During the order or installation of your VPS a hostname is sometimes requested, but… what is a hostname?
A hostname is the name / label that is assigned to a device (i.e., a host) on a network and is used to distinguish between devices on a network, or on the internet. For example, the name of a server (VPS) that sends email is a hostname.
We recommend using a (sub)domain name as hostname for your VPS, such as server.domainname.com or vps.domainname.com. Please note that you should choose a domain name for your hostname that you manage yourself and that you must create a DNS record for your hostname.
The difference between a hostname and a domain name
As you can see above, we recommend a subdomain as a hostname, but what makes the difference between a hostname and a domain name?
A hostname can basically be anything, like a (sub)domain name, but also a name like 'Bob'. The difference is mainly whether a hostname can be reached on the internet or not. For example, your home computer can use 'Bob PC' as a hostname but can only be recognized as such on your own network.
An 'internet hostname' is a hostname that can be found on the internet. A (sub)domain is used for this. A (sub)domain can therefore be used as a hostname, but the opposite is not always possible.
Setting up DNS
You also set up your hostname in your DNS records. An example is shown in the screenshot below. supporttest.com refers to IP 185.10.50.51 and by using a CNAME record with the @ value server.supporttest.com is linked to this.
Should you have any questions left regarding this article, do not hesitate to contact our support department. You can reach them via the ‘Contact Us’ button at the bottom of this page.