I have dynamic DSL and my provider blocks inbound 80 so I use no-ip.com with a redirect in one of their domains.  I would like to reference my web service test code by pointing to a host in my domain, so I created a CNAME for the host.  I checked nslookup for the host and it resolves to the correct destination.  However, if I try to hit the domain version, it seems that the host header is not forwarding so when no-ip gets it, it has no idea where to send the request.

Is this WAD, a problem with Ultima's forward, or just me doing something boneheaded?

I'm a little confused, but my gut tells me "boneheaded".  :-) 

Where does your web service reside?  On your home PC?  If so, it simply won't work because your ISP blocks port 80.  This is usually the case because hosting any services on a home ISP account is a violation of terms of service.  Aside from using a different port, there is no workaround.  You'd need to move your web service to your hosting account.

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William Eaton, MCSE
iTech Computer Solutions, LLC
www.itechcs.com

I checked out no-ip.com and found this:

Many residential ISPs Block port 80, No-IP Free DNS enables you to run a webserver on a non-standard port, yet users accessing your site never have to enter a port number. For example http://yourname.no-ip.com/ can redirect to http://yourname.no-ip.com:8833/

Is that what you're trying to do?  If so, make sure the port you are using is open on your firewall.

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William Eaton, MCSE
iTech Computer Solutions, LLC
www.itechcs.com

The actual port 80 redirect works fine.  It is accessible if I enter the host name directly [myboxname.no-ip.com] but if I try to address it using the CNAME I created in my Ultima domain DNS [myboxname.myultimadomain.com] it does not work.

It looks like what happens is the transfer goes directly to the IP reported for myboxname.no-ip.com, which makes sense, explains why the host header doesn't go along, and is undoubtedly WAD.  I'm wondering if there's another way I should be configuring this so whatever info was in the header (such as a service name and parameters) is preserved in the redirect.  I need the host mapped into the same domain namespace to validate certain services only work for calls issued from the web host and not the outside world, as well as not raising cross-domain issues with AJAX stuff on client browsers.

I'm a solution creator, not a DNS guru. :)

I don't think you can send the no-ip.com header since the CNAME record is going straight to the dynamic IP.  However, you could setup the CNAME record in IIS on your PC (where the web service is hosted) as a web site and have it point to the same source code.

The best solution would be to move your web service to be hosted by Ultima and ditch the dynamic IP.  Any particular reason why you don't just do that?

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William Eaton, MCSE
iTech Computer Solutions, LLC
www.itechcs.com

FYI, you should be able to delete your own posts (duplicates).  There is a Delete link at the top of the post.

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William Eaton, MCSE
iTech Computer Solutions, LLC
www.itechcs.com

The headers are configured on my server.  They are being stripped out during the handoff from Ultima to no-ip.  No-ip doesn't get them to begin with so they have no idea what downstream host was requested.  It's the same behavior whether it's in code or the address is typed directly into the browser.  But, as I said, the header goes if the request is sent directly to the no-ip name...but that isn't what I need because it creates headaches in AJAX as the request is crossing the domain border.

That's funny...I tried deleting them earlier (dunno what happened...I think the page tried refreshing while I was still composing with quickreply) but it said to ask the mod to delete.  It just worked fine now.  Gotta love this stuff.

I don't mean to belabor the point...but why not just put your web service on your Ultima hosting account?

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William Eaton, MCSE
iTech Computer Solutions, LLC
www.itechcs.com

I can't put these services on the Ultima box because the backing datastore must remain inside my firewall.

Why not put the datastore on Ultima as well?

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William Eaton, MCSE
iTech Computer Solutions, LLC
www.itechcs.com

The datastore *MUST* remain behind my firewall for both security reasons and that it's integral to inhouse applications.  The web services are to allow viewing and updating of restricted subsets of the data.  Exporting the data is not acceptable as the data is constantly updated, and not all of the apps can be modified to push changes to the website, or receive changes from the website.

I just tried something with one of my customers also hosted on Ultima.  They have a static IP for their inhouse box and a similar setup for a services host site that works fine (no 80 redirect tho), but it uses an A record.  I changed it to a CNAME and it doesn't work.  So, my question remains whether the host headers being discarded is WAD for a CNAME, or if the behavior is something that can be easily modified, or if there's another approach I should use to map the alias into my domain space.

Ah, ok, it's shared with internal apps.

Well, what about getting a dedicated IP from your ISP?  Then just point your domain or sub-domain to that IP and voila!

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William Eaton, MCSE
iTech Computer Solutions, LLC
www.itechcs.com

Don't get me started on how I've been going around and around with Verizon for the last 3 months over how they f*d-up my DSL service.

LOL....well, I'm out of ideas.  The dynamic IP pretty much screws everything up.  Doesn't look like they even offer a Static IP option for Residential users.  Looks like you'd have to get their $199/month plan to get a static IP.  Ouch!

Or if you qualify for their FiOS service, they go as low as $99/mo for static IP.

Time to switch to Cable!  :-)

Or, get a dedicated server from Ultima and run your internal app and web site on the server and connect via Terminal Services.  That's what my client does with Quickbooks.

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William Eaton, MCSE
iTech Computer Solutions, LLC
www.itechcs.com