How to assign a domain name to my server box's IP Address?
I'm a bit of a server-newb here. I have a LAMP/Apache server in my home running Ubuntu Server OS, which I use for personal and small-scale projects. When I want to access the site on the server from another computer, I must go to 65.206.[---].[---]/FolderOnServer/index.php. How can I register the IP of my server to have an actual name, so that I can go to, for example, www.mySite.com/FolderOnServer/index.php? Is there any free way to do this? If not, are there any recommendations for good services that can do this?
As for free domain registration options, you might check out the following:
- dyns.net
- dyndns.org
- dynamic-dns.net
- afraid.org
- changeip.com
- mydns.com
These are just a few, some with a mix of free and paid services.
You have to use a domain register to have DNS work from anywhere. This also requires your computer to have a static IP.
However if your concern is only to have your local machine or other machines you work access the site you can modify the 'hosts' file in your system. In Linux the file is located typically in /etch/hosts in Windows it varies but this is a good article on both its location and fixing it if necessary:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/972034
A typical hosts entery looks something like: 10.10.10.50 mydomainname.local
By using this file you can change the lookup of anything on the local machine.