IMPORTANT NOTE: In October 2011, USA Hockey changed hosting servers and changed to a new IP address. If your domain was set to forward to 63.150.161.234, you must change that IP address to the new server DNS settings listed below.  
 

Configuring Your Domain To Be On A USAHockey.com Sub-site
A basic introduction to DNS settings  

If you manage your website on the free USAHockey.com platform, you will need to be able to tell people how to get to your Home Page.  One way is with a direct URL to the sub-page on USAHockey.com, which will look something like this:  

“http://usahockey.com/andromeda_youth_hockey”  

As you can see, this can be quite cumbersome.  A better way is with your own “domain name”, available from many different companies on the Internet that sell “domain name registration”.  A domain name is your own website address, like “USAHockey.com” or “StarRinks.com”, and typically costs about $10 to $50 per year depending on where you purchase it and what additional services you get.  If you already have a domain name, or plan to get one, you will need to configure your DNS settings properly to redirect your domain name to your own USAHockey.com Home Page.  

DNS, or Domain Name Service, is what translates the domain name into the actual address of the website.  In addition to being easier to remember than a numerical address, this allows you to move the website to a new location, while people can still find your website using the same name (or bookmark) they have always used.  A DNS record can have several parts, including:  

• An “A-record” contains the numerical address of the site, like “74.63.130.132”.  
• An “MX-record” points at your email server – note that the email server can be in a completely different location than your web page.  You can host your website at USAHockey.com and still host your email yourself, or hire an email company to host it.  
• A “CNAME-record” contains another domain name that you are pointing your site at.  

Redirect:  If the company where you registered your name allows it, the simplest method is to “redirect” your domain name to the sub-page of USAHockey.com that is your Home Page.  Check with the company that you bought the domain name from for details on how to do this.  

CNAME:  If they do not provide redirection, there are still other methods you can employ.  The next best method is to set your CNAME-record to “usahockey.com”.  Just like the “redirect” method, the plus side of this setup is that if the USAHockey.com address ever changes, your site address will change automatically as well, with no changes made by you.  The drawback of this method is that both your A-record and your MX-record will automatically be set to what USAHockey.com uses, so you cannot set up email for your domain.  If you use this method, then you must inform Eddie Olson so the USAHockey.com site can be configured to receive your visitors.  When people type in your domain name or click your link, USAHockey.com will automatically direct the traffic to the correct sub-page – your Home Page.  

A-record:  Finally, if none of the above methods work for your situation, you can set the A-record to “74.63.130.132”, also informing Eddie Olson so the USAHockey.com site can be configured to receive your visitors.  The drawback to this method is that if the USAHockey.com address ever changes, you will need to change your DNS setting as well.  When a website is moved to a new numerical address, the change can be very quick and usually takes place late at night or very early in the morning.  Once the site has been changed to the new address, your domain name will not work until you change your DNS A-record to match.  That change can take up to two days to spread around the Internet.  Your website will not work until the DNS change spreads to your local DNS server, so that your web browser can get the correct address – this will happen at different times for different local DNS servers.  

For questions or additional info, contact Eddie Olson [eddieo@usahockey.org or (800) 752-8375 ext 144].