Most shared hosting services store your files and databases on a the same server with the same IP address. However, LunarPages has recently stopped that practice and keeps some people’s databases on different servers with different IP address. This makes it more difficult to install Wordpress on LunarPages.

If you’re a LunarPages customer and trying to figure out what the IP address of your databases is, it’s very likely NOT the same as the IP address of your Lunar Pages Control Panel (LPCP).

How to Find Your MySQL Database IP Address on LunarPages

1. Go to the main page of your LPCP and scroll down to databases.
2. Click on PhpMyAdmin (sailboat icon on the right side).
3. It may ask you to fill in your login information again, do so.
4. Now you’re in phpMyAdmin for your hosting. Though the url in your address bar still has the same IP address as your LPCP, the very top of the page will say Server: 229.237.233.32 (only your IP address).

Here’s a screenshot of what this looked like for one client, but with most of the IP address blacked out for privacy:

It’s at the very top of the page, a little bit left of center. You’ll see that it probably shares many of the same digits as your LPCP IP address, but it’s got a few different ones too. If it’s identical, then your database & files are on the same server.

You can use this IP address it fill in the DB_HOST field in a wp-config.php file for Wordpress (replacing localhost) or wherever else you need the IP of your MySQL databases on LunarPages.

Related posts:

• Registering Domains Away from Your Host
• Tutorial on Using Fantastico to Install Wordpress
• Denying Access to Comment Spammers (and others) Using htaccess and 403 Pages

One of the most convenient ways to register domains is through your host. That way, you have everything in one place. They may even give you a free domain for signing up.

But there are some definite advantages to keeping your domain registration separate from your host–somewhere like GoDaddy. If you end up having irreconcilable differences with your webhost, you may end up temporarily locked out of your account, as Cath Lawson did.

That’s unconscionable behavior on Bluehost’s part, but it does happen. In the event that you need to make a speedy exit and and a clean break from your host, it’s much easier if you don’t have to worry about your domains being registered there.

For example, Cath Lawson was locked out of her account for several days due to high traffic and poor service. If her domain had been registered through GoDaddy and she had backup files, she might have been able to restore her site within a matter of hours.

How?

First, she would have to buy hosting elsewhere–either at another shared host like LunarPages or at somewhere more expensive (and hopefully more stable) like Media Temple, or even through the Lunar Pages virtual server plan (ok, maybe not).

Once she was able to login to her new hosting site (it can take a little while to hear back), she could upload her Wordpress files, create a database and import her old one, edit wp-config.php to reflect the new database information, and then switch the domain nameservers (DNS) at GoDaddy. As soon as the DNS propogated across the internet, her site would once again be available.

Of course, most of us don’t deal with quite that level of drama from our webhosts. Nevertheless, when the time comes to make a change from one host to another, it’s simply more convenient not to have to move the domain’s registration.

If you left because of poor customer service (even if it wasn’t as bad as what Cath went through) then it’s one less thing you have to take care of before you make a clean break. It’s one less stressor. If you chose to move because your site’s needs are expanding or you found a better deal, it makes the move easier and cleaner. There are no complicated codes to enter and no complicated processes. You simply change the DNS settings where your domain is registered and voila.

How do you handle your domain’s registration? I started out registering through my host, but now I register elsewhere.