What is an Origin Server
An origin server is one or more web servers that handle requests from internet clients and respond with the requested content. This is the primary source for a website’s content, which is why it plays a pivotal role in serving and maintaining a healthy website.
This server is typically situated in one location, so any requests for the website’s content require traffic to reach it, which increases latency and response times. For example, if your origin server is located in Portland, Oregon, users from Tokyo, Japan will have all of their requests for your website’s content routed to Portland.
How does an Origin Server Work
An origin server is able to expose itself to the internet via an IP address (i.e 123.456.78.9), which clients can then begin requesting content from. If you are updating your DNS to begin serving traffic from your origin server via a domain name, an A Record is used to map the hostname to the IP Address.
An alternative to setting up your own origin server is using a hosting solution, such as the following:
- Heroku
- WPEngine
- AWS
In this type of setup, instead of updating your DNS with an A record pointing at your origin server, you would create a CNAME record using the value provided by the hosting solution.
Origin Servers and Huckabuy Cloud
If you are setting up Huckabuy Cloud for the first time or you have changed your origin server, it is important to understand how to properly enter this information for Huckabuy Cloud to operate successfully.
Depending on how your origin server is setup, you may have an IP Address or another hostname, such as example.wpengine.com.
After confirming your origin server is ready to handle traffic, you will need to update the origin address either in the Huckabuy Cloud setup page or the Origin Settings view, depending on if you have completed the Huckabuy Cloud onboarding process already.
If there are existing entries for your origin address that will no longer be serving your content, those can now be deleted.
After making sure no old entries remain, enter your new IP address(es) or hostname. Note, an IP Address cannot be used along with a hostname, it must be one or the other.
Also, it is important to note that the root domain (i.e. wpengine.com) is not the correct value if you are using a hostname, as that would never resolve to your website’s Origin Server.
Once you’ve confirmed the correct values are entered, you can apply your changes or proceed to the next step in the Huckabuy Cloud onboarding process.