Re: [cobalt-users] looking at a site before domain is transferred

[Alfredo <alfredo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> From: Carrie Bartkowiak
>
> I looked at the two pages you suggested Dan, and as usual, they make
> references to things but don't clearly explain what they mean.  :)
> Plus they seem to contradict each other.


:-) They're just two different approaches to the workaround that have 
been themes on the list for a long time. Dan was just giving you the 
two alternatives.

> I want to test doing this with a domain that is already responding;
> bardbrain.com.  It is site 3 on my machine.
> I added the virtual site bard.allaboutchoice.com. It became site 8.
> Then I went into DNS and added an A record for bard.allaboutchoice.com and
> checked the reverse address lookup box. Then I saved the DNS configuration.
> So now along with my normal DNS for allaboutchoice.com, I have this:
> bard.allaboutchoice.com --> 208.155.66.219   and
208.155.66.219/24 --> bard.allaboutchoice.com

Okay, first thing, Carrie. The A record for the test site should be 
for site to IP ONLY. Just one A record -- no reverse record. No 
name-based virtual should need a reverse record and it's going to 
confuse the dns because you now have one IP pointing to two different 
sites.

Oh yeah, by the way, I personally stay way far away from Cnames on a 
Raq. They're not necessary for this and they can cause lots of 
problems.

> Now when I type in http://bard.allaboutchoice.com I get sent to site 8.

Okay. I see the confusion. We're talking about ONE site here; the 
only thing that's changed is the name of it. You are always dealing 
with ONLY site 3. In other words, in this case, the new test site 
isn't a NEW site at all. It's a name change you make on Site 3, the 
site you have already created for this new domain when it eventually 
propagates.

So, in this example, you have www.bardbrain.com and it is, of course, 
a directory (site3). Now, you go to the GUI and, under site settings, 
rename THAT site to bardbrain.allaboutchoice.com and save the 
configuration. Make sure you have dns records for both 
bardbrain.allaboutchoice.com (with no reverse record) and, as you 
already have, www.bardbrain.com AND bardbrain.com (again, no reverse 
if this is name-based).

When you make your name change, UNCHECK the boxes for "Accept email 
for domain" and "web access by domain". I know that's obvious but I 
screw that up all the time so I just mention it.

Okay? So you have BOTH these A records in dns and the one site (Site 
3) now responds to bardbrain.allaboutchoice.com. That's what you use 
for viewing and testing until propagation. So, you ask, what happens 
when the bardbrain.com propagates and you now NEED www.bardbrain.com?

You just go back into the GUI for that site, Site 3, and change the 
name back to www.bardbrain.com, check the email and web boxes (IF you 
want those functions) and save! :-)

Voila! Now www.bardbrain.com points to Site 3 and that other testname 
is no longer functional. Just erase that A record.

Like I said in some other message, it's all only about site names and 
only that.

I hope that's not more confusing than what confused you.

Alfredo
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