Getting Started Guide

Getting Started With Your Virtual Dedicated Server

Setting up and hosting a domain on your Linux Virtual Dedicated Server using Simple Control Panel.

Getting Started with Your Virtual Dedicated Server Version 1.1 (06.23.08)
Copyright2008.Allrightsreserved.
Distributionofthisworkorderivativeofthisworkisprohibitedunlesspriorwrittenpermissionisobtainedfromthecopyrightholder.

Trademarks Used in This Book

LinuxisaregisteredtrademarkofLinusTorvalds. PleskisaregisteredtrademarkofSWsoftHoldings,LTD. SSHandSecureShellaretrademarksofSSHCommunicationsSecurity,Inc. RedHatandFedoraareregisteredtrademarksofRedHatSoftware,Inc. MacisaregisteredtrademarkofAppleComputer,Inc. UNIXisaregisteredtrademarkofTheOpenGroup. WindowsXP,Entourage,andOutlookareregisteredtrademarksofMicrosoft CorporationintheUnitedStatesand/orothercountries. ThunderbirdisanunregisteredtrademarkoftheMozillaFoundation. Allothertrademarksandcopyrightsarethepropertyoftheirrespectiveowners.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Security Information Reprovisioning Your Server Getting Help Other Resources

iv
iv v v vi

1 Setting Up Your Virtual Dedicated Server

Choosing a Host Name, User ID, and Password Choosing a Host Name Choosing a User ID Choosing a Password for Your Server Logging in to Your Manager for the First Time

1
1 1 2 2 3

2 Connecting to Your Virtual Dedicated Server

Connecting to Your Server Using Simple Control Panel Connecting to Your Server Using SSH Gaining Root Access on Your Server

4
4 8 9

3 Adding a Domain to Your Server Using Simple Control Panel

Logging in to Simple Control Panel Creating a New Domain in Simple Control Panel Configuring Hosting for Your Domain

11
11 12 16

TableofContents

ii

4 Setting Up DNS for Domains on Your Server

Step 1 Creating a Zone File for Your Domain Step 2 Creating and Registering Your Domain Hosts Step 3 Assigning the Name Servers to Your Domain Accessing Your Domain Using FTP (Uploading Files)

18
18 19 21 22

5 Setting Up Email on Your Virtual Dedicated Server

Using Simple Control Panel to Set Up an Email Account Connecting to Your Email Account Accessing WebMail for Domains on Your Server

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23 27 27

Introduction
Virtualdedicatedserversoccupythespacebetweenthesharedanddedicatedhostingfor mats.Avirtualdedicatedserveroffersmanyofthecapabilitiesandfeaturesofdedicated servers,includingadmin(root)accessanddedicatedIPaddresses,butatamuchlower price.Usersshareaserver,butbecauseeachvirtualdedicatedserveriseffectivelyiso latedfromotheraccounts,youhavefullcontroloveryourserverspace. Wepartitionourserversinsuchawaythateachvirtualdedicatedserveroperatesalmost independentlyoftheotheraccountsthatsharetheserverspace.Thismeansthatonyour virtualdedicatedserver,youenjoyconsistent,highperformance,evenwhenusagepeaks onthemainserver.

SECURITY INFORMATION
Comparedtosharedhostingaccounts,avirtualdedicatedserveroffersmorepowerand moreversatility.Youcanrunandinstallvirtuallyanythingonyourserver.However,with thisaddedcontrolcomesaddedresponsibility. Youareresponsibleforthesecurity,backup,andmaintenanceofyourvirtual dedicatedserver.Wedonotbackuporinstallfirewallsonyourvirtualdedi catedserver. Remembertokeepyouradministratorpasswordsecure.Anyone whohasadministration,orrootaccess,toyourservercanmanipu latethesoftwareandcontentthatyourunonyourserver. Whilewedonotautomaticallybackupyourvirtualdedicatedserver,wedoofferanFTP backupservicewithourvirtualdedicatedserveraccounts.Formoreinformationaboutour FTPbackupservice,pleasevisitourWebsite.

Introduction

REPROVISIONING YOUR SERVER

If,atanytime,youwanttoreverttoacleansetuponyourdedicatedserver,youcan reprovisionyourserver.Reprovisioningerasesallofthecontentonyourserverharddrive. Yourserverreturnstothestateitwasinwhenyoufirstpurchasedit. YoucanreprovisionyourserverusingtheVirtualDedicatedHostingManager.

} To Reprovision Your Server

1. LogintoyourAccountManager. 2. UndertheHosting&Emailsection,selectDedicated/VirtualDedicated Servers. 3. ClickLaunchManagernexttotheserveryouwanttoreprovision.YourVirtual DedicatedHostingManageropens. 4. UndertheSupportsection,clickReprovisionServer.TheReprovisionServerpage displays. 5. Ifyouchooseto,enteranewhostnameandusername.Thesevaluesdefaulttothe currenthostnameandusernameforthisaccount. 6. Enterandconfirmanewpassword,andthenclickContinue. Youwillreceiveaconfirmationnoticeonceyourserverisreprovisionedandreadytogo. Typically,yourserverisreadyinlessthanfivehours.

GETTING HELP
Afteryousetupyourserver,youcaneasilygethelpbysubmittingatroubleticketusing yourVirtualDedicatedHostingManager.Alternatively,youmaycontactCustomerSupport directlyforassistance.

} To Open a Trouble Ticket

1. LogintoyourAccountManager. 2. UndertheHosting&Emailsection,selectDedicated/VirtualDedicated Servers. 3. ClickLaunchManagernexttotheserveraccountthatyouneedhelpwith. 4. IntheVirtualDedicatedHostingManager,underSupport,clickTroubleTickets. 5. Enteryourcontactinformation,includinganemailaddressandphonenumber. 6. UnderTroubleTicketDescription,enterasummaryandadetaileddescriptionof yourissue. 7. ClickContinue. 8. ReviewyourtroubleticketinformationandclickSubmit.

Introduction

vi

OTHER RESOURCES
Youcanusetheseresourcestolearnmoreaboutmanagingyourvirtualdedicatedserver:

Resource
Redhat/FedoraCore Documentaion

URL
http://fedora.redhat.com/docs/OR http://www.redhat.com/docs/ Redhatsextensivedocumentationcanhelpyouget acquaintedwiththeLinuxoperatingsystemandthe shellcommandsthatyoucanusewithSSH.

1.

Setting Up Your Virtual Dedicated Server

Onceyouhavepurchasedyourvirtualdedicatedserverandhavereceivedconfirmationof theinitialconfiguration,youcanlogintoyourVirtualDedicatedHostingManagertofinish yoursetup. TheVirtualDedicatedHostingManagermakesiteasyforyoutomanageyourusername andpassword,scheduleservermaintenance,requestadditionalIPs,andsubmityour troubletickets.

CHOOSING A HOST NAME, USER ID, AND PASSWORD

ThefirsttimeyouaccessyourVirtualDedicatedHostingManager,youllneedtocreatea hostname,userID,andpasswordforyourserver.ThisistheuserIDandpasswordthat youwillusetoconnecttoyourserverinthefuture.Itsagoodideatohavethisinforma tionreadywhenyoulogintoyourManagerforthefirsttime.

Choosing a Host Name

Theservershostname(alsoknownasyouraccountname)isauniquenameforyour server.Ifyouhavemultiplevirtualdedicatedserveraccounts,yourhostnameswillhelp youdifferentiatebetweentheminyouraccountlist.Yourhostnamecanbeanything,as longasitmeetsthefollowingrequirements. YourHostname:

mustcontainbetween315characters. muststartwithaletter. canonlycontainletters,numbers,singledots,orsingledashes. cannotstartorendwithasingledotordash. cannotincludeanyspacesoranyotherspecialcharacters.

SettingUpYourVirtualDedicatedServer

Choosing a User ID
YouruserIDistheprimaryIDthatyouusetoaccessyourserver.ThisistheuserIDthat youusetoaccessyourserverfromanSSHorSCPprogram. Duetosecurityreasons,youcannotlogindirectlytoyourvirtualdedi catedserverasroot.However,youdohaverootaccess.Togainroot accesstoyourserver,loginwithyouruserIDandthenusethe su - root command.Tolearnmoreaboutrootaccess,seeGaining RootAccessonYourServeronpage 9ofthisguide. YouruserIDcanbebetween4and32lowercasealphanumericcharacters.YouruserID cannot:

beginwithanumber. containspaces. containsymbols. containcapitalletters.

Ourvirtualdedicatedserversalsohavealistofreservedtermsthatyoucannotuseasa userID.Thesetermsarelistedbelow.

Reserved Terms on Our Virtual Dedicated Servers

adm admin administrator anonymous backup binftp body games gopher guest halt iusrlp mailnull news nfsno nobody nscdntp operator pcap root rpc rpcuserrpm smmsp sshd sync system uucp vcsa

Choosing a Password for Your Server

Thisisthepasswordthatyouuse,alongwithyouruserID,toconnecttoyourserver.This isalsothepasswordthatyouusewhenyouusethesu - rootcommandtogainroot accesstoyourserver. Tokeepyourserversecure,werequireastrongpasswordforyouraccount.Astrong passwordisapasswordthat:

containsbetween714characters. ismadeupoflowercaseletters,uppercaseletters,andnumbers. doesnotbeginwithanumberorsymbol. doesnotcontainbackslashes,colons,singlequotes,doublequotes,spaces,dollar signs($),ampersands(&),orthecaretsymbol(^). doesnotcontainyourusernameorthewordadmin.

SettingUpYourVirtualDedicatedServer

LOGGING IN TO YOUR MANAGER FOR THE FIRST TIME

Onceyouvedecidedonahostname,userID,andpasswordforyourvirtualdedicated server,youcanlogintoyourVirtualDedicatedHostingManagerandfinishsettingitup.

} To Finish Setting Up Your Virtual Dedicated Server Account

1. LogintoyourAccountManager. 2. UnderHosting&Email,selectDedicated/VirtualDedicatedServers. 3. Nexttothevirtualdedicatedserveraccountyouwanttosetup,clickSetup Account.

Fig.1.1SetupAccountlinkinyourAccountManager.

4. OntheAccountSetuppage,enterthehostnameforyourserveraccount. 5. Enteryourusernameandpasswordforyouraccount. 6. ClickContinue. 7. ConfirmyoursettingsandclickSubmit. OnceyouclickSubmit,yourservershouldbereadytouseinapproximatelyfivehours. Youwillreceiveanemailconfirmationmessageassoonasyourserverisready.

Aftersetup,youcanuseSimpleControlPaneltoconnecttoyourserverandmanageyour domains,email,andDNS.Ifyouareamoreexperienceduser,youcanconnecttoyour serverusingSSH.Formoreinformationaboutconnectingtoyourserver,seeConnecting toYourVirtualDedicatedServeronpage 4ofthisguide.

2.

Connecting to Your Virtual Dedicated Server

Ingeneral,therearetwodifferentwaysyoucanconnecttoyourvirtualdedicatedserver. YoucanuseaWebbasedinterfacelikeSimpleControlPanel,oryoucanconnectdirectly toyourserverusingtheSecureShellprotocol(SSH). Eitherway,youconnecttoyourserverusingyourserversIPaddress,andtheuserIDand passwordyouspecifiedwhenyousetupyouraccount. TofindtheIPaddressesforyouraccount,logintoyourVirtualDedicatedHostingMan ager.YourVirtualDedicatedHostingManagerliststheIPaddressforyourserveronthe firstpagethatyouseeafteryoulogin. Dependingonhowyouconfiguredyourserver,youmayhavemul tipleIPaddressestochoosefrom.YoucanuseanyofyourIP addressestoconnecttoyourvirtualdedicatedserver.

CONNECTING TO YOUR SERVER USING SIMPLE CONTROL PANEL

SimpleControlPanelisasimpleandintuitiveWebbasedcontrolpanelthatyoucanuseto manageyourserver.Morespecifically,youcanuseSimpleControlPaneltosetupyour domain,DNS,andemailonyourvirtualdedicatedserver. MakesurethatyouhaveyourIPaddressreadybeforeyoutrytologinbecauseyoull needittoaccessSimpleControlPanelonyourserver.YoucanfindtheIPaddresstoyour serverinyourVirtualDedicatedHostingManager. ThisprocedureexplainshowtologintoSimpleControlPanelforthefirsttimeand includessomeinitialsetupsteps.Youonlyneedtoperformthesestepsonce.

ConnectingtoYourVirtualDedicatedServer

} To Access Your Virtual Dedicated Server Using Simple Control Panel

1. OpenaWebbrowserandgoto: https://[[ipaddress]]:9999/

Where[[ipaddress]]istheIPaddressforyourvirtualdedicatedserver. 2. WhentheSimpleControlPanelloginscreendisplays,entertheusernameand passwordyoudefinedwhenyousetupyourvirtualdedicatedserveraccount.Inthis example,wesetupouraccountwiththeusernamecoolexample.

Fig.2.1LoggingintoSimpleControlPanel.

3. ClickLogin. 4. WhenyoulogintoSimpleControlPanelforthefirsttime,theInitialSetupscreen displays.Thereareanumberofservicesyoucanenableforyourserver.Fornow, makesurethatyouselectatleastDNS(selfhosted)andEmail.Ifyouwantto enableFTP,Java,ordatabases,selecttheappropriateoptions.

Fig.2.2InitialSimpleControlPanelsetup.

ConnectingtoYourVirtualDedicatedServer

Inthisguide,wellsetupaWebsiteonyourserverusing yourvirtualdedicatedserverasyournameserver.Ifyou wanttouseanotherserviceforyournameservers,youcan selectDNS(vendorhosted). 5. IntheEmailaddressfield,entertheemailaddressthatyouwantyourservertouse whensendingsystemmessages. 6. IntheMailservernamefield,entermail.yourdomainnamehere.com ,where yourdomainnamehere.comistheprimarydomainnameforyourserver.Inthis example,wellusemail.coolexample.com.

Fig.2.3Specifyinganadministrativeemailforyourserver.

7. ReadtheEndUserLicenseAgreementandclickYes. 8. ClickSave.

Fig.2.4SimpleControlPanelEULA.

ConnectingtoYourVirtualDedicatedServer

ThisiswhatthehomepagelookslikewhenyoulogintoSimpleControlPanelforthefirst time:

Fig.2.5TheSimpleControlPanelhomepage.

ThehomepageinSimpleControlPanelisthemainareathatyouusetomanageand monitoryourvirtualdedicatedserver.Fromhereyoucancreatenewdomainsandemail accounts,manageIPaddresses,andstartandstopservicesonyourserver. ForinformationabouthowtosetupadomainandemailusingSimpleControlPanel,see AddingaDomaintoYourServerUsingSimpleControlPanelonpage 11andSettingUp EmailonYourVirtualDedicatedServeronpage 23.

ConnectingtoYourVirtualDedicatedServer

CONNECTING TO YOUR SERVER USING SSH

Ifyouareamoreexperienceduserandarecomfortableusingacommandlineinterface, youcanusetheSecureShell,orSSH,protocoltoconnecttoyourvirtualdedicatedserver. First,downloadandinstallanSSHclientonyourcomputer.IfyoureusingWindows,we recommendusingPuTTY(http://www.putty.nl/).MacuserscanuseMacSSH (http://www.macssh.com).LinuxandUNIXuserscanuseOpenSSH. OnceyouhaveinstalledanSSHclient,logintoyourserverusingyourIPaddress,user name,andpassword.Inthisexample,weusePuTTY. Remember,beforeyoulogintoyourserver,makesureyouhave yourIPaddressready.YoucanfindtheIPaddresstoyourserver inyourVirtualDedicatedHostingManager.

} To Connect To Your Server Using SSH (PuTTY)

1. OpenyourSSHclient(PuTTY). 2. IntheHostName(orIPAddress)field,typetheIPaddressforyourserver.

Fig.2.6LoggingintoyourserverusingSSH(PuTTY).

ConnectingtoYourVirtualDedicatedServer

3. ClickOpen.ThisisthebasicSSHcommandlineinterface.

Fig.2.7LoggingintoyourserverusingSSH(PuTTY).

4. LogintoyourserverwiththeuserIDandpasswordyoucreatedwhenyousetup youraccount. 5. Onceyoulogin,youcanexecuteshell(Bash)commandstonavigateandmanage yourserver. Typically,onlyadvancedusersthatarefamiliarwithLinuxandshellcommandsconnectto theirserversusingSSH.Youshouldbeabletotakecareofmostofyourservermanage menttasksusingPlesk.

GAINING ROOT ACCESS ON YOUR SERVER

OnourvirtualdedicatedLinuxservers,rootistheadministrativeuserthatcanaccessand editallofthefilesonyourserver(thisincludessystemcriticalfiles).Youcanalsouseroot toinstallanduninstallprogramsonyourserver. Usingrootonyourservercanbedangerous.Whenyouworkon yourserverasroot,youcanpotentiallydestroyimportantfilesand deleteprogramsbyaccident.Typically,youshouldonlyuserootto makeoneortwochangestoyoursystemandthenswitchbackto yournormaluseraccount.

ConnectingtoYourVirtualDedicatedServer

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Youcannotlogintoyourvirtualdedicatedserverremotelyusingroot.Ifyouneedroot accessonyourvirtualdedicatedserver,usethesu - rootcommandonceyouhave loggedinwithyourUserID. Thesu(shortforsubstituteuser)commandmakesitpossibletobecometherootuser, temporarily,whileyouareloggedinwithyournormalUserID. Tousesutologinasroot,type: su - root

Bydefault,yourrootpasswordisthesameasthepasswordyouusewithyournormal UserID. Whenyouarefinishedperformingtasksastherootuser,type exit toreturntoyournormaluserID. Tokeepyoudataandserversettingssecure,youshouldonlyuse roottoperformonlyacoupleofspecifictasksatatime.

3.

Adding a Domain to Your Server Using Simple Control Panel

Adomainnameworksalotlikeanaddressforwardingservice.AllofyourWebsitecon tentsitsonacomputerwithauniqueaddress,yourIPaddress.ThisisthesameIP addressthatyouusetoconnecttoyourserverusingSimpleControlPanel.Yourdomain namedirectsvisitorstoyoursiteusingthisIPaddress. Beforeyousetupadomaintohostonyourvirtualdedicatedserver, makesureyouhavealreadyregisteredthatdomainthroughanaccred iteddomainregistrar. TomaketheconnectionbetweenadomainnameandIPaddresswork,youneedtofirst setupadomainandconfigurehostingonyourserverusingSimpleControlPanel.

LOGGING IN TO SIMPLE CONTROL PANEL

TherearetwowaysthatyoucanaccessSimpleControlPanelonyourvirtualdedicated server.YoucanlogintoyourVirtualDedicatedHostingManagerandclicktheLaunch SimpleControlPanelicon,oryoucangotothefollowingURL: https://[[ipaddress]]:9999/

Where[[ipaddress]]istheIPaddressforyourvirtualdedicatedserver.

AddingaDomaintoYourServerUsingSimpleControlPanel

12

CREATING A NEW DOMAIN IN SIMPLE CONTROL PANEL

TohostaWebsiteonyourvirtualdedicatedserver,youneedtocreateadomaininSim pleControlPanel.SimpleControlPanelusesawizard,orstepbystepprocess,tocreatea domainonyourvirtualdedicatedserver.

} To Create a Domain in Simple Control Panel

1. LogintoSimpleControlPanelwiththeusernameandpasswordyoucreatedwhen yousetupyourvirtualdedicatedhostingaccount.

Fig.3.1LoggingintoSimpleControlPanel.

IfthisisthefirsttimeyouhaveloggedintoSimpleControl Panel,youllneedtocompletetheinitialsetupprocessand accepttheEndUserLicenseAgreement.SeeConnectingtoYour VirtualDedicatedServeronpage 4formoreinformation. 2. UnderSystemConfiguration,clickDomains.

Fig.3.2AddingaDomaininSimpleControlPanel.

AddingaDomaintoYourServerUsingSimpleControlPanel

13

3. ClickAddNewDomain.TheAddDomainWizarddisplays.

Fig.3.3AddingaNewDomain.

4. OntheRegisterDomainNamepage,selectYes,andthenclickNext.

Fig.3.4Step1RegisterDomainName.

5. OntheEnterDomainInformationpage,enterthedomainnameyouwanttoset uponyourvirtualdedicatedserver,andthenclickNext.

Fig.3.5Step2EnterDomainInformation.

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6. OntheCreateSystemUserpage,enterausernameandpasswordtocreateauser accountforthisdomain.

Fig.3.6Step3CreateaSystemUser.

7. IntheDiskquota(MB)field,entertheamountofhostingspaceyouwanttosetup forthisdomain. 8. SelectSSHaccessandFTPaccess,andthenclickNext. 9. OntheAssignPermissionspage,selectOnlyadministratorswillmanagethis domain,andthenclickNext.

Fig.3.7Step4AssignPermissions.

AddingaDomaintoYourServerUsingSimpleControlPanel

15

10. OntheSetUpEmailpage,selectDonotsetupemail,andthenclickNext. Youwillsetupemaillaterinthisconfigurationprocess.For instructions,seeSettingUpEmailonYourVirtualDedicated Serveronpage 23.

Fig.3.8Step5SetUpEmail.

11. Reviewyourdomainconfiguration.Ifeverythinglookscorrect,clickSave.

Fig.3.9Step6ReviewandConfirm.

WhenSimpleControlPanelcreatesyourdomain,itautomaticallysetsupaDNSzonefile andhostingaccountforthatdomain.Youcannowspecifyadditionalhostingoptionsfor thisdomain.

AddingaDomaintoYourServerUsingSimpleControlPanel

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CONFIGURING HOSTING FOR YOUR DOMAIN

UsingthehostingconfigurationsectionofSimpleControlPanel,youcandeterminewhat featuresyouwanttoenableonthehostingaccountforyourdomain.Forexample:SSL, FrontPageextensions,SSI,CGI,andWebstatistics(Webalizer). Inthefollowingexample,weconfigureabasichostingaccountforthedomainwecreated inCreatingaNewDomaininSimpleControlPanelonpage 12.

} To Configure Hosting for Your Domain in Simple Control Panel

1. Ifyourenotalready,logintoSimpleControlPanelwiththeusernameandpassword youcreatedwhenyousetupyourvirtualdedicatedhostingaccount. 2. UnderSystemConfiguration,clickDomains.

Fig.3.10OpeningtheDomainssectioninSimpleControlPanel.

3. Fromyourlistofdomains,clickthepenciliconnexttothedomainyouwantto configure.Inthisexample,weconfigurehostingforcoolexample.com.

Fig.3.11EditingaDomaininSimpleControlPanel.

AddingaDomaintoYourServerUsingSimpleControlPanel

17

4. Onthedomainconfigurationpage,thereareanumberofhostingoptionsforyour domain.Selectthefeaturesfromthelistthatyouwanttoenableforthisdomain.

Fig.3.12SimpleControlPanelhostingconfiguration.

5. Whenyouvefinishedselectingthefeaturesforyourdomain,clickSave. YoucannowaccessthedirectoryforyourdomainanduploadfilesusingtheFTPfeature inSimpleControlPanel.However,inorderforpeopletoseeyourWebsiteonline, youneedtoconfiguretheDNSforyoursite. Thenextsectionofthisguide,SettingUpDNSforDomainsonYourServer,walksyou throughtheDNSsetup.OnceyouconfiguretheDNSforyoursite,youcanFTPintoyour Websitehostingdirectoryinthesamewaythatyouwouldwithatraditionalhosting account.

4.

Setting Up DNS for Domains on Your Server

NameserversaretheInternet'sequivalenttoaphonebook.Anameservermaintainsa directoryofdomainnamesthatmatchcertainIPaddresses.Thismakesitpossiblefor peopleacrosstheInternettoaccessyourWebsiteusingafamiliardomainnameinstead ofhavingtorememberaseriesofnumbers. Thissectionoftheguidewalksyouthroughsettingupyourvirtualdedicatedserverasthe nameserverforyourdomainandcoverstheprocedureforassigningthisnameserverto yourdomain. AfteryousetupyourDNS,itcantakeupto48hoursbeforeyourdomainresolvestoyour IPaddress.Thisperiodisreferredtoasthepropagationperiod. Wedonotdirectlycontrolthepropagationperiodforyour domain.Whileitshouldtakenomorethan48hours,wecan notguaranteethistimeframe.

STEP 1 CREATING A ZONE FILE FOR YOUR DOMAIN

Touseyourvirtualdedicatedserverasanameserver,allofthedomainsonyourserver musthaveazonefile.AzonefileisthefilethatmapsyourIPaddresstoyourdomain name.ItseasytosetupazonefileforyourdomaininSimpleControlPanel,because SimpleControlPanelautomaticallycreatesazonefileforanydomainyousetup. IfyouhavenotsetupyourdomaininSimpleControlPanel,pleaseseeAddingaDomain toYourServerUsingSimpleControlPanelonpage 11beforeproceeding.

SettingUpDNSforDomainsonYourServer

19

STEP 2 CREATING AND REGISTERING YOUR DOMAIN HOSTS

OnceyousetupadomainandcreateazonefileinSimpleControlPanel,youneedtocre ateandregistertwodomainhostsforyourdomain.Ifyourdomainisregisteredwithus, youcanlogintoyouraccountmanagertocompletethisstep. Ifyourdomainnameisregisteredwithanothercompany,youneedtocontactthemfor instructionsregardingdomainhostregistration.

} To Register Your Domain Hosts

1. LogintoyourAccountManager. 2. UndertheDomainssection,selectManageDomains. 3. Clickthedomainnameyouregoingtohostonyourdedicatedserver.Inthisexample, wellusecoolexample.com.

Fig.4.1Selectingthedomainyouregoingtomanage.

4. OnthebottomleftofthepageunderHostSummary,clickView/ModifyDetail

Fig.4.2OpeningyourDomainHostSummary.

SettingUpDNSforDomainsonYourServer

20

5. Enteranameforeachofyourdomainhosts.Thisprefixcanbeanythingthatiseasy foryoutoremember(likeNS1andNS2).. Thesedomainhostscanbeusedforotherdomainshostedon yourdedicatedserver.Youdonotneedtocreatenewdomain hostsforeachofyourdomains.

Fig.4.3Enteringyournewdomainhosts.

6. EntertheIPAddressforyourserver.YoucanfindtheIPaddressforyourserverin yourDedicatedHostingManager. 7. ClickOK.Step3AssigningtheNameServers toYourDomain Nowthatyoucreatedandregisteredtwodomainhosts,youneedtochangetheinforma tionforyourdomaintousethesenewservers.Ifyourdomainisregisteredwithus,you canlogintoyouraccountmanagertocompletethisstep. IfyourdomainnameisregisteredwithanothercompanyoryoumanagetheDNSforyour domainswithathirdpartytool,youllneedtocontactthemforinformationaboutassign ingnameserverstoyourdomain.

} To Assign the Name Servers to Your Domain

1. LogintoyourAccountManager. 2. UndertheDomainssection,selectManageDomains. 3. Clickthedomainnameyouwanttohostonyourdedicatedserver.

SettingUpDNSforDomainsonYourServer

21

4. UnderNameServersclickthecurrentnameservernames..

Fig.4.4OpeningtheSetNameserverssection.

5. IntheSetNameserverssection,selecttheCustomNameServerstab..

Fig.4.5OpeningtheCustomNameserverssection.

6. ForNameserver1andNameserver2,enterthenamesofthedomainhostsyou createdpreviously.Inthisexample,wereusingns1.coolexample.comand ns2.coolexample.com.

Fig.4.6Updatingthenameserversforyourdomain.

7. ClickOK

SettingUpDNSforDomainsonYourServer

22

ACCESSING YOUR DOMAIN USING FTP (UPLOADING FILES)

AfteryousetupyourDNS,itcantakeupto48hoursbeforeyourdomainresolvestoyour IPaddress.Thisperiodisreferredtoasthepropagationperiod. Onceyourdomainresolves,youwillseethedefaultindexpageforyourWebserverwhen youtypeyourdomainnameintoabrowser.Thisisanexampleofthedefaultindexpage:

Fig.4.7Exampleofthedefaultindexpage.

Whenthispagedisplays,youcanconnecttothehostingaccountforyourdomainusing FTPorthroughPlesktouploadfilestoyourWebsite. TomakeyourWebpagesviewable,uploadthemtothepublic_html directoryinyourhostingaccount.Thisdirectoryistherootdirectory foryourWebsite.

5.

Setting Up Email on Your Virtual Dedicated Server

Onceyouhavesetupyourdomainandhosting,settingupemailaccountsinSimpleCon trolPanelonlytakesafewsteps. Ifyoufollowedtheprocedureintheprevioussectionofthisguide tosetuptheDNSforyourdomain,youdonotneedtomodifyyour MXrecordstosetupemailaccountsinSimpleControlPanel.

USING SIMPLE CONTROL PANEL TO SET UP AN EMAIL ACCOUNT

Theeasiestwaytosetupanemailaccountforadomainonyourvirtualdedicatedserver isusingtheSimpleControlPanelinterface.

} To Set Up Email for Your Domain in Simple Control Panel

1. IfyourenotalreadyloggedintoSimpleControlPanel,loginusingtheadministrative loginandpasswordyoucreatedwhenyousetupyourvirtualdedicatedserver. 2. UnderSystemConfiguration,clickEmail.

Fig.5.1OpeningtheEmailsectioninSimpleControlPanel.

SettingUpEmailonYourVirtualDedicatedServer

24

3. ThisisthebasicEmailConfigurationpageforyourserver.UnderEmail ConfigurationDomains,clickAddNewDomain.

Fig.5.2Addinganewemaildomain.

4. IntheDomainnamefield,enterthedomainnamefortheemailaccountsyouwant tocreate. 5. SelectCreateanewemailaccounttohandledefaultaliases. Beforeyoucreateatypicalemailaccount,youneedtocreate anemailaccountthatwillhandlemostoftheadministrative communication(ordefaultaliases)foryourdomain. 6. ClickNext.

Fig.5.3Addinganemaildomainname.

7. IntheEmailaccountfield,enteranamefortheemailaccountthatwillhandlethe administrativecommunicationforthisdomain.

SettingUpEmailonYourVirtualDedicatedServer

25

8. InthePasswordfields,enterandconfirmapasswordforthisadministrativeemail address.ClickSave.

Fig.5.4Creatinganadministratoremailforyourdomain.

9. UndertheEmailConfigurationDomainssection,clickonthePenciliconnextto thedomainyoujustconfigured.

Fig.5.5Configuringemailforadomain.

10. UndertheEmailaccountssection,clickAddNewAccount.

Fig.5.6Addinganewemailaccount.

11. IntheEmailaccountfield,enteranamefortheemailaccountyouwanttocreate. Inthisexample,wecreateanemailaccountforjanesmith@coolexample.com.

SettingUpEmailonYourVirtualDedicatedServer

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12. InthePasswordfields,enterandconfirmapasswordforthisemailaccount.Click Save.

Fig.5.7EmailconfigurationinSimpleControlPanel.

13. Yournewemailaccountdisplaysintheemailaccountslist.

Fig.5.8Theemailaccountsection.

EmailisnowsetupforJaneSmith.Followthissameproceduretocreateadditionalemail accountsforyourdomain.

SettingUpEmailonYourVirtualDedicatedServer

27

CONNECTING TO YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT

Toaccessyouremailaccountusinganemailclient,suchasOutlook,Thunderbird,or Entourage,youneedthefollowinginformation:

Email Client Settings for Mail on Your Virtual Dedicated Server

UserName ThenameoftheemailaccountyoucreatedinPlesk, forexamplejanesmith@coolexample.com. ThepasswordyouspecifiedinPleskwhenyousetup youremailaccount. mail.yourdomainname.com Whereyourdomainname.comisyourdomainname. SMTPSetting mail.yourdomainname.com Whereyourdomainname.comisyourdomainname. Theoutgoing(SMTP)serverrequiresauthentication andusesthesameusernameandpasswordasthe incoming(POP3)server. FormoreinformationaboutsettingupmailaccountsinPlesk,youcanlookatthePlesk documentationonSWsoft'sWebsite.

Password

POP3Setting

Accessing WebMail for Domains on Your Server

Insteadofaccessingyouremailusingatraditionalemailclient,youcanaccessyouremail ontheWebusingastandardWebbrowser. YoucanaccessWebMailforyourserveratthefollowingURL: http://www.yourdomainname.com/webmail

Whereyourdomainname.comisthenameofyourdomainthatyousetuponyourvirtual dedicatedserver. Signinusingthefullaccountname(includingthe@symbol)andpasswordyoupreviously createdforyouremailaccount. Forexample,toaccessWebmailforthedomainthatwesetupinthisguide,youwouldgo tohttp://www.coolexample.com/webmail.Tosignin,youwouldusetheemailaddress andpasswordfortheaccountyouwanttoaccess,janesmith@coolexample.com.