Technical domains

Technical domains can be used to test sites without actually pointing their domains to the IP address of the server with the panel. For example:

• when transferring an existing site from another server
• when creating a site without a registered domain
• for debugging updates on a test site, etc.

Requirements for technical domains

• A domain which will be used as a technical domain must be registered and publicly accessible.
• The ispmanager control panel must have permission to edit DNS records on the NS servers to which the technical domain is delegated.
  For stable operation of technical domains, we recommend using NS servers managed by the panel.

How to create a technical domain

1. Log in to ispmanager with a reseller level account or above.
2. Navigate to the Technical domains section.
3. On the toolbar, click the Create domain button and fill in the fields:
   • Name — specify the domain under which technical subdomains will be created.
     Example

     You specified the domain example.com. Technical domains will look like this:

     • user1.example.com
     • user2.example.com
     • user3.example.com, etc.

     where user1, user2, and user3 are the logins of users who are allowed to use the example.com technical domain.

   • Owner — select the owner of the technical domain from the list: all administrators or a selected reseller. The field is available for administrator level accounts and above.
   • Name server — specify name servers to which the technical domain is delegated.
4. Click Create.

Technical domain DNS records

When creating a technical domain, the following DNS records are automatically created on its NS servers:

• A record — corresponds to the default IP address for sites, IPv4 or IPv6. 
• SOA record — corresponds to the default SOA record for domains, usually the hostname of the server with the panel.
• SPF record — uses the default IP address for sites and takes the form v=spf1 ip4:1.2.3.4 a mx ~all, where ip4:1.2.3.4 is the default IP address for sites.

DNS records of a technical domain do not change automatically after they are automatically created. For example, if you change the default IP address for sites, the DNS records will remain the same, and you will need to change them manually if necessary.

To manually change the DNS records of a technical domain:

1. Log in to ispmanager panel under the account that owns the technical domain.
2. Navigate to the Technical domains section.
3. Click the   DNS records button and make the necessary changes.
   Learn more about DNS records in the Knowledge base article DNS resource records and what they are used for.

Assigning technical domain to users

After the technical domain is created, the owner of the technical domain assigns it to a user. At this point, the technical domain is not yet linked to any sites, but the user can already use it.

A technical domain can be assigned to any number of users. A unique technical subdomain is created for each user, for example, user1.example.com, where user1 is the user's login and example.com is the technical domain.

When assigned, an A or AAAA record corresponding to the username is automatically created in the DNS records of the technical domain.

Example

When assigning the technical domain example.com to the user with login user1, an A record of the following kind is created:

Where 8.8.8.8 is the default IPv4 address for sites, and user1.example.com is the personal technical domain for user1.

Just like other technical domain DNS records, A records for users are not automatically changed after creation.

There are several ways to assign a technical domain to a user depending on your needs.

Using the Move button

Used to bulk move users between technical domains.

1. Log in to ispmanager panel under the account that owns the technical domain.
2. Navigate to the Technical domains section.
3. Click the  Move button on the toolbar and fill in the fields:
   • Owner — specify the account that owns the technical domain. The field is available for administrator level accounts and above.
   • Current technical domain — select the technical domain you want to change. To assign the technical domain to a user for the first time, select the Not allocated on technical domain option.
   • Users — select the users who you want to change the technical domain for. This list displays only users that are owned by the account specified in the Owner field.
   • New technical domain — select a new technical domain.
4. Click Ok.

From the User Edit form

Used to assign a domain to a single user. 

1. Log in to ispmanager panel under the account that owns the technical domain.
2. Navigate to the Technical domains section.
3. Select a user and click the   Edit button on the toolbar.
4. In the Default values section, select the new technical domain:

   

5. Click Save.
   Learn more about editing a user in the Add a user article.

Assigning technical domain to a website

Once assigned to a user, by default a technical domain is not assigned to any site. It must be assigned manually by the owner or the user who owns the site.

A technical domain can be assigned only to one site. If you try to assign it to a second one, the first site will be unassigned automatically.

Once the technical domain is assigned to the site, the site will automatically be given an alias that matches the technical domain for the user.

There are several ways for the technical domain owner and the user to assign a technical domain to a site, which differ only in appearance.

By the owner

1. Log in to ispmanager panel under the account that owns the technical domain.
2. Navigate to the Technical domains section and select a technical domain.
3. Click the   Users button on the toolbar and select a user.
4. Click the   Edit button on the toolbar and in the Site field select the site.
5. Click Save.

By the user

1. Log in to ispmanager under a user account.
2. Navigate to the Sites section and select a site.
3. Click the  Edit button on the toolbar.
4. In the Main settings section, check the box Assign to technical domain:

   

5. Save the changes.
   Learn more about editing a site in the article Adding and configuring a website.