Domain name management

AlternC allows you to host your own domain names in your account. A domain name is always in the form of something.tld. For example: myorganization.org, example.com, etc.

Installation of a new domain name in your account

To configure a domain name in your AlternC account:

• You must first purchase the domain name from a domain registrar. For example, you can buy a .com, .org, .net, .info, .biz, .fr from  Gandi.net. Another registrar is  Baremetal.ca (for Canadian domain names). Any ICANN certified registrar is supported by AlternC.

• When purchasing or configuring the domain name, it is recommended that you enter the "domain name servers" (DNS) of your hosting provider. Each hosting provider has its own DNS servers. It is not mandatory to use the DNS servers of your hosting providers, but it makes it easier to manage the subdomains directly from your AlternC account. For example: ns1.alternc.net (80.67.172.5) and ns2.alternc.net (80.67.172.9). WARNING: This is only an example, communicate with your hosting provider if you are unsure.

• Install the domain in your AlternC account.
  • Click on the menu item "Add a domain" from the main navigation menu.

• In the form which will appear on the screen, enter the name of your domain (without the "www").

• To manage the domain name directly from your AlternC account (recommended), you must use the DNS servers of your hosting provider as described above. If this is the case, make sure the checkbox "host my DNS here" is checked.

• Click on the "Add this domain" button to continue.

• If the operation was successful, click on the "click here to continue" link so that the navigation menu is reloaded. The domain will then appear under the sections "Domains" and "Mailboxes".

• Possible errors:
  • If the DNS servers did not match: refer to your domain name registar and make sure that the DNS servers for your domain are correct.
  • If the domain "cannot be hosted on the server": contact your hosting provider's technical support. Do not forget to mention your AlternC account username and the domain name that you have tried to add.

Configuration of a domaine / sub-domaine

Now that your domain is configured in your AlternC account, you may change the directory on the web server which is association with the domain, or any of its subdomains. By default, it points to "www/[domain.tld]/".

To change the configuration of a domain:

• In the main navigation menu, under the "domains" section, click on the domain that you wish to manage.
• By default, the following subdomains are installed: (for a fictive "example.org" domain)
  • example.org: this is in fact the domain itself. Very often, it redirects to  http://www.example.org or to the same directory as www.example.org.
  • www.example.org: usually the main address of your web site.
  • mail.example.org: webmail address for your domain. You may therefore access your mailboxes using the address  http://mail.example.org. If you prefer to use another name, you can destroy this domain and re-create a new one with the type "webmail". Your hosting provider may have a different webmail address using SSL. Consult your hosting provider's documentation for more information.

Adding a new subdomain

To add a new subdomain, use the form shown below the list of subdomains:

• enter a subdomain name (ex: test) and select the radio box "managed locally",
• select a directory where this subdomain should point to by clicking on the button "...",
• when ready, click on the "Add a subdomain" button.

You may also redirect to another server or sub-domain (see the example below) or to an IP address (for expert users!).

Modifying or deleting a subdomain

To modify a subdomain: click on the "delete" link next to its name,

To modify a domain name from your account: click on the "delete example.org" button located at the bottom of the page. Warning: it will delete all the information, mailing-lists and mailboxes associated with your domain!