1) I'm just about to take the plunge of setting up and hosting a website off one of my own boxes in my room. The one thing I haven't had to deal with before is DNS. Is installing/setting up BIND the best alternative? What would you guys recommend?<p>2) Let's say I have a Rails app and 6 domains, each of which has a slightly different landing page. What's the best way to deploy things such that all six domains share the one app/db?<p>Thanks for your help!
I can help you with #1 at least. I maintain DNS for my employer for 128 domains and I use BIND. It is the reference standard for DNS, however I don't think you need to run it yourself. I recommend using DNS Made Easy.com (<a href="http://www.dnsmadeeasy.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.dnsmadeeasy.com/</a>). Their cost is very low and they provide a web-based interface for creating DNS records that will be hosted on their servers. They have a robust network of server redundancy (both for servers and networks) that you cannot match with a home-based DNS server. I use them for hosting secondary servers for about half of my domains, and the few times that I've needed their tech support, they've been prompt, courteous, and helpful. All in all, they provide excellent value for the modest cost. I have no connection with this company other than being a satisfied customer.
1. you want <a href="http://zoneedit.com/" rel="nofollow">http://zoneedit.com/</a> Free for the first 5 domains.<p>2. Virtualhosts. Either your app looks at the Host: header or you use different static html/css to skin the landing page.