Adding or Editing a Board: Host Master Settings

Adding or Editing a Board: General Settings

Adding or Editing a Board: Host Master Settings

Because you are creating multiple domains for your WebBoard installation--allowing users to access your boards via URLs containing new domain names and hostnames--adding or editing a board may require a couple steps in addition to filling out the Add Board or Edit Board form. You will need to do the following:

Register any unregistered domain names you plan to use as board server name or board address.
Update the DNS server with any board server names or board addresses that are not known to the DNS server.

Then you can create Host Master identities for your boards by providing WebBoard with each board's board server name, board alias, and board addresses.

Board Server Name

In the Board Server Name field, enter the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) for the board. This field is required. The name you enter here is used in constructing the URLs and email addresses shown on email messages sent from the board. For example, it is used in the return URL shown in the welcome message or at the bottom of mailing list messages and may appear in the From: field of mailing list messages. It is also used to construct links on the List Boards page. Consider the following:

If you want to continue using the same domain name you were using before installing Host Master, enter the site server name. This is the name that appears in the Server Name field in the Mailing List Setting section of the Site Management form (on the Administrators menu). For example, WebBoard.Site.com.
Include only the FQDN, not the protocol or port number. For example, if you enter Support.HugeBiz.com, WebBoard constructs the URL that appears at the bottom of an email message as http://Support.HugeBiz.com or, if you are using port 8080, http://Support.HugeBiz.com:8080. The email address would be <...>@HugeBiz.com.
The board server name need not be unique among all the boards on your WebBoard site so long as two conditions are met: you plan to use the board alias as part of the URL, and the board server name is not used as a board address by some other board. For example, a group of boards could all use the HugeBiz.com domain name, with individual boards being identified by the alias, like this—-http://HugeBiz.com/~support, http://HugeBiz.com/~partners.
Keep in mind that if you plan to use the board server name as a board address (in a URL without the board alias) you will have to enter the name in the Board Addresses field in addition to the Board Server Name field.
If you plan to make the board available over the Internet, the domain name must be properly registered.

Board Alias

In the Board Alias field, keep the existing alias or replace it. You can use the alias, combined with the board server name, in the URL used to locate this board on the Internet (or your intranet). For example, HBSupport might be a good alias for a board named HugeBiz Support. Consider the following:

The alias must be unique among all the boards on your WebBoard site.
To signal WebBoard to use the alias along with the board server name in constructing the URL in outgoing email, leave the Board Addresses field blank.
Do not precede the alias with a tilde (~) in this field. The tilde is used only in the URL.
Do not use HTML tags, WebBoard tags, spaces, or the following characters: \ / “ . = * : ? < > and |.
Keep this alias memorable, relatively short, and closely related to the board's name (in the Name field which follows in the General settings section of the Add/Edit Board form) so that users can easily associate the two.

Tip
Although an alias can extend to 50 characters, users will prefer a shorter, easy to remember name.

Board Addresses

In the Board Addresses field, enter the board addresses (hostnames) that can be used to reach the board. For example, if you enter Support.HugeBiz.Com in the address field, users can reach the board with http://Support.HugeBiz.Com. This field is optional. Consider the following:

Addresses must be unique to the board. In other words, each board address can point to one board only.
You can enter more than one board address. Separate addresses with a comma, as in Support.HugeBiz.Com, Service.HugeBiz.com, Techs.HugeBiz.com. Users will be able to reach the board using any of the listed addresses.
Do not use as a board address any FQDN that is assigned as a board server name on another board.
If you leave this field blank, users reach the board via a URL that combines the board server name with the board alias, for example, http://WebBoard.site.com/~HugeBizSupport. (This is how WebBoard always operates without the Host Master functionality.)
The DNS server must be updated to recognize the new hostnames.

Note
If you allow requests via external server to this board, see the Host Master documentation, Multiplying Your Domains with Host Master, for information on completing the setup of your board.