Avoiding Domain Name Grief From a Dedicated IP Number
I needed an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate for one of my projects. Unfortunately, SSL requires a dedicated IP number. Since my websites are on a shared hosting plan this was an add-on. So, I ordered a dedicated number at a cost of $24.00 per year.
I checked my new number and verified that it took me to the correct place. But, no graphics loaded. No problem, I added the number to the anti-hotlink code in my htaccess file.
I use Galerie for making my web albums. This is a great bit of freeware from the publishers of music software Harmony and Melody. This software incorporates a commenting system that uses their servers for storing and monitoring comments. While checking visitors and comments, I got my first hint of trouble ahead.
I noted one of my existing albums appeared as a new with only a few visitors. I assumed the album somehow got reset, but didn’t worry about it. Then; a couple more appeared and I noticed my album count was growing. Further investigation showed albums were being duplicated but under the new IP number. The original albums from brianthebrain.com were still there. I deleted the new albums, but more appeared. Something was not right. I leaped to the conclusion that reverse lookup wasn’t working and verified that the reverse lookup didn’t resolve to brianthebrain.com.
I submitted a support ticked to my host provider, NetworkRedux, stating that the reverse lookup on my IP did not resolve to brianthebrain.com.Then, I decided to do a Google search for a search term for brianthebrain.com. I was shocked to find that the search returned the IP number instead of my domain name.
Now I was in a panic. I was losing my name; I was being replaced by a number. I relayed that information to Network Redux support conveying my panic.
I received a response that normally, Network Redux did not provide reverse pointers for shared hosting customers, but they would here. So, I calmed down.
The next morning, I checked the reverse lookup and it worked. Then I use the IP number to get to my website. The number stayed in the address bar. I added a subdirectory. The IP number/subdirectory appeared in the address bar. Not at all what I expected.
The album duplications had calmed down. Yet, I was uncomfortable with the way things looked when I accessed my site with my new IP number.
I tried using a base href by adding
<base href=”www.brianthebrain.com”>
to the header of my home page. This worked mostly. The IP number still showed on the home pages, but the domain name appeared in the subdirectories. But, I wanted something better.
Off I went searching. The results were not good. Some suggestions didn’t work, while others generated a “too many redirects.” The answer was already in my htaccess code. A small edit and all was well with the Universe again.
I had a section that rewrote all web page requests from brianthebrain.com to www.brianthebrain.com*. I added the new IP number to that section:
# rewrite dedicated ip and site to www.site
rewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^64\.128\.92\.253$ [OR]
rewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^brianthebrain\.com [NC]
rewriteRule (.*) http://www.brianthebrain.com/$1 [R=301,L]
And it worked.
I’m not sure if the rewrite code would have worked by itself. But, the reverse pointer allowed better operation with search engines.
All was well with the domain name business.
by Brian McCorkle
in category Rants,Technical Stuff
