Frequently Asked Questions
- What is a Virtual Domain?
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A Virtual Domain allows your URL to be http://www.yourcompany.com. Any company interested in creating a serious presence on the Internet will eventually want their own Virtual Domain. This has many advantages - to give your site the appearance of having it's own server, and thus a larger presence on the Web; to make it easier for people to remember your Web location; to allow your URL, or Web address to fit on a business card; and to attach your company name to its Web name.
More technically, in reserving a Virtual Domain name one is registering with InterNIC's database, the Domain Name Server. Upon DNS registration one has reserved this URL forever (though policy may change). Please refer to InterNIC's FTP site or InterNIC's Web site for current policies and procedures.
A company's I.P. # will change when changing providers, but the name can and should remain the same. The I.P. Number points to the Domain Name.
Note: it is very important to realize that the portion yourcompany is the Domain Name. Not www.yourcompany.com.
The www. is a common Server name pre-fix on the Web, this is different! The .com is for commercial entities, which most companies fall into. (Many people ask for .net or .org and sometimes this can be obtained. However, this is between you & InterNIC - with the possibility that InterNIC will reject the request three weeks later! The guidelines are explicit in the DNS form.
What flexibility do I have with DNS names (my URL)? A URL has a number of restrictions, but is flexible enough not to run out of names in the near future. You cannot have more that one dot in the name without 'collapse', excluding the extension and the pre-fix.
For example, www.I.am.here.com or www.I.amhere.com is translated I.com. These are not allowed by InterNIC. The solution to this problem is with dashes (no other symbol), for example, www.I-am-here.com. This should be valid, but the point is that you must read the DNS form with this info in it!
Typically, there is no problem with registering http://yourcompany.com -vs- http://www.yourcompany.com.
In fact, NEW AGE Resources makes sure that both are taken care of during DNS registration.
This is considered true Virtual Domain. Otherwise, any name is possible so long as you check the name first. This does not 100% guarantee the name is not taken. The reason for this is that, though DNS lists pending names in its database upon receipt of the registration form, there is a backlog of putting these in the database. So, you can search all but the forms waiting to be put in the pending file - a backlog of the backlog, if you will. This chance of duplicating another name is slight, but real.
How do I use my existing Domain Name with NEW AGE Resources? Many businesses already have registered Names attached or not-attached to a particular I.P. Number (or another Webspace Provider). The process is exactly the same regarding our contract, and the DNS Registration form has a section devoted to transfer (the time and cost with InterNIC is the same as for a new Domain Name). If needed, please include a Cover Page stating your former Provider's location, your Domain Name information, and when and how you want the transfer to be made.
- What is a Non - Virtual Domain?
Back to Table of ContentsA Non-Virtual Domain is having Web space on a Server without an I.P. number, and thus a Virtual Domain Name. With a Non - Virtual Domain, your URL or Web address would be http://www.narnet.com/yourname.
A Non-Virtual Domain has several advantages - first, it's cheaper than obtaining a Virtual Domain Name; second, you don't have to wait for InterNIC registration, and third, yourname can be anything - there is no need to worry about someone else already having registered your company name. A Non-Virtual Domain can be created within a few hours of your request
NEW AGE Resources offers Non-Virtual Domains as a service for anyone interested in having their pages on the Web, but have no need for a Virtual Domain Name.
Note: with a Non-Virtual Domain you will not have access to the site via FTP or TELNET. You can only access your pages through the Internet and any changes or updates will have to be made by NEW AGE Resources.
- What is a Vanity Domain?
Back to Table of ContentsA Vanity Domain is a variation on Virtual Domain, in which a subdomain of narnet.com is used instead of a top-level domain registered with InterNIC. This dodges the InterNIC fee, but yields a URL which includes our name: http://www.yourname.narnet.com/ and/or http://yourname.narnet.com/.
All of the same rules benefits of a Non-Virtual Domain account applies to the Vanity Domain except you will have access to your pages via FTP or TELNET.
- What number do I dial to login to narnet?
Back to Table of ContentsWe do not provide dial-up access. All of our accounts are reachable through FTP or Telnet from other accounts on the Internet. You need to have access through a local provider in order to make use of our services.
- What kind of hardware and software do you use?
We use Intel Pentium and Pentium Pro servers, running FreeBSD 2.1.5 and Apache 1.1.1 (or later). This platform provides the best price/performance ratio available anywhere; because of its reliability and the easy availability of spare parts and source code, our server uptime in the past eight months is over 99.8% (including scheduled system maintenance).
Back to Table of ContentsOur servers are upgraded frequently, as new and faster technology becomes available. Unlike other providers, we do not carry any customers on slower servers - even with fewer customers, slower servers provide poorer performance.
- What kind of network connection do you use?
We are using a genuine DS-3 line. Using SMDS, this line is currently clocked at 10.0Mbps (650% of T-1 capacity), and provides the round-trip performance of a full T-3, without the cost. As our needs increase, we can and will scale up to higher data rates, with no downtime. Our average ping time to MAE East is only 11 Milliseconds. Our network uptime is over 99%.
Back to Table of ContentsWe have also deployed switched Ethernet for our local network topology. This keeps all inter-server and workstation traffic private from outbound traffic and eliminates costly Ethernet collisions. Local network performance is a critical factor that is often completely overlooked or misunderstood by other Web providers.
We are also using additional fiber optic T-1 lines (1.544Mbps each) to provide additional services, such as secondary nameservice and dedicated server hosting.
- Can I have more than one domain in my account?
Yes. You can maintain as many Virtual or Vanity Domains in your account as you like, each in a separate subdirectory. The charge for each such domain is $29.95 setup and $1.50/month. A separate mailbox for each domain is another $1.50/month each.
Back to Table of ContentsNew domains, as well as other add-ons, can be requested by sending e-mail to sales@narnet.com.
If different domains need to be managed by different persons, however, you must use separate accounts.
- How do I transfer a domain to your service?
Transferring a domain to a new account at NEW AGE Resources is often a painless procedure:
Back to Table of Contents- Request the new account by sending email to sales@narnet.com. Specify the domain name that you wish to transfer.
- When we prepare the account, a unique IP address will be allocated for the domain, and all local nameservice and other configuration will be set up. We will also send you a domain transfer template.
- You can then login to the account to upload files and set up your site. Use the IP address as if it were a domain name; this will allow you to ensure that your site is fully operational. The IP address is fundamentally equivalent to the domain name.
- When you are satisfied that the site is working, send the domain transfer template to InterNIC (at hostmaster@internic.net).
- When the InterNIC completes the transfer (anywhere from the same day to, unfortunately, a couple of weeks in a few cases), visitors to your domain will gradually start to reach your account at NEW AGE Resources. The change is not immediate, because it takes time for nameservers all across the Internet to expire their cached nameservice information for your domain.
- When you are satisfied that your domain is working properly on the new account, notify your previous provider, to ensure that they can remove their old nameservice records. If they do not do so, any customer dialing up through their systems will not be able to see your domain. At this point, you may also cancel the previous account, if you so choose.
The procedure is fundamentally the same for new domains on existing accounts; these are also requested by sending e-mail to sales@narnet.com.
- Can I upgrade my account at a later date?
Yes. The charge for upgrading is the difference between the original Setup Fee and the new Setup Fee. We will prorate the monthly charges so that you are not penalized in any way. This and other upgrades can be requested by sending e-mail to sales@narnet.com.
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- Can I run mailing lists from my account?
Yes, within reason. We supply the mailing list software (SmartList), and can advise you on its operation. We reserve the right, in the future, to count traffic generated by mailing lists towards bandwidth allowances.
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- Can I have multiple e-mail addresses?
Yes. If you have a Virtual Domain, e-mail to any address in that domain will come to your account, where it can be processed by procmail for forwarding or auto-reply. If you want to have separate POP mailboxes with unique passwords, you will need to purchase them for $1.50/month (no setup fees). These can be requested by sending e-mail to sales@narnet.com.
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- Can I run autoresponders from my site?
Certainly. With a virtual domain, you can run any number of autoresponders, using procmail in your account, at no charge. This does, however, require a Telnet-enabled account (at least the Bronze Account).
Back to Table of ContentsWe do request, however, that you do not run a general-purpose "autoresponders-for-sale" service. These tend to be abused for "Spam" and other purposes.
- How much mail can I store on the system?
Mail is counted towards your disk space allowance, but because mail spool space is often at a premium, we request that you do not use more than one megabyte of space at any time.
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Note: If someone mailbombs you, we won't count it against you.
- Can I host an adult-oriented site?
Technical concerns about the quality of our service for all customers have forced us to establish a policy against most adult-oriented sites. Although we are firmly against censorship, these sites generate a unique pattern of access that is, unfortunately, almost wholly incompatible with general-purpose Web hosting service. Our customers are best served if we focus on our general-purpose hosting services.
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- What if my question isn't answered here?
Send it to us. We'll get an answer to you as soon as we can. We do, however, give priority to handling e-mail from our current customers.
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- What is a Non - Virtual Domain?
Webmaster@narnet.com