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VIRTUAL WEB SERVER (VWS) OVERVIEW
How it Works & Why it is Separate From Domain Name Service

Many people purchase a domain name with the sole intention of using it to setup a website with the name www.mycompany.com. But Domain Name Service (DNS) alone does not include a website.
What You Get with VWS

When you sign up for a VWS, GWI sets up space for you on our commercial web server. That webspace is then given its own unique IP address. As is detailed on the DNS Overview page, IP addresses are how computers navigate the Internet.

So you can have a VWS setup without having a domain name hosted by GWI. If you do, this webspace would only be accessible using the IP address. For most people, an address like 207.5.128.240 is much less memorable than www.gwi.net. If you have both a VWS and DNS setup, we then use the Host Name feature of DNS to point the name www.mycompany.com to the IP address that was given to your VWS.

Because of how this works, it means it is possible to have your domain hosted by one company, and your website hosted by another. We recommend that if you have a VWS with us, that you host the DNS with us as well. It is much easier for us to make any changes you request if we don't have to contact another company to do so. However, there is no requirement that you do so, and if you wish us to host either just your DNS or VWS, we will be happy to do so.

Why Personal Web Space is Different

You may still be wondering why we can't point the name www.mycompany.com to your free webspace that comes with your access account at www.gwi.net/~username. The reason is that Host Name service can only be used to point a name at an IP address (or other hostname). Each user's personal webspace does not have its own unique IP address. They are all accessed as if they are directories off of the main www.gwi.net homepage. Directory access is a function of the HTTP language, not of DNS. In order to be able to setup a hostname that pointed at your personal webspace, it would need its own unique IP address. It would take well over 10,000 IP addresses for all of the personal websites we host. As we have to purchase the IP addresses we use, you can understand why each personal site doesn't have its own IP.

If you are interested in signing up for a VWS, please see the sign-up form.