[cobalt-users] Help pls (newbie) Accidentally deleted A, A, A, + MX records, browser glitch, no longer in GUI but on system.

["BT" <error404@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Greetings all...

Cobalt RAQ2 with all the pkg upgrades up to and including OS 4, running DNS
too... it is colo'd some 250 miles away so I do not have physical access.

In preparation to do the mysql / php4 / apache upgrade that this group was
so helpful with, I moved some domains off my old RAQ2 and cleared up the
crap on what was left (basically there were half a dozen domains on there
used for development work / play, and a couple of friends domains) and like
a prat did it from this PC running winXP / IE6 instead of the old win2k box.

The raq2 *was* configured IP xxx.xxx.xxx.200 ns.domain.com / xxx.xxx.xxx.201
ns2.domain.com as "main site" / "virtual site list" in the main brown server
management GUI page..... plus half a dozen domains on virtual site list
using the xxx.xxx.xxx.200 IP, everything worked perfectly

Now somehow, while switching between windows, ns2.domain.com got deleted and
not the virtual site that I clicked on (i would fess up if I just did it by
mistake as no point lying when asking for help) and now the wierd thing is
when I add these domains again they appear and work on the WWW even though
there are now NO entries on the Control Panel / DNS Server parameters page.

This is particularly annoying as it means that I cannot reset the 25 Mb
anonymous FTP site that I used for people sending me data files etc, or set
/ change any other site / user details.
Now I did, subsequent to this cock-up, when all the domains disappeared from
the GUI, attempt to rectify the problem by making the directory structure
match the GUI, by telnet and su/root and rm -r the relevant
/home/sites/sitexx directories leaving only the "main" /home/sites/home
site, "ns.domain.com"...  perhaps a little knowledge is dangerous, however
on recreating 3 of these domains through the GUI but BEFORE adding the 3 x A
records and 1 x MX record through the GUI the 3 domains popped up and worked
visible to the WWW. I can ftp to them, change content etc, but they remain
invisible to the GUI along with their settings / users / allocations etc.
Bugger!

Obviously there is data in the directory structure somewhere under su/root
(did a ascii capture of ls -R from root hoping vainly for a neat little file
that I could peruse, and it is a 475 Kb text file!) that hold the relevant
files / data, but I am damned if I know where and while I found the
switch -R for ls at the excellent Unix Cheat Sheet
http://oasis.bellevue.k12.wa.us/guide/unix/unix.html I could not find a
switch to search all files for files containing text, eg "site3"..... or
"user"...

So my question is in two parts.

#1 Is there a simple / one command way to force-restore the GUI displayed
information so that it matches what the RAQ is actually doing, or am I
better off editing the correct files and if so where might I find them in
the directory tree?

#2 No two ways about it, I am going to have to learn a damn sight more about
*nix, focusing on Cobalt / RAQ2 implementations but not exclusively, so can
the list members recommend any good books (hardcopy or e) or other reading
material (I am in the UK) that will take me from my present competent
windows user but complete numbnuts at *nix to a level where I am a bit more
useful to myself?

Apologies for the spiel

Many thanks to you all again in advance, excellent forum BTW and keep up the
good work.

cheers

John Bunt