DNS propagation

[Dino]

Hi everyone,

looking for info on what causes the 24-to-36-hour delay when registering a new domain, I ran across a topic on this forum, where someone was desperately trying to explain that DNS propagation doesn't exist, but that DNS info is fetched as needed.

How does that make sense though?
If it depended on only one DNS server to get updated, then there should be a point in time before which the domain would not work from ANY ISP/location, and after which the domain would work from EVERY ISP/location.

A domain I registered yesterday at about 13:30 (UK time) showed all the signs of propagation as we know it instead. I was running whois searches from various providers throughout the day. Some were finding the domain as registered, others as available. In the end, even from my own house I got conflicted opinions. My ISP was finally able to find the domain, but if I used my university's proxy, it wouldn't be able to resolve it.
Now the domain works from every location.

If DNS information is fetched as needed, then from the moment that one DNS server got updated, every other computer in the world should have been able to find the domain hassle-free...

So... is there such a thing as DNS propagation or not?
And if not, how can the above be explained?

 

[.edu]

.com .net will be real time in September this year after updates. .org .info .us .biz should already be real time depending on your registrar.

 

[Riceman]

extensions like biz propagate MUCH faster. I have names working in a few hours

 

[Raf]

Where did you get information on that .edu that .com's and .net's will be real time? If such a thing is happening I would be pretty happy honestly.

 

[Riceman]

raf

http://www.verisign.com/nds/naming/rapid_update/faq.html

 

[Raf]

Awesome, thanks for the link Riceman, can't wait till such a feature is implemented.

 

[Dave_Z]

Yup, there's such a thing as propagation.

Although there are various factors, it falls mainly on
3 things:

1. How soon the registrar makes the domain record
changes (especially DNS server changes) on their
end. Many do this in real time, nowadays.

2. How soon the changes are sent to their respective
registries & are received by the root servers. .COM &
.NET should become real time by Sept 8 (my b-day,
incidentally :hehe: ).

3. How soon all the world's ISPs query the root servers
& update their cache to reflect the changes.

#3 is actually the real reason why registrars give the
24-72 hour propagation time & why a person in Miami
can view your site & another in India can't yet.

I could be wrong on certain things. Feel free to correct.