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The
ins and outs of DNS and how it effects your
domain
Understanding
DNS and Name Servers:
This
is an area, which causes a great deal of
confusion amongst both webmasters and end user
clients. Before we go any further, let's look at
this quick analogy: DNS can be considered
something similar to that of a phone book. When
you move from one location to another, your last
name stays the same, but your phone number may
change. In order to point your name to the new
phone number, you must contact the telephone
service provider, which will assign you the new
phone number. In addition, they update all
directory information data basis to reflect you
as pointing to this new phone number.
What
is DNS?
DNS
stands for "Domain Name Server." The domain name
server acts like a large telephone directory in
that it's the master database, which associates
a domain name such as (http://www.mydomain.com)
with the appropriate IP number. Consider the IP
number something similar to a phone number: When
someone calls http://www.HostPlans.com/,
your ISP looks at the DNS server, and asks "how
do I contact HostPlans.com?" The DNS server
responds, it can be found at: 64.46.97.158. As
the Internet understands it, this can be
considered the phone number for the server,
which houses the http://www.HostPlans.com web
site.
Where
are all of the DNS records
kept?
This
is slightly more complicated, but for the
purpose of this overview, we'll try to keep it
as general as possible. There are 2 basic places
DNS records reside:
International Root
name servers (13 exist throughout the
world)
Your domain register, where your
current DNS settings reside.
When you
register/purchase your domain name on a
particular "registers name server", your DNS
settings are kept on their server, and in most
cases point your domain to the Name Server of
your hosting provider. This Name Server is where
the IP number (currently associated with your
domain name) resides.
The entire
hierarchy is somewhat involved, but in short,
the world Root Name Servers can be considered
the master listing of all DNS records, and there
are currently 13 of them in the world. These
name servers are where all the master DNS
records are kept. The DNS server of your ISP
will typically query the Root Name Servers once
every 24-hours. This is how they update all of
their DNS tables, which in turn, resolve www
requests to the IP number of the server they
reside on.
Changing
your Name Server settings, so your domain points
to your HostPlans account:
Your
"Name Server Settings" must be updated to point
to your account on HostPlans. You originally
purchased your domain name from a register, and
this register is where your current DNS settings
reside. That is, unless you transferred your
domain name to an alternate register, in which
case, you would control your DNS settings from
there.
The "Register" your domain resides
on, communicates your 'current' DNS settings
with the International Root name servers, which
is turn share this information with ISP's,
routers, and cache engines around the world. In
essence, it's like a worldwide directory that
other computers can refer to when they want to
match a domain name with its associate IP
number. This IP number is how the particular
server your website resides on is
located.
Accessing
your domain manager:
Simply
go to your domain registers web site, and look
around for links, which point to something like,
domain manager, manage domain, or something of
that administrative nature. In your welcoming
email, you were sent DNS settings, which look
similar to this
example:
NS3.HostPlans.COM
64.46.97.195
NS4.HostPlans.COM
64.46.97.200
Most
of the newer registers such as the (OPEN SRS)
based entities have turned this into a 5-minute
process. You simply login to the register,
select 'manage domain' and you'll be presented
with an option to update your new DNS numbers.
Contrary to popular belief, Network Solutions
'now' also provides an online interface to
change these settings, so this process with them
is no longer as complicated as it use to be,
however it's still not as simple as the OPEN SRS
based systems. If your particular register
'does not' provide a domain manager of some
type, then you'll need to send them a message
requesting a change of DNS. This is an unlikely
scenario, as most every register now allows you
to manage your own domain settings from a web
based interface.
Once you've accessed the
"management interface" of your domain name, look
for a setting, which says "change or manage DNS
settings." In most cases, you can simply cut and
paste the DNS settings we've sent you directly
into the spaces, which correspond to your DNS
management settings. Remember, the DNS settings
we're displaying here are an
"example."
The
3 to 4 day propagation period - Understanding
what happens during this time
frame:
In
short, patience is a virtue. Remember what we
talked about earlier in this chapter regarding
the shear size and scope of the worlds DNS
system? In short, when you change your DNS
settings, these new settings must propagate
throughout the worlds DNS servers. It also means
that every ISP (Internet Service Provider), must
update their DNS records to reflect these new
changes, which in most cases, is done
automatically every 24 hours, but not always
however...
Where
do the Root Name Servers receive their
information from?
The
Root Name Servers will query "domain registers"
several times a day. Domain Registers, being
entities such as Network Solutions, and the
newer OPEN SRS based systems. The Root Name
Servers will gather this information from the
many registers now in existence, and update
their master records accordingly. Now your ISP
must access the Root Name Servers, and update
their DNS records, which reside on their 'local'
DNS server. This process is fully automated and
most ISP's will check the Root Name Servers for
updates every 24-hours. Beware however, that
some lame ISP's will delay this process for as
much as 2 to 4 days in some cases. If that
happens, it will no doubt cause additional
confusion, as everyone else will be reaching
your new account on our servers except you. This
is because your ISP has not updated their DNS
records, and or have not cleared their DNS
cache, which means they'll still be pointing
your domain name to your old server. If it's a
new domain name you've registered, then you'll
receive a blank "Site Not Found
Page."
DNS
Cache and your ISP:
There
is also the issue of DNS cache, which is
something we won't go into great detail about
here, but here's the short version. Every time
you access a site from your ISP, they cache the
URL, as well as its associated IP number. If
their network is properly setup, these DNS cache
records should "Expire" at least every 24-hours.
If they did not (which is often the case),
you'll experience this: You enter your
http://www.mydomain.com/ URL, and it keeps
taking you back to your old server
account.
In a large number of cases, it's
the result of an ISP who "Did Not" configure
their servers to "Expire" the DNS cache records
at the appropriate intervals. Unfortunately,
this adds additional confusion to their clients,
and especially the ones whom are trying to point
their domain name to a new server. Yes, it will
make you want to scream sometimes, however if
you understand whom is actually at fault, then
you'll know who to scream at
:)
The
DNS propagation process is not limited to
ISP's!
HA..
Just when you thought you had it all figured
out! Unfortunately, there's more folks. The
Internet itself must update/clear its DNS cache
as well. When we say the Internet, we mean the
numerous intermediate "points of access" you're
routed through before reaching your final
destination. For the most part, these
intermediate points of access consist of
"Internet Routers" and "Internet Caching
Engines." These too, maintain their own DNS
cache, which assists them in routing
traffic/resolving URL's to the correct
destination IP's. Don't worry though, as
Internet routers are usually faster at clearing
their DNS cache than ISP's
are.
What
to expect during this 2 to 4 day propagation
period:
In
most cases, the propagation process will take at
least 48 hours to complete. The first thing that
happens is the "World Root Name Servers" will
check all of the various "Domain Registers for
updates. Ok, so now the Root Name Servers have
done their job. The rest of it is up to the many
ISP providers who "should be" updating their DNS
records (at least every 24 hours), but a number
of them will
not.
Side
effects that can be expected during the
propagation time frame:
It's
perfectly normal for strange things to happen
within the 48-hour propagation period, but
sometimes longer. While we could provide a full
list of all the anomalies that can occur during
the DNS propagation period, we'll stick to some
of the most common scenarios that most people
experience:
HELP!
My friends can reach my new site, but I'm still
being directed to the OLD ONE!
This
is a class case of your friends ISP (who did
update their DNS records), but yours
unfortunately did not. As a result, your ISP is
still pointing your domain name to the old DNS
record, which is your old hosting account. Wait
a couple of more days, and if it appears that
everyone but you can access your new account,
then contact your ISP and tell them to expire
their old DNS cache
records.
WOW!
http://www.mydomain.com was taking me to my new
HostPlans account just a minute ago, but when I
try it now, I'm being taken back to my old
hosting account - what's up with
this?
In
all likelihood, your ISP may be in the process
of clearing their DNS cache, and or updating
their local DNS server records. During this
small interval, it's normal to fluctuate between
the new and old web site, as the old DNS records
may not have completely expired from their cache
yet. Give it another several hours and it should
be fine.
HEY!
My new site comes up for me, but my friends are
being directed to my old one!
Break
out the coffee and donuts, and consider yourself
lucky. Your ISP is on the ball and updates DNS
records/ clears DNS cache in short regular
intervals. Your friends may be using an ISP,
which is not as fast, and or efficient at doing
so. The only remedy for this is time.
Eventually, the other ISP's DNS cache will
expire and be replaced with the updated DNS
records.
What's
going on with my email? When I try to access it,
I receive a "host does not exist" or a "cannot
authenticate" error message.
This
can happen for a number of reasons, but in most
cases, it's because your new DNS records have
not fully completed the propagation process yet.
Consequently, you may be trying to access your
old email account on your "old server", which
you may have already cancelled, or it's in a
state of DNS flux, which means it points to the
new server one moment, and the next, points back
to the old server.
Give it some more time
and it will eventually settle down. In the
meantime, consider accessing email from your
account using the WebMail based reader. If your
domain has not propagated as of yet, you can
access your email account via WebMail with your
IP number. Example:
http://12.23.36.78:2082/neomail/neomail.pl
This will allow you to access your default
mailbox on your account. Replace the IP number
with the one we sent you, and do not remove the
:2032 port number in the URL.
Microsoft
FrontPage will not accept a Username and
Password, or displays the error message
(FrontPage Extensions Are Not
Installed).
While
you should be able to access FrontPage with your
associated IP number (until your domain is
resolving to our servers), this is not always
the case. FrontPage can behave in a number of
different ways depending on which direction the
wind is blowing. In some cases, it will allow
you to initiate an upload session, but upon
asking for your Username and Password, will not
recognize them. If this happens, the best thing
to do is wait until your domain name is
answering to our servers. One thing we know for
sure, is FrontPage will work without much of a
problem if you're using the full
www.mydomain.com URL to manage your site with.
Feel free to try it with your IP, but we cannot
guarantee it will
work.
It's
been over a week. Everybody else can access my
new site except me!
Was
your domain originally hosted by your ISP? If
so, they may not have deleted this entry in
their DNS files. This results in you, and or
anyone else accessing the net from this
"particular ISP" being directed to your old web
site on their servers. A number of ISP's forget
this small detail, which can result in weeks of
utter confusion and frustration. If this is
happening to you, contact your ISP and make sure
they've made the necessary changes to their DNS
records.
Checking
your DNS update status (outside of your
ISP):
In
the event you're becoming impatient, and or are
wondering if the rest of the world outside of
your ISP can access your new site, you can proxy
yourself to another network and test it there.
In many cases, you'll be surprised to see your
site responding perfectly, yet when you attempt
it directly from your ISP's servers, it does not
exist.
There are several services, which
allow anonymous surfing across the net. While
this is not the intent here, they can be used
for trouble shooting domain resolution problems.
How? Because they proxy you through their
network, which means your URL requests are
controlled by "their" DNS cache records. These
services update/expire their DNS cache far more
often than ISP's, which makes them well suited
for testing your domain name through a network,
which operates with the latest DNS updates
across the web.
To run this check, you
can try accessing your site through one of these
two services:
https://www.safeweb.com/o/_s:top.php3
http://www.anonymizer.com/
Both
of them allow you to enter a URL, and proxy your
request through their servers. If your site is
accessible from these servers, then chances are,
your ISP has yet to expire their old DNS cache
records.
Working
on your account during the DNS propagation
period:
You
can still work on your new account until your
domain name finds it way to our servers using
your "IP Number", which was included in
your welcoming email. Your IP number is how your
new domain will be identified on our servers.
Using it at this point will provide a means for
you to access your account, as well as test your
new site by using something like http://
216.74.122.26/ (obviously you'd replace it
with the IP number we sent you).
One
easy way to check and see if your domain is
answering to our servers yet, is to create a
file called "test.php" and
place it in your web directory. Keep checking
the URL http://www.yourdomain.com/test.php and
see if it works. When it does, you'll know your
domain name is answering to your account on "our
servers", and has been officially
transferred.
The
personal DNS (for advanced
webmasters).
Personalized
Name Servers are generally used by webmasters
who will be reselling web hosting accounts, and
want to add a professional look to their
DNS. Why? If you're reselling
accounts under your own entity, you could use
our name servers, which would be sent to your
customers in the form
of:
NS.HostPlans.COM
NS2.HostPlans.COM
Not
bad, but what if you want your DNS settings to
appear as a part of your company? Let's say your
company was www.acmewebhost.com. If you desire,
you could setup your own custom branded DNS,
which could display
as:
NS.YOURWEBHOST.COM
NS2.YOURWEBHOST.COM
This
provides a somewhat more professional look to
your customers when sending out your DNS
settings in a welcoming email. In addition, if
someone does a WHOIS lookup on your domain name,
it appears as your personal DNS, as opposed to
the company you're reselling for. Not really a
big deal, but some webmasters do not want to
advertise the host they're reselling for, as
they feel it does not portray a professional and
independent look.
Personal name servers
are offered to clients whom are a part of our
(reseller program). If you're not a reseller,
please use the standard DNS settings we provided
you. There is no superior advantage to having
your own name server unless you're a reseller,
and or a web designer who is also planning on
hosting the websites they build.
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