Two New Domains Registered

Over the weekend I registered two new domains:

I chose ChangeIP.com based on price. They are hereby HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! I experienced very fast responses to all the tickets I opened to ask questions.

Two New Domains through ChangeIP.com
ChangeIP.com

I had no experience dealing with DNS records, and I was fairly certain the DNS records were a big part of the problem I was having.

I decided to reach out to a few friends and ask for advice. Special thanks once again to longtime ham radio friend and guru of ‘All Things Internet’ Brian N1URO. Brian laid it out in simple terms, and I quickly realized I was just a few steps away from everything working perfectly.

Brian told me to:

  1. Reconfigure my Apache2 server to listen on port 80 (instead of 8080)
  2. Create 2 DNS records: An A record and a CNAME record
  3. Add a Virtual Host to the Apache2 server

All the changes Brian suggested were well documented on the web.

Years ago I used an ISP that blocked incoming packets for port 80. I was told they did this to discourage home based web servers. I discovered that they had not blocked the Secondary HTTP port at 8080, so I told my Apache2 server to listen for connection requests on port 8080. I continued to use port 8080. Since it was working, I never thought about changing it back.

Simple:

  • Edited the /etc/apache2/ports.conf file and changed the port number back to 80.
  • Logged into my account at ChangeIP.com and created the 2 DNS records
  • Copied, edited and renamed /etc/apache2/sites-available/default to /etc/apache2/sites-available/k6hr.com
  • Enabled the site with the command ‘sudo a2ensite k6hr.com’

To create the DNS entries I used ChangeIP.com’s DNS Manager. It’s a web interface that allows you to directly edit and update your DNS records. I clicked on my new domain and there was a button to “Add A Record”. Then, a drop down menu to select the “Record Type” followed by two data entry fields. After selecting A record, the first field to be entered is hostname, and the second is the IP address of your webserver. This was the same for both the A and CNAME records. Once I save the changes they take effect in just seconds.

An important step in setting up your new virtual host is creating the configuration file in the /etc/apache2/sites-available/ directory. This file contains the all important “Document Root” entry which defines the directory where all your virtual hosts’ webpages, images etc. will be stored. Typically this directory will be found in your /var/www/ directory. After running the command to activate the virtual host, an entry appears in /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/ directory and your new virtual host is ready to accept connections. The two new domains have been enabled in Apache and ready to test.

Everything is working brilliantly! Now if i could just figure out how to successfully “verify my property” in the Google Search Console I think I’ll be in business. I currently have little to no search results anywhere.

Tomorrow I plan to cut the desktop. Unless something unexpected comes up, the furniture portion of the remodel should be complete. I’m sick with a terrible cold, But I need to get the furniture squared away.

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Author: K6HR

Licensed since 1994. Active on HF / VHF / UHF / Satellite.

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