What is a Subdomain?
A subdomain is a domain that points
to a specific directory in the main domain's document root. For example: If your
main domain is cpanel.net and you had a section about Support or your site, you
could create the subdomain http://support.cpanel.net. Now, whenever someone goes
to http://support.cpanel.net/ they will be taken to the directory that the
subdomain points to. In this case, it would be /support/. This means that
http://cpanel.net/support and http://support.cpanel.net/ would take you to the
same place.
Your current subdomains will be displayed below Current
Subdomains. These correspond with the directory that is the same name
as the subdomain prefix. The prefix is the part before the domain name. For
example: The prefix for http://support.cpanel.net is support so the contents of
http://support.cpanel.net will be in /public_html/support/
A great advantage to a subdomain is that it does not have to be registered
since it is technically just a directory of the main domain. You can create a
subdomain, for example: http://sub.domain.com and it will work instantly and
does not have to be put on file with any domain registrar to work.
Creating Subdomains
To add a new subdomain just type the
prefix in the blank field beneath Create A Subdomain and then
select the domain it should be added as a prefix for from the drop list next to
the blank field. The domains in this list will include your main domain name and
any addon or parked domains you may have. After selecting the domain it will be
added as a prefix for, click on Add.
While a subdomain is contained in a directory, just creating a directory will
not create a subdomain. You need a DNS record for the subdomain which is created
through the above steps. If you make a directory without adding it as a
subdomain, it will only work with http://domain.com/directoryname not
http://directoryname.domain.com
Removing Subdomains
If you no longer wish for a directory
to be accessible from directoryname.domain.com, you can remove the redirection
created by adding that subdomain. This will not delete the
contents of the directory. If you wish to remove the directory all together,
remove the redirection and then delete the directory through the File
Manager or through FTP.
FTP Access
f you wish to grant virtual ftp access to this
subdomain, just create an FTP user with the same username as the subdomain base
name that is listed in the Subdomain column below. For example, if your
subdomain is bill.domain.com, create the ftp user bill to access the
subdomain.
Subdomain Resolution
Subdomains rely on the DNS system in
order to function, which means that your DNS information must propagate
throughout the different DNS servers on the Internet before your subdomain
becomes fully active. This process on the average takes a few
hours.