DNS :: Chris Jean

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DNS Yogi: A True Alternative to DNSStuff

by Chris Jean

January 28th, 2009

A while back, I posted about how I wanted to find an alternative to DNS Stuff. Since then, I haven’t found much to get excited about. In addition, I continue to get search traffic where people use terms like “free dnsstuff”, “dnsstuff alternative”, or “dnsstuff coupon code”. So, it seems that I’m not the only one that wants a real alternative to DNS Stuff.

Introducing DNS Yogi. My goal is to provide a set of tools that can compete with the quality of DNS Stuff while remaining free. Here is what I plan to launch the site with:

Categories Development, Random Ramblings, WordPress
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Accessing Your Home Network Away From Home

by Chris Jean

January 18th, 2009

I wanted to be able to access my home network from outside the home. My internet connection has a dynamic IP. This means that my home’s IP address on the web can change at any time. So the question is how do you connect to something that is constantly changing location?

The answer is easy, use a Dynamic DNS service. There are a variety of these services: No-IP, DynDNS, zoneedit, FreeDNS, etc. Each of these sites that I’ve listed offers free Dynamic DNS service.

So what is Dynamic DNS? It would probably be best to first define what DNS is and then what makes Dynamic DNS different.

Categories Linux, Tips 'n Tricks
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Flush DNS Cache in Ubuntu

by Chris Jean

January 16th, 2009

As a web developer, I’m always having to work with DNS. Anyone who has dealt with DNS will tell you that caching is simultaneously a great thing and a horrible thing.

Today, I made a mistake with the IP address of a new host, and I needed to flush my DNS cache so that my machine would go and grab the new IP address. I hadn’t done this in Ubuntu before, so I had to figure it out. Fortunately, it’s really easy.

Load Terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal)
Type in the following:
sudo service networking restart
Press the Enter key
Put in your password

Done. Enjoy your newly flushed DNS cache.

Categories Linux, Tips 'n Tricks
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No longer a DNSStuff fan

by Chris Jean

October 21st, 2008

If you ever need to work with DNS servers or domain management, you find tools that help you get an outside perspective of what is happening with DNS invaluable. Years ago I found DNSStuff and immediately fell in love. They have tons of tools that give a wealth of information. I configured some quick bookmarks in Firefox that made making specific requests more simple than doing a dig from a command line while returning more data than any of my system tools could possibly offer.

A little more than a year ago, DNSStuff changed from free to a paid service. Since I found their tools so valuable, paying a few dollars a month for the service was a small price to pay. In fact, I was happy to pay for the service and quickly purchased a subscription for a year.

Categories Random Ramblings
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