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Md Asaduzzaman
Md Asaduzzaman

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Deep learning about DNS records!

#webdev #devops #programming #linux

🌍 DNS & VPS Setup Guide (Example: plabonasad.xyz)

When you purchase a domain and a VPS hosting, you need to connect them.

This is done using DNS records and configuring your VPS (like Nginx/Apache).

This guide is brief, step-by-step, and developer-friendly.

📖 Quick Overview: DNS Records

DNS is like the phonebook of the internet.

It tells the browser or mail server where to go when someone uses your domain.

Common DNS Records

Record Purpose Example
A Points domain → IPv4 address plabonasad.xyz → 123.45.67.89
AAAA Points domain → IPv6 address plabonasad.xyz → 2606:4700:4700::1111
MX Directs emails → mail server @ MX 10 mail.google.com
CNAME Points domain → another domain www → plabonasad.xyz
TXT Stores text (for verification & security) "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all"

👉 For website setup, the A record is the most important (connects your domain → VPS IP).

🚀 Step 1: Get Your VPS Public IP

Login to your VPS provider dashboard and copy your IPv4 address.

Example: 123.45.67.89

🚀 Step 2: Set DNS Records

Go to your domain registrar DNS settings (where you bought plabonasad.xyz).

Add the following records:

Type Name Value Purpose
A @ 123.45.67.89 Root domain → VPS
A www 123.45.67.89 www → VPS

👉 This means:

  • plabonasad.xyz → goes to your VPS
  • www.plabonasad.xyz → goes to your VPS

🌍 Overview Flow (Diagram) 

User Browser (plabonasad.xyz)
          |
          v
   DNS Lookup (A Record → 123.45.67.89)
          |
          v
       VPS Server
          |
          v
      Nginx/Apache
          |
          v
     Your Website
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🚀 Step 3: Configure Nginx on VPS

SSH into your VPS:

ssh username@123.45.67.89
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Create a config for your domain:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/plabonasad.xyz
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Copy nginx config code:

# Redirect everything to https://plabonasad.xyz
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name www.plabonasad.xyz;
    return 301 https://plabonasad.xyz$request_uri;
}

# Main site (canonical domain)
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name plabonasad.xyz;

    root /var/www/app1/public;
    index index.php index.html;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.2-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
    }

    location ~ /\.ht {
        deny all;
    }
}
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Enable the site by symlink:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/plabonasad.xyz /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx
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Step 4: Test DNS

Check if your domain points to the VPS:

dig plabonasad.xyz
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Or use dnschecker.org

Step 5: Secure with SSL (Optional but Recommended)

Install Certbot:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y
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Run:

sudo certbot --nginx -d plabonasad.xyz -d www.plabonasad.xyz
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Now your site will load with HTTPS 🔒.

Final Notes

  • A record connects domain → server IP
  • Nginx/Apache serves the website from VPS
  • SSL (Certbot) secures with HTTPS
  • Other records (MX, CNAME, TXT) are useful for email & verification

Now when someone types plabonasad.xyz, they’ll reach your VPS-hosted site 🎉.

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