The Domain

[the dr is in]

How do you change the domain from your IP address to an different name eg http://www.a-domain-here.com.

[NetworkActiv]

If you are new to the concept of what domains are, it might be a good idea to check out the "IP Addresses, Hostnames, and Domains" section on the Web Site and Web Hosting Basics Tutorial.

From another part of the tutorial (referring to domains): "To do this you will first need to get a static IP address from your ISP (Internet Service Provider), this will most definitely cost money, usually about 10 USD per month. Then, you will need to buy a domain name from what is called a "Registrar". A "registrar" is an organization appointed by a government to sell domain names. They will be subscription based, usually yearly or per three years (or similar). Though it depends on whom you buy from and the type (.com/.org/.biz/.somethingelse) of domain you buy, the price is usually between 15 and 30 USD per year. You can find a great list of registrars on the ICANN-Accredited Registrars page. The details of purchasing and setting up your own domain are beyond the scope of this tutorial."

Note that there are many registrars out there, some are rather costly, and some are pretty cheap. Also: Different kinds of domains cost different amounts.

That should provide you with what you need to get started...

- Mike J. Kowalski
NetworkActiv Software

[Johannes]

Or if you interested in free ones then there are two main free DNS services out there:

http://www.dyndns.com/
http://www.no-ip.com/

I use dyndns, and i think the no-ip have free ones too..

(you will then get a free subdomain, like you.example.something)

i think both of them have a long list of domains and suffixes while you choose the prefix.

i have http://silverpeak.mine.nu/ with the dyndns services.

Oh yea and you don't need to have a static ip for, them, you just might have to update you ip for the service every now and then (which may result in some down time)