I recently had to set up a dedicated IP address for a website at 1and1. My client didn’t have a need to get a fully dedicated server, so the best option for them was a managed server. What we needed was a way to point the A records to a specific IP without having to move DNS away from the current Registrar. The solution for this was the 2012 L 2 Core Managed server at 1and1.

Now, many of you may know that I have been with 1and1 hosting for a very, very long time. Some of you may wonder why I’m not at Rackspace with their “fanatical” support. Personally, I find 1and1 perfectly fitting to my needs. Ironically, Rackspace support tends to talk over my head, which from time to time can be annoying.

So all of that aside, when the process for getting my new domain pointed to the dedicated IP on 1and1 was not immediately clear, I made a few phone calls to 1and1 support, which they fielded perfectly well. I was able to piece together the following step-by-step instructions.

Here ya go:

The first thing you need to figure out is your IP address. What IP did 1and1 assign you? I thought it strange that this number was not displayed somewhere in my 1and1 control panel. Here is what 1and1 support recommended:

How to discover the IP address 1and1 assigns to you:

1. Log into your 1and1 control panel.

2. Click on Manage Domains.

3. Inside Manage Domains, locate the default domain that 1and1 assigns to you. Every hosted and managed 1and1 account gets one of these domains.  It’s funky looking. Something like sxxxxxxx.onlinehome.us. 1and1 calls this the default domain. I call it my “sandbox” domain. When I’m developing sites for customers, I give them this domain/{client subdirectory}.

4. Highlight, then right mouse and copy this default domain.

5. On the mac, open Terminal. For instructions on how to access and use Terminal, here is a quick video I found. 

6. Once Terminal is open, then type ping {space} {paste in the 1and1 URL you copied a moment ago}. Hit return. See the example screen shot to the right.

7.  The display will now update. Within the scrolling numbers you will see an IP address. This is the IP address 1and1 has assigned to your server. In the screen shot, I’ve marked this in red. Within this area you’ll see your own IP address.

8. Armed with this IP, you can now point your DNS A record from your registrar to your 1and1 server. However, before you do that, we have some additional setup to do on the 1and1 end.

Keep this in mind: On the L 2 server, the IP address they assign you will only point to Root. That means, you cannot create a subdirectory on your 1and1 server, and define that subdirectory as the Destination for your IP. (You can get around this by creating a redirect in your .htaccess file. For information on creating a .htaccess redirect, please follow this link.)

The next step updates your 1and1 records so that DNS resolves properly. Since the IP already only points to your root directory, whatever you have in root is what will come up, once the IP is resolving to your domain name. However, in order for 1and1 to handle things properly, you have to edit the Advanced DNS Settings in your control panel. Otherwise that pesky “DNS settings incomplete with registrar” message will appear, and your domain will not resolve properly.

I’m going to assume you have already set up your new domain with 1and1. If you have not done this, please do so. If you need help adding a domain to your 1and1 follow this link. 

To complete the settings on the 1and1 side, you need to tell 1and1 about your domain, and establish where DNS is hosted. Again, this method is relevant only for those who want to keep their DNS hosted with their registrars. (A registrar is like Godaddy or Networksolutions).

9. From your 1and1 control panel, click the checkbox next to the domain you want to edit. Then click DNS in the top menu, then select Edit DNS from the drop down.

10. Under Basic DNS settings select “My name server” from the dropdown. See screen shot. This is very important. If you leave the default for 1and1 name servers, then you won’t be able to complete the setup. 

11. Under Advanced DNS Settings you need to enter your Primary name server and your Secondary name server. In my case the Networksolutions DNS are: ns79.worldnic.com and ns80.worldnic.com. Click OK to save your settings.

12. Finally, if your site is up and running, (testing it via the IP address), and you’ve got the All Clear for switching to the new site, then log into your registrar. Update your A record with your given IP address. NOTE: Don’t do this until the site is all set to go live with the new host. Nothing can ruin your day faster than premature launch.

A note about propagation:

You are going to need to give your host and your registrar about 24 hours to propagate these changes. If after about a day things are not coming up properly, double check your settings. Make sure you haven’t fat fingered any of the settings. NetworkSolutions users need to make sure they update the WWW, @ and . records for the domain to come up properly when www isn’t used.

Have an IP setup issue or DNS issue that was difficult for you to resolve? Share your story in the comments below.