Domain registration questions

[the_third_man]

First of all, please pardon me if this is a dumb question but it is confusing me...

If I want so create a unixshell.com virtual server with its own domain name, accessable from anywhere, do I simply fill in the online application form and enter the domain in the 'Server hostname' box?

Or do I need to register the domain first with another company? And what other steps are needed, apart from setting up services on the virtual machine?

I saw some posts elsewhere on the forums recomending www.everydns.net but I'm not sure if they do what I need.

Thanks for any help you can give.

[werpon]

You need to buy the domain first (see here (http://www.namecheap.com) and here (http://www.domainsite.com)), assign two or more nameservers such as EveryDNS to it and then point it (more specifically, an A record) to your IP. It seems daunting at first, but once you get it it's very easy.

[the_third_man]

Thanks for the advice.
I just signed up with namecheap.com, everydns.org and The 32 account here.

I'm still curous though, namecheap.com wanted me to use their nameservers (and get a free mail account which I don't need), but I entered the everydns.org nameserver addresses instead. What's the difference between the options?

All the advice I can find from Google about registering domains talks about using web hosting companies to do it.

[werpon]

Any set of nameservers will do; one of the advantages of using NameCheap nameservers (in fact, eNom nameservers) is that they not only let you create records but also redirect email to another account in case you don't want to run your own mail server yet.

Now you'll have to delete the example records EveryDNS sets up for you and add a new A record pointing your fully qualified domain name (FQDN, for example yourdomain.com) to your IP. You may also want to point www.yourdomain.com to the same IP.

If you want to set up a mail server on your VPS, you'll also want to create an MX record, point it to yourdomain.com (not your IP) and assign it a priority; any number will do, for example 0.

I know it sounds overwhelming at first; just play with it and you'll understand it in no time.