Park a domain for use by multiple cPanel accounts

[Dan Cudmore]

I need to point subdomains of an externally hosted domain to multiple cPanel accounts (see example below). For a single account this is a non-issue - I just park the domain ('mydomain1.com') to that account ('mydomain2.com') and then setup a subdomain record ('sub1.mydomain1.com') so that it routes to the correct directory ('/public_html_alt'). However, if I then try and do the same for a second account the system returns error messages because that domain is already associated with the first account.

My question; is it possible to park an externally hosted domain via WHM so that it is accessible via any cPanel account I create? Alternatively, is there a way of achieving the same result via other means?

In the round, this is is what I am looking to achieve:

'sub1.mydomain1.com' pointing to '/public_html_alt' on 'mydomain2.com'
'sub2.mydomain1.com' pointing to '/public_html_alt' on 'mydomain3.com'
'sub3.mydomain1.com' pointing to '/public_html_alt' on 'mydomain4.com'
'sub4.mydomain1.com' pointing to '/public_html_alt' on 'mydomain5.com'
etc...

Thanks in advance.

 

[cPanelMichael]

Hello

You would need to enable the following option under the "Domains" tab in "WHM Home » Server Configuration » Tweak Settings":

"Allow domain parking across accounts"

Thank you.

 

[Dan Cudmore]

Thank you for the pointer - I have now enabled that option.

However, I still get a message saying that the domain cannot be be parked on additional accounts as it is already in use. I also can't select it as a domain to setup new subdomains on any of the other accounts it is not already parked against. I'm obviously missing something here...

 

[cPanelMichael]

You should not attempt to add the actual domain name on multiple accounts. This will not work. Instead, only attempt to park the actual subdomains.

Thank you.

 

[Dan Cudmore]

I see. So to clarify, on account 1 park 'sub1.mydomain1.com', on account 2 park 'sub2.mydomain1.com', and so on. In that case how do I then setup the routing to my desired directory - '/public_html_alt'? Parking these subdomains automatically sets this location as the domain root and I can't then create subdomains using these parked addresses because the interface says they are invalid if I leave the subdomain handle blank?

 

[cPanelMichael]

Is there a specific reason you are choosing to use parked domain names instead of addon domain names? Parked domain names are typically intended to show the same contents as the domain name they are parked on. If you require a different document root, then try utilizing an addon domain name instead.

Thank you.

 

[Dan Cudmore]

"Is there a specific reason you are choosing to use parked domain names instead of addon domain names?"

Simple answer... no. The truth is that I'm new to using WHM/cPanel and the concept of addon domains. The parked domain + subdomain route just seemed like the most obvious (our old platform featured domain placeholders with which you could then setup local web configs).

So, addon domains would be a better path for this kind of setup then? Do I still need the parked subdomains, given that they are hosted externally, and are there any other things I need to be aware of given that I'm using subdomains? Also, I've just done a bit of reading and it seems that addon domains automatically create additional subdomains and FTP users - are these a requirement of this system?

 

[cPanelMichael]

Yes, addon domain names utilize subdomains and FTP accounts. This is required due to the nature of how addon domain names are configured. You would not need to park the subdomains if you are creating them as addon domain names. You will need to ensure you setup the DNS records for the subdomains at the server where the DNS is handled. Also, you may have to temporarily enable "Allow Remote Domains" under the "Domains" tab in "Tweak Settings" when adding these addon domain names in cPanel.

Thank you.

 

[Dan Cudmore]

Thank you for your help so far.

I have now attempted setting up addon domains with the 'Allow Remote Domains' option both on and off. The DNS for both the inbound subdomain and the subdomain created by the addojn domain are both pointing into our server (both domains are externally hosted but lookups show that this pointing is operating correctly). However, all I get is the servers default home page.

I currently have a ticket registered with our provider to look into this further, but wondered if from my description it is obvious what is going wrong here.

 

[cPanelMichael]

I currently have a ticket registered with our provider to look into this further, but wondered if from my description it is obvious what is going wrong here.

It should work as expected if the IP address associated with the subdomain on the cPanel server matches what it resolves to. Let us know the outcome of your support ticket.

Thank you.

 

[Dan Cudmore]

Yes, the problem has now been resolved - this is a new server and it appears that there were some rogue IPs used for the install gumming up the works. Addon domains now operate as expected.

Thank you very much for your help, Michael.

 

[cPanelPeter]

Hello,

Glad the issue is resolved and thank you for updating this thread with the information.