Is there a "standard" VPS hostname?

hostnwb · #1 07-14-2010, 05:19 PM

I recently ordered a VPS and chose a weird (I think) hostname, 'server.domain.com'

I was reading an article mentioning that some applications might break but failed to mention a solution... perhaps the person was misinformed. As long as it RESOLVES, it should be okay, right?

Out of curiosity, is there a more standard hostname you guys setup for your VPS? Such as 'www.domain.com' or just simply 'domain.com' ?

Is there a pro or con of any of this or none of it matters one bit? I just don't want to spend days and weeks setting up the VPS or worse running sites then having to reload and installing everything cause of a host name.

sleddog · #2 07-14-2010, 05:35 PM

There's nothing at all wrong with 'server.domain.com' as a hostname -- provided of course that 'domain.com' is actually your domain, and that you create an A record for 'server.domain.com' in your DNS.

laimi190 · #3 07-14-2010, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hostnwb

Out of curiosity, is there a more standard hostname you guys setup for your VPS? Such as 'www.domain.com' or just simply 'domain.com' ?

server hostname itself is the name of upstream provider in my case, for example "rapidswitch" or "singlehop".

For domain names i often just create subhost of the continental-country, like eur-uk. or usa-la.

BradQ · #4 07-14-2010, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleddog

There's nothing at all wrong with 'server.domain.com' as a hostname -- provided of course that 'domain.com' is actually your domain, and that you create an A record for 'server.domain.com' in your DNS.

Actually, there is (at least if you want your PTR to match)! It's a little trivial, but I was reminded this morning. A few mail destinations (Craigslist is a good one) block mail from servers with "server" in the name. I usually use vps.domain.com.

quantumphysics · #5 07-14-2010, 06:46 PM

I usually do something like lastoctetofip.location.example.com, so it .41 would be 41.ord.example.com

sleddog · #6 07-14-2010, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BradQ

Actually, there is (at least if you want your PTR to match)! It's a little trivial, but I was reminded this morning. A few mail destinations (Craigslist is a good one) block mail from servers with "server" in the name. I usually use vps.domain.com.

I didn't know that. It would be interesting to hear the rationale for it. I wonder if it includes mail from domains like observer.com (just as an example)?

xtrac568 · #7 07-14-2010, 07:30 PM

there's no standard, you can use whatever you want for a hostname.
if you don't have idea what to use, describe machine purpose:

e.g.

multi purpose server = server.domain.com
mailserver = mail.domain.com
web server = www.domain.com
Johnny's laptop = johnny-laptop.domain.com

the first part is hostname, the rest is domain, and both are FQDN (fully qualified domain name)