually with the .shtml extension. The .shtml
extension tells the server to do
something different with the web page.
When you append the .html or .htm
extension to a file name, it tells the
server to "read" the page
only. The .shtml extension tells the
server to "Execute" the page,
in addition to just reading it.
So, why would you want to execute a
page? There are various commands you can
program into a web page that the server
will look for and parse when a .shtml
file is called. In many cases, this mode
is used in conjunction with Server Side
Include (SSI) tags to call a CGI script.
For example, imagine you have a visitor
counter script, called count.cgi. Every
time someone visits your web site, you
want the script to be called so that it
logs the visitor into a file.
To do this, you would place an SSI tag
in your web page. The tag in this case
would look something like:
<!--#exec cgi="/cgi-bin/count.cgi"
-->
This small tag, which is hidden in the
html coding of your page, is telling the
server to:
1. Go to the cgi-bin directory
2. Execute count.cgi
That's it! The information has been
captured and processed by the count.cgi
script. Of course, that's the short
version of what happens. The long
version would no doubt would take us far
beyond the scope of this document.
PLEASE do not use the .shtml extension
on "all" of your web pages
unless it's absolutely necessary. With a
busy web site this would mean that every
page must be executed as opposed to just
read. This, as you can appreciate, can
add considerable memory and CPU load to
the system. As always, read the
instructions that came with your script
carefully. They should provide specific
instructions on how to configure the
script, as well as the SSI tag.
The Ins and
Outs of DNS and How It Affects Your
Domain:
Understanding
DNS and Name Servers
This is an area
that causes a great deal of confusion
among both webmasters and end-users.
Before we go any further, let's look at
this quick analogy: DNS is similar to a
phone book. When you move from one
location to another, your name stays the
same but your phone number may change.
In order to point your name to the new
phone number, you must contact the
telephone service provider, which will
assign you a new phone number. In
addition, they will update the phone
book information to reflect this new
phone number.
What is DNS?
DNS stands for "Domain Name
Server". The domain name server
acts like a large telephone directory in
that it's the master database that
associates a domain name such as
mydomain.com with the equivalent IP
number. Consider the IP number like a
phone number: When you call http://www.azhosting.com/,
your ISP consults the DNS server, and
asks, "how do I contact
azhosting.com?" The DNS server
responds, "it can be found at:
75.126.164.178." This can be
considered the "phone number"
for the server that houses the http://www.azhosting.com/
web site.
Where are
all the DNS records kept?
This is slightly more complicated, but
for the purpose of this overview, we'll
try to keep it as general as possible.
There are 2 main places DNS records
reside:
- International
Root name servers (13 exist
throughout the world)
- Your domain
registrar, where your current DNS
settings reside
When you
register/purchase a domain name with a
registrar, your DNS settings are kept on
their server. In most cases these
settings are the names and/or IP
addresses of the Name Servers of your
web hosting provider. These Name Servers
are where the IP number currently
associated with your domain name is
listed.
The entire
hierarchy is somewhat involved but, in
short, the world Root Name Servers can
be considered the master listing of all
DNS records and there are currently 13
of them in the world. These name servers
are where all the master DNS records are
kept. The DNS server of your ISP will
typically query the Root Name Servers
once every 24-hours. This is how they
update all of their DNS tables, which in
turn, resolve WWW requests to the IP
number of the server they reside on.
Changing
your Name Server settings so your domain
points to your AZ Hosting account
Your "Name Server Settings"
must be updated to point to your account
with AZ Hosting. You originally
purchased your domain name from a
registrar, and this registrar is where
your current DNS settings reside. That
is, unless you transferred your domain
name to an alternate registrar, in which
case, you would control your DNS
settings from there.
The registrar your domain resides on
communicates your current DNS settings
with the International Root name
servers, which is turn share this
information with ISP's, routers, and
cache engines around the world. In
essence, it's like a worldwide directory
that other computers can refer to when
they want to match a domain name with
its associated IP number. This IP number
is how the particular server your
website resides on is located.
Accessing
your domain manager
Simply go to your domain registrar's web
site and look around for links like
"domain manager", "manage
domain", or something of that
administrative nature. In your welcoming
email you were sent DNS settings similar
to this example:
ns1.azhosting.biz
ns2.azhosting.biz
Most of the newer registrars such as the
OPEN SRS based entities have turned
updating this information into a
5-minute process. You simply log in to
the registrar, select "manage
domain" and you'll be presented
with an option to update your DNS
numbers. Contrary to popular belief,
Network Solutions "now" also
provides an online interface to change
these settings, so this process with
them is no longer as complicated as it
was previously, however it's still not
as simple as the OPEN SRS based systems.
If your particular registrar does not
provide a domain manager of some type,
then you'll need to send them a message
requesting a change of DNS. This is an
unlikely scenario, as most registrars
now allow you to manage your own domain
settings from a web-based interface.
Once you've accessed the
"management interface" for
your domain name, look for a setting
that says "change or manage DNS
settings". In most cases, you can
simply cut and paste the DNS settings
we've sent you directly into the
appropriate entry fields. Remember, the
DNS settings we're displaying here are
an example and may not be accurate.
Check your welcoming email.
The 2 to
4 day propagation period and
understanding what happens during this
time frame
Patience is a virtue. Remember what we
talked about earlier in this chapter
regarding the size and scope of the
world's DNS system? In short, when you
change your DNS settings, these new
settings must propagate throughout the
world's DNS servers. This means that
every ISP (Internet Service Provider)
must update their DNS records to reflect
these new changes, which in most cases
is done automatically every 24 hours.
But not always...
Where do the Root Name
Servers receive their information from?
The Root Name Servers will query
"domain registrars" several
times a day. Domain Registrars are
companies such as Network Solutions and
the newer OPEN SRS based systems. The
Root Name Servers will gather this
information from the many registrars now
in existence and update their master
records accordingly. Now your ISP must
access the Root Name Servers and update
its DNS records, which reside on their
'local' DNS server. This process is
fully automated and most ISP's will
check the Root Name Servers for updates
every 24-hours. Be aware however, that
some lame ISP's will delay this process
for as much as 2 to 4 days. If this
happens with your ISP it will no doubt
cause confusion as everyone will be
reaching your new account on our servers
except you. This is because your ISP has
not updated their DNS records and/or
have not cleared their DNS cache, which
means they'll still be pointing your
domain name to your old server. If it's
a new domain name you've registered then
you'll receive a blank "Site Not
Found" Page.
DNS Cache
and your ISP
There is also the issue of DNS cache,
which is something we won't go into
great detail about here, but here's the
short version: Every time you access a
site from your ISP they cache the URL as
well as its associated IP number. If
their network is properly set up, these
DNS cache records should
"expire" at least every 24
hours. If they are not properly set up
(which is often the case) and you're
trying to see your new site hosted on
our servers, you may experience this:
You enter an URL such as http://www.mydomain.com
and you see your old account instead of
your new one.
In a large
number of cases this is the result of an
ISP who did not configure their servers
to "expire" the DNS cache
records at appropriate intervals.
Unfortunately, this adds additional
confusion to their clients, especially
those who are trying to point their
domain name to a new server. Yes, it
will make you want to scream sometimes,
however if you understand who is
actually at fault, then you'll know who
to scream at. :)
The DNS
propagation process is not limited to
ISPs!
HA -- just when you thought you had it
all figured out! Unfortunately, there's
more folks. The Internet itself must
update/clear its DNS cache as well. When
we say "the Internet", we mean
the numerous intermediate "points
of access" you're routed through
before reaching your final destination.
For the most part, these intermediate
points of access consist of
"Internet Routers" and
"Internet Caching Engines".
These too maintain their own DNS caches,
which assist them in routing
traffic/resolving URL's to the correct
destination IP's. Don't worry though as
Internet routers are usually faster at
clearing their DNS cache than ISP's are.
What to
expect during this 2 to 4 day
propagation period
In most cases, the propagation process
will take at least 48 hours to complete.
The first thing that happens is the
"World Root Name Servers" will
check all the various Domain Registrars
for updates. Ok, so now the Root Name
Servers have done their job. The rest is
up to the many ISP providers who should
be updating their DNS records (at
least every 24 hours) -- but a number of
them will not.
Side
effects that can be expected during the
propagation time frame
It's perfectly normal for strange things
to happen within the 48-hour propagation
period (sometimes longer). While we
could provide a full list of all the
anomalies that can occur during the DNS
propagation period, we'll stick to some
of the most common scenarios that people
experience:
HELP! My friend can reach my new
site, but I'm still being directed to
the OLD ONE!
This is a classic case of your friend's
ISP updating their DNS records while
yours, unfortunately, did not. As a
result, your ISP is still pointing your
domain name to the old IP address, which
is your old hosting account. Wait a
couple more days and if it appears that
everyone but you still can access your
new account then contact your ISP and
tell them to expire their old DNS cache
records.
WOW! http://www.mydomain.com was
taking me to my new AZ Hosting account
just a minute ago, but when I try it
now, I'm being taken back to my old
hosting account - what's up with this?
In all likelihood, your ISP may be in
the process of clearing their DNS cache
and/or updating their local DNS server
records. During this small interval,
it's normal to fluctuate between the new
and old web site as the old DNS records
may not have completely expired from
their cache yet. Give it another several
hours and it should be fine.
HEY!
My new site comes up for me, but my
friends are being directed to my old
one!
Break out the coffee and cakes and
consider yourself lucky. Your ISP is on
the ball and updates DNS records and
clears its DNS cache in short, regular
intervals. Your friends may be using an
ISP that is not as fast and/or efficient
at doing so. The only remedy for this is
time. Eventually the other ISP's DNS
cache will expire and be replaced with
the updated DNS records.
What's
going on with my email? When I try to
access it, I receive a "host does
not exist" or a "cannot
authenticate" error message.
This can happen for a number of reasons
but in most cases it's because your new
DNS records have not fully completed the
propagation process. Consequently, you
may be trying to access your old email
account on your old server, which you
may have already cancelled or which may
be in a state of DNS flux (which means
it points to the new server one moment,
and the next, points back to the old
server).
Give it some
more time and it will eventually settle
down. In the meantime, consider
accessing email from your account using
the WebMail based reader provided by AZ
Hosting. If your domain has not
propagated as of yet, you can access
your email account via WebMail with your
IP number. Example: http://yourIPnumber/neomail/
(make sure you have the trailing slash
intact) This will allow you to access
your default mailbox on your account.
Replace "yourIPnumber" with
the one we sent you.
Microsoft FrontPage will not
accept a Username and Password or
displays the error message
"FrontPage Extensions Are Not
Installed".
While you should be able to access
FrontPage with your associated IP number
(until your domain is resolving to our
servers), this is not always the case.
FrontPage can behave in a number of
different ways depending on which
direction the wind is blowing. In some
cases it will allow you to initiate an
upload session, but upon asking for your
Username and Password will not recognize
them. If this happens, the best thing to
do is wait until your domain name is
resolving to our servers. One thing we
know for sure is that FrontPage will
work without much of a problem if you're
using the full www.mydomain.com URL to
manage your site. Feel free to try it
with your IP number, but we cannot
guarantee it will work.
It's
been over a week. Everybody else can
access my new site except me!
Was your domain
originally hosted by your ISP? If so,
they may not have deleted your entry
from their DNS records. This results in
you and/or anyone else accessing the
'net from this particular ISP being
directed to your old web site on their
servers. A number of ISP's forget this
small detail, which can result in weeks
of utter confusion and frustration. If
this is happening to you, contact your
ISP and make sure they've made the
necessary changes to their DNS records.
Checking
your DNS update status (outside of your
ISP)
In the event you're becoming impatient
and/or are wondering if the rest of the
world outside of your ISP can access
your new site, you can proxy yourself to
another network and test it there. In
many cases, you'll be surprised to see
your site responding perfectly, yet when
you attempt to view it directly from
your ISP's servers, it does not exist.
There are several services that allow
anonymous surfing across the 'net. While
this is not the intent here, they can be
used for troubleshooting domain
resolution problems. How? Because they
proxy you through their network, which
means your URL requests are controlled
by their DNS cache records. These
services update/expire their DNS cache
far more often than most ISP's, which
makes them well suited for testing your
domain name through another network.
To try this,
you can access your site through this
service:
http://www.anonymizer.com/
The site will
allow you to enter a URL and proxy your
request through its servers. If your
site is accessible from this server,
then chances are your ISP has yet to
expire its old DNS cache records.
Working on your account
during the DNS propagation period
You can still work on your new account
until your domain name finds its way to
our servers using your IP Number, which
was included in your welcoming email.
Your IP number is how your new domain
will be identified on our servers. Using
it at this point will provide a means
for you to access your account as well
as test your new site, by using
something like
http://75.126.164.178/ (obviously you'd
replace it with the IP number we sent
you).
One easy way to check to see if your
domain name is resolving to our servers
yet is to create a file called test.html
and place it in your web directory. Keep
checking the URL http://www.yourdomain.com/test.html and see if the
page appears. When it does, you'll know
your domain name is pointing to your
account on our servers and has been
officially transferred.
Setting up your own Name
Server (for advanced webmasters)
Personalized Name Servers are generally
used by webmasters who will be reselling
web hosting accounts and want to add a
professional look to their DNS. Why? If
you're reselling accounts under your own
entity you could use our name servers,
which would appear as:
ns1.azhosting.biz
ns2.azhosting.biz
Not bad, but what if you want your DNS
settings to appear as a part of your
company? Let's say your company is
www.greatflash.com. If you desire, you
could set up your own custom branded
DNS, which could display as:
dns1.greatflash.com 22.78.4.6
dns2.greatflash.com 22.78.6.14
This provides a somewhat more
professional look to your customers when
sending out your DNS settings in a
welcoming email. In addition, if someone
does a WHOIS lookup on your domain name,
the Name Server entries appear as your
personal DNS, as opposed to the company
you're reselling for. Not really a big
deal, but some webmasters do not want to
advertise the host they're reselling for
as they feel it does not portray a
professional and independent look.
Personal name servers are offered to
clients who are a part of our reseller
program. If you're not a reseller,
please use the standard DNS settings we
provided you. There is no advantage to
having your own name server unless
you're a reseller and/or a web designer
who is also planning to host the
websites you build.
Setting Up
and Managing Subdomains
What are subdomains and
how do they work?
A subdomain is
a domain that resides under your
top-level domain name, but in many ways
behaves as a totally independent domain.
You'll note that many of the larger
corporations use these as they're
somewhat more professional looking and
do a better job of creating an
independent presence for service or
product lines, which appear as separate
web entities.
Example: You're GM with a site such as
GM.com. You sell everything from
Pontiacs to Cadillacs. To better
organize your online presence you could
create subdomains for your various
automotive lines. These would appear as http://pontiac.gm.com or http://cadillac.gm.com. Also note
that in most cases, the domain need not
be called with the http:// prefix.
pontiac.gm.com can be accessed exactly
as it appears here.
Setting up a subdomain:
Thanks to our Control Panel this task
has been made easier than ever and can
be accomplished as follows:
1. Log in to the Control Panel
2. Select "Subdomains"
3. Enter the name of your new subdomain
4. Hit "Add"
That's it! Your new subdomain is now
ready for use. To find it, log in to
your main web directory through the
Control Panel by selecting "File
Manager" or simply use your
favourite FTP client. You'll see that
your subdomain now exists as a new
directory, located in your www or
public_html directory. For example, if
you created a subdomain called
pontiac.yourdomain.com, then a directory
named pontiac is what you'll be looking
for. Upload your files to this directory
just as you would any other.
Independent
cgi-bin
All new subdomains are created with
their own independent cgi-bin. This
means your new subdomain operates
independently of everything else and is
almost like a whole new domain. Feel
free to configure cgi scripts that are
pertinent to the functioning of this
subdomain. This is a nice feature as it
saves your main cgi-bin from becoming
cluttered and somewhat disorganized,
especially if you utilize a lot of CGI
programs.
Subdomains
and email
In the
"Default Address" page of the
Control Panel, you will observe
duplicates of all configured POP email
accounts listed beside the subdomains
you've created. I know you'll be tempted
to use (what appear to be) perfectly
good email addresses BUT please don't!
This is a feature that is in final
development. While it may look somewhat
confusing at first glance, it's really
not. In the near future, you'll be able
to configure these email accounts for
use with your subdomains. For example,
if you configured
support.yourdomain.com, then you'll be
able to use an address such as
tom@support.yourdomain.com.
For the time
being, please configure email addresses
that correspond to your main domain and
just ignore the subdomain duplicates.
ALSO: Any duplicate subdomain email
addresses you see in your POP email
setup configuration DO NOT count towards
your allocated number of POP mail boxes.
Configuring
Email for Your Domain:
POP Email
Accounts
There
are two kinds of email addresses you can
use, "catch all" addresses and
private POP email addresses.
The
"catch all" method:
With the catch
all method you don't have to worry about
setting up individual POP email
accounts. Simply set your email client
to your "default" email
address (displayed in your Control Panel
on the "Default Address"
page), and all email sent to any name
@yourdomain.com will land in this
mailbox.
In your Email
client, feel free to configure multiple
outgoing accounts using
many-different-names@youdomain.com. It
really doesn't matter what you use since
everything@yourdomain.com will land in
the default account. Therefore, you
would configure all your email accounts
to receive mail with the same
Username and Password as your default
email account.
EXAMPLE: Let's
say you want to receive mail from
support@yourdomain.com and
mark@yourdomain.com. The only thing that
changes is the address -- the Username
and Password are always the same.
The
POP email account method:
In this case
you configure a "private" POP
email account for each user that will be
receiving and sending email from your
domain. Once an email address is
configured as a POP email account, it
operates privately and independently
from your main/default mailbox. Any mail
sent to a private POP mail account can
only be received by logging into that
account with the separate Username and
Password you have assigned it.
Your default
"catch all" account will not
intercept any mail being sent to a POP
mail account, which is what makes it
private. POP accounts are useful if
there are a number of people (for
example, employees) who each need a
private email account. This way everyone
at your company can utilize private
email.
The default
email address plays a slightly different
role in this case: If a sender uses the
wrong email name then that message would
bounce to your default "catch
all" account and hopefully you can
figure out who the sender was trying to
contact. They must, of course, at least
send it to your correct domain name
(i.e. oops@yourdomain.com -- his would
end up in your default mailbox).
Setting up
and configuring POP email accounts
1. Log in to
your Control Panel
2. Select "POP Email Accounts"
3. Look for the "Add POP email
account" area
4. Enter a name in the
"Email:" field (just enter a
name -- the @yourdomain part is added
automatically)
5. Enter a password in the
"Password:" field
6. Click the "Add" button
That's it,
done! Your private POP email account is
now ready for use. If you're a little
lost on how to manually configure an
email account in your mail reader,
please see the detailed tutorials on how
to configure Outlook and Netscape mail
readers.
SPECIAL NOTE!
If you've
enabled subdomains, you'll observe
duplicate email accounts appearing on
the "Default Address" page,
which correspond to each subdomain
you've added. Please ignore these
duplicate addresses for the time being.
This is a new feature under development
which will soon provide the ability to
configure email accounts for your
subdomains. For example, if you created
support.yourdomain.com, then you'll be
able to use the address
tom@support.yourdomain.com.
For the time
being, please configure email addresses
that correspond to your
"regular" domain only and just
ignore the subdomain duplicates. ALSO:
Any duplicate subdomain email addresses
you see in your POP email setup
configuration DO NOT count towards your
allocated number of POP email boxes. In
short, just ignore them for now. :-)
Default
email address: setting up your catch-all
and avoiding spam
This
is quite simple but please read through
this documentation, as this feature
controls much more than you'd expect. As
mentioned in the previous chapter, your
"default email address" is the
one that can be used to "catch all
mail" that is addressed to any name
@yourdomain.com. Using a catch all can
be a blessing and sometimes a curse.
The "catch
all" is excellent if you have a
high frequency of people who mistype
your email address as these addresses
(even though mistyped) will simply be
bounced to your "catch all" or
"default" email account. That
is, providing they at least managed to
spell your domain name properly. :)
If you're not
planning to use multiple private email
boxes then you can keep life very simple
-- just configure the default email
address in your mail reader and leave it
at that. This way, you'll receive
everything sent to your domain. There
are pros and cons to this method, which
will be discussed in this tutorial.
Setting
your default/catch all email account:
Note:
By default, or until you change it, the
default email address will be the same
as your login name.
1. Log in to
your Control Panel
2. Click "Default Address"
3. In the "Modify default
address:" entry field, enter the
desired default email address
4. Click the "Submit" button
Note: Just enter a name (the
@yourdomain.com part is added
automatically)
You will see a
confirmation box that displays your new
default email address. That's it --
you're done!
Remember: In order to
actually read mail that finds its way
into your default mailbox you must
configure the default address in your
mail reader. If you don't, then all mail
that bounces to this address will sit on
the server unread. This is easy to do in
Outlook Express since it allows you to
configure and monitor multiple email
accounts. Email readers such as Netscape
on the other hand, are limited to one
email account. Actually, you could
re-configure your mail reader to check
your default email box every few days,
but who wants to be bothered with that
trouble? We suggest using an email
reader that allows you to configure
multiple email accounts.
The
Webmail Alternative: You can also check your default
email account by logging into it through
the "Webmail" interface.
Simply select the "Read Your
Email" link in the Control Panel
and log in using your Username and
Password. This will allow you to check
your default email box without having to
configure it in your mail reader.
The downside of enabling "Catch
All"
Problems can
sometimes arise when spammers or junk
mailers use this feature as a means to
pump their trash into your mailbox. As
long as a "catch all" address
is enabled then all they need to do is
send to email to whatever@yourdomain.com
and it will reach you.
On the other
hand, if you're using only private POP
email accounts you could opt to disable
the "catch all", which would
mean that only people who know a valid
email address at your domain can send
you email.
In this case,
email to every address that you have not
configured as a POP email account is
bounced back to the sender. We suggest
leaving your "catch all"
enabled for the time being. If spammers
begin sending random junk messages using
anything@yourdomain.com then you can
disable your "catch all"
feature.
Disabling
your "Catch All Feature":
Instead
of entering a real account name, use the
special account name ":fail:"
to disable your email "catch
all". As before, simply go to the
"Default Address" link in your
Control Panel, enter ":fail:"
(without the quotation marks) as the
default name and click the
"Submit" button.
What happens
now?
When
"Jimmy junk mailer" attempts
to use a random email address to spam
you, it will be bounced back to him.
(That is, unless he happens to get one
of your legitimate POP email account
names, in which case you'd have a
different problem on your hands.) Here
is what a sender using
anything@yourdomain.com would receive
now (please note that a classic, but
annoying junk mail example is being used
here):
This
message was created automatically by
mail delivery software (Exim).
A message that you sent has not
yet been delivered to one or more of its
recipients after more than 24
hours on the queue on yourdomain.com.
The message identifier is:
14m7gv-0007gl-00
The date of the message is: Mon,
04 June 2001 01:23:02 -0400
The subject of the message is: MAKE
MILLIONS FAST!
The address to which the message
has not yet been delivered is:
anything@yourdomain.com
Delay reason: error in alias file
/etc/valiases/anything@yourdomain.com:
missing or malformed local part
(expected word or "<") in
"******>>>" (Bad
email syntax)
No action is required on your
part. Delivery attempts will continue
for
some time, and this warning may
be repeated at intervals if the message
remains undelivered. Eventually
the mail delivery software will give up,
and when that happens, the
message will be returned to you.
So what actually
happened here?
When the mail server processed an
incoming message sent to
anything@yourdomain.com, it attempted to
forward it to the "catch
all/Default" email address, freaked
out, and said, "forget it!"
The default email address was set to
******>>>@yourdomain.com in
this case, which is an email address
using "illegal characters", so
the delivery process was aborted.
Therefore, the mail system bounced back
the above error message to the sender.
There are numerous tricks and special
recipes you can "manually"
write into the Unix email system for
doing essentially the same thing,
however through Control Panel, this
would be the easiest way of
accomplishing this task.
Configuring
email autoresponders
What is an
email autoresponder?
Email autoresponders automatically send
customized responses (that you compose)
to any visitor who emails an address.
Automated responses are sometimes used
to send additional information about
your service or product when people send
messages to a specific email address. In
other cases they are used to send a
:courtesy reply" to anyone that
sends a query to your company's main
email address. When visitors email this
address they may receive a response such
as: Thanks for contacting our
company! Someone will be returning a
response to your question soon. If you
require immediate assistance, please
call 000-000-0000. Thanks! And so
forth.
There are two types of autoresponders:
1.
The silent autoresponder
In
this case you configure the responder to
send certain information when someone
sends email to it, however you do not
receive copies of the inquiries that
people originally sent. This method is
typically used if you have a product and
want people to email an address for
additional information on it. You simply
tell them to email
moreinfo@yourdomain.com and they receive
a pre-canned message. Again, you will
not receive copies of the messages sent
to the autoresponder. If you want to do
this, please read the next paragraph.
2.
The autoresponder that sends you the
original inquiry
In
this case the autoresponder is set up to
work with a currently configured POP
email account. Now the sender receives
your automated response and you receive
their original inquiry.
How
to setup an autoresponder:
1. Log in to
your Control Panel
2. Select "Autoresponders"
3. In the "Add autoresponder"
section:
3.1. Enter the email address that
the autoresponse should come from
3.2. Enter a "From" name
(for example, my company)
3.3. Enter a "Subject"
(for example, thank you)
3.4. Enter your message in the
"Body" area
4. Click the "Add" button
That's it! Your
autoresponder is now online. To test it,
email its address and see if you receive
the autoresponse. If you've entered an
existing POP email account, you should
receive 2 messages: the first, which is
your inquiry that you just sent to
yourself, and the second, which will be
the automated response.
Remember,
if you want to receive the incoming
inquiries in addition to sending the
automated response, then us an email
address that is already configured
as a POP email account. If you do
not wish to receive the original
incoming inquiry, then simply enter a
name that is not configured as one of
your existing POP mail accounts.
If, at any
time, you want to update, edit, or
delete an autoresponse, simply go back
to the "Autoresponders" page
and you'll see the current responders
configured as well as options to change
or delete each of them.
Blocking
unwanted email messages
From time to
time, you may experience either a junk
mailer or some other menacing individual
who keeps sending you annoying email
messages. Control Panel has a built in
feature that allows you to block these
email messages in many different ways.
You can block them by:
- Sender
- Subject
- Message Header
- Message Body
Of course, if all you want to do is
block one specific email address, then
you don't have to worry about getting
fancy with it - just enter the email
address to be blocked, and that's it,
done!
How to use the block email function:
1. Log in to
your Control Panel
2. Select "Spam Filters"
3. In the "Add spam filter"
area, select from the first and second
drop-down lists and enter the
appropriate information in the entry
field
4. Click the "Add" button
For example, if
all you want to do is block a single
email address, then select
"From", "equals" and
enter the address in the entry field and
that's it -- done!
When you log in
to this feature again you'll see the
list of email addresses and/or
expressions you've blocked. Beside each
one of them will be a "Delete"
option so that you can remove the block
at a future time. NOTE: When you block
an email address or some other keyword,
this filtering will be enabled on ALL
email accounts within your domain.
Advanced Blocking:
For those who experience frequent
problems with junk email messages,
you'll be pleased to see this feature
provides a broad range of blocking
options. Instead of having us try to
explain every last one of them here,
you'll really want to experiment. Doing so, will
allow you to become familiar with the
ways that email can be blocked and will
also help you with customizing a recipe
that works best for your domain. Play
around with the settings and try to
block words or phrases based on the From
Name, Subject, or Message Body Text.
Now, send an email to your account and
see if the terms and criteria you
selected are providing the filtering you
want. It may take a little time to
master, but it's fun, and a great way to
broaden your abilities on web site
administration.
FINAL NOTE: If
you're totally new to email blocking and
wish to explore its full potential we
highly suggest you test it before
launching your site. This way, you don't
have to worry about accidentally
disrupting email for your entire domain.
Hint: Unless you're 100% sure of
what a setting will do, always delete it
when you're finished testing or until
you have time to run a series of tests
on it. You want to ensure it's blocking
what it's supposed to, and not
legitimate email messages!
A big junk mail problem:
If you're experiencing a
high volume of junk mail then there's a
good possibility spammers are taking
advantage of your "catch all"
option. To disable this, please see our
tutorial on "Default Email
Address".
Setting up
and configuring email forwarding
"Email
forwarding" forwards an email sent
to your domain to another email address.
The second address can be another email
address within your domain or an
"external" email address (for
example, your home ISP email account).
There are two types of email forwarding:
1. Forward silently to another address:
In this case,
the email address from your domain (set
up for forwarding) will divert all
messages to the forwarding address
you've specified and not send a copy of
the original message to the original
address. For example, you@yourdomain.com
could automatically forward all messages
to you@mindspring.com. Pretty
straightforward (no pun intended).
2.
Forward to another address, but also
deliver the original inquiry to you:
This is
the method most commonly used. For
example, you have two other partners who
wish to receive all incoming inquiries
to the company. Perhaps you're the one
who responds to them but your
counterparts would like copies of the
incoming activity as well. The method
for accomplishing this is much the same
as above, except in this case you would
configure forwarding for one of your
existing POP email accounts, as that is
how you'd receive a copy of the original
incoming message.
Example: When
general@company.com (your company's main
address) is mailed, you would typically
be the only one to receive the response.
However if you've configured forwarding
for your two counterparts (Bob and
Mary), then bob@doodles.com and mary@yourdomain.com
could also receive a copy of the
incoming messages.
How to set up a mail forward:
1. Log in to
your Control Panel
2. Select "Forwarders"
3. In the first entry field, enter a
configured POP email account name if you
want to receive original inquiries. Enter
a non-configured email address if you do
not.
4. Enter the email address you want
copies of the message sent to
5. Click the "Add" button
Need to Forward
to more than one person?
Simply repeat
the above process using the same address
in the first entry field and the
additional recipient's address in the
second entry field. You can also delete
forwards when you no longer require
them.
Testing
your forward.
If you want to
test your new mail forward, it's
recommended that the email account
you're testing from is not one of the
accounts you're using in conjunction
with the forwarder you've just set up.
For example, if you've configured harry@yourdomain.com
to forward copies to bob@doodles.com and
mary@yourdomain.com, then send a test
message from an email address other than
one of the addresses above. Otherwise it
can be somewhat confusing figuring out
which message is coming from the actual
forward and which was the original sent
from you.
Accessing your
email through the web-based interface
The Control
Panel extends the versatility of the
email system by allowing you to access
any of your email accounts through a
"WebMail" interface. Gone are
the days of needing to create several
email accounts on various free
HTML-based mail systems as now you have
your own HTML-based mail system that
operates from your account.
Accessing your mail through the
webmail interface
1. Log in to your Control Panel
2. Select "POP Email Accounts"
Click the round
green button with a white arrow beside
the email account you wish to access. A
username and password prompt will
appear. These are the email address
and password you chose when you created
that particular account. NOTE:
Remember to use the full email
address for the account you're
accessing as the account login name. You
will see a screen allowing you to choose
from either NeoMail or Uebimiau, two
web-based email systems. The differences
are mostly cosmetic so feel free to play
with them both and choose which you like
best. In this tutorial we will assume
you are using NeoMail but the
instructions are similar for Uebimiau.
The first
screen you'll see
If this is the first time you're
accessing this email account through
WebMail, a setup screen appears. This
screen allows you to specify how you'll
be identifying yourself in email
messages. The options here are similar
to those you set up with your original
POP email account. However, check
closely to make sure everything appears
as you want it.
Does
everything look correct?
If so, then
click "Save" and a dialog box
pops up that confirms your settings as
being saved successfully. Click
"Continue" and you'll be taken
to your WebMail inbox. To the top left
of the screen, you'll observe the
following icons. Clicking on any one of
them will do the following:
|
Compose
a new message |
|
Refresh
the screen (checks for new
messages) |
|
View
and set user preferences |
|
Open
address book |
|
View or
add new folders |
|
Empty
your trash folder |
|
Log out
from the NeoMail WebMail system |
To delete or
move a message, click the small box
beside it, select where you wish to
place it using the drop down menu (top
right of screen), then click
"Move".
The
address book allows you to add and edit
email addresses. You can also export
your Outlook or Netscape Address
Book, which equips your account
with all the email addresses you
currently use.
|