Charter Business^® Internet - FAQ

A:The domain name system (DNS) is one of the many services that support a user's connection to the Internet from an IP network. It functions as the "name keeper" for all the important resources such as web servers and FTP servers. DNS allows the user to remember the friendly name, like www.charter.com, even though the network needs to know the numeric IP address (e.g., 123.123.123.123).

The DNS is a worldwide network of servers (each primary server has a secondary server for security and redundancy) that maintain a distributed, shared database mapping the name and corresponding IP address of every publicly accessible device on the Internet. The mapping of a domain name to a number and a number to a domain name makes the web more market-oriented and easier to navigate.

• DNS is structured hierarchically, starting at the 'root'(represented by a period "." or dot).
• Top-level domains or TLDs include .com, .org, .gov, .edu and .net, for example. The top-level domain is the right-most 'dotted' label in a URL (uniform resource locator).
• Other mid-level domains are the country-specific extensions (if used), host level domains, which includes Charter-Business.com, for example.

On another level are the resource domains, www or ftp, for example.

Charter Business hosts both the primary DNS server and the secondary DNS server. The primary DNS server is the only one that can be both read from and written to for domain information. The secondary DNS server is the backup and is a copy of the primary DNS server database.

The different kinds of DNS records that a DNS host server typically includes in the database are:

• A Records: map the URL to the IP address
• MX Records: identify the name and IP address of mail servers
• NS Records: specify other DNS servers in the same zone
• Cname Records: allow use of an alias name that resolves to the A Record resource

Charter Business maintains the following DNS records on its DNS servers:

A:Our service uses a cable connection into your business, a Windows computer (running Windows 2000 or higher) or Macintosh computer (running OS X or higher), and a cable modem that connects your PC to our network. You can use any DOCSIS 1.1-compatible (or higher) modem from a retail electronics store, or you can lease a modem from Charter as part of your service.

Details on equipment and software requirements:

A: If you go to http://whatismyip.com/ ,you will learn your specific IP address.

A:Static IP addresses do not change; the customer gets an IP address and that's it. Dynamic addresses do change. They are actually 'leased' to the customer for a set period of time, with the need for change determined by the system's DHCP server configuration. Static IP addresses are most advantageous for customers who use certain types of VPN software or who are running a server on site.

A:Whether you have a static or dynamic IP address depends on the Charter Business package you purchased. If you are uncertain, contact a sales represenative at: 888.692.8635.

A:The only difference in the way the two types of addressess are used lies in how they are configured on the customer premise equipment.

1. From the Control Panel on your PC, click Network or Local Area Network.
2. Click TCP/IP on the list of network components.
3. Click Properties.
4. Click the IP address tab.
   • To get an address dynamically, click the button for Obtain an IP address automatically (DHCP)
   • To specify a static address, click the button for Specify an IP Address.

A:Charter Business provides Domain Hosting service, and recommends that if you are using our Custom Hosting service, that we also host your domain.

However, if you choose to have another provider host your domain name first, Charter Business highly recommends that you maintain a local backup copy of your current web site and email account content, both before and after transfering files.

Your domain administrator handles this task.
To redirect, your domain name registrar needs the Charter Business DNS host addresses:
Primary DNS Name Server name and IP address: AUTH0.NS.CHARTER.NET 209.225.8.42
Secondary DNS Name Server name and IP address: AUTH1.NS.CHARTER.NET 24.240.141.241

The process follows these general steps:

1. Charter Business notifies you when your web and email administration accounts have been established.
2. Use FTP access to connect tou our web site host server, using the administrative email account name and password provided.
3. Upload your domain web site content.
4. Set up your email accounts.
5. Notify your domain registrar that you are redirecting your domain name service to Charter Business and supply them with the addresses (above) of the Charter Business DNS name servers.
   Note: It typically takes 24-72 hours after your registrar modifies the DNS entries for the changes to propagate throughout the Internet.
6. Notify your Charter Business sales representative when your registrar has completed the DNS service transfer.
7. Verify that your Charter Business hosted web site is accessible.
8. Close your previous hosting account.

The specific process for updating your domain's DNS entries varies depending on the registrar for your domain name. Some provide online, automated tools for transfering service. Others require your to contact them directly. Either way, you will probably need the user name and password for your domain account (provided by the registrar) to finalize the changes.

A:Using the administrator version of the online interface, the domain administrator can manage the domain from almost any Internet-enabled computer.