Domain Name A Record - Who's Responsible

[dan_Vt]

I'm getting a bit of a run-around. I can't get a site up because my domain's A record is pointing elsewhere. Where is this change made? At the registrar? The host? Neither Site5 nor Dotster claim they can change it, and I don't know enough about A records to know.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Dan

 

[Gene]

Not sure what you mean by "A record", but to point your domain to a particular webhost, you need to go into your account at your domain's registrar and change the nameservers. Is that what you meant?

 

[Peter]

The A record is setup on the hosts servers. You simply point the domain (usually using their name servers) to the new host and they setup the A record.

If someone has told you the A record has not been setup properly that indicates that the Domain has not been set on the hosts DNS properly.

Have you tried a DNS dig on the domain to see.

 

[dan_Vt]

I've done a whois and the nameservers are right and pointing to the host. I don't know what a DNS dig is.

If the nameservers are right, is this an issue at my host?

The A record is setup on the hosts servers. You simply point the domain (usually using their name servers) to the new host and they setup the A record.

If someone has told you the A record has not been setup properly that indicates that the Domain has not been set on the hosts DNS properly.

Have you tried a DNS dig on the domain to see.

 

[TheBulldog]

It's your hosts responsibility.

And quite frankly, if they are using something like WHM, it should all be done automatically. If they are telling you it isn't theirs to do, you should find a new host.

 

[Peter]

I've done a whois and the nameservers are right and pointing to the host. I don't know what a DNS dig is.

If the nameservers are right, is this an issue at my host?

Yes if that is the case then the host is at fault. However, when did you change the namservers. If it was only recently it could be a case of the nameservers not propagating properly yet.

What were the circumstances that led to you being told the A record is not set?

 

[dan_Vt]

Yes if that is the case then the host is at fault. However, when did you change the namservers. If it was only recently it could be a case of the nameservers not propagating properly yet.

What were the circumstances that led to you being told the A record is not set?

I changed the nameservers last Friday. The domain was pointing to another host, so I knew the nameservers resolved when the domain went from the old host (and website) to a "server not found". I contacted Site5's support and they said the A Record needs to be changed, but that I needed to contact someone else to do that.

Oddly enough, they told me to contact a different host to change it (a host I have never even heard of). I can't imagine I actually have to contact a company I don't have a business relationship with to do this. I'm sure I would be at the bottom of their list of people to give some attention to. I did contact my registrar just in case, but they confirmed that I'm not using any sort of an A Record service with them.

And quite frankly, if they are using something like WHM, it should all be done automatically. If they are telling you it isn't theirs to do, you should find a new host.

Site5 does not use WHM, they have their own and I don't see an option to change an A Record anywhere.

Dan

 

[Peter]

What company are they telling you to contact?

Site 5 do not seem to understand what an A record is. If the nameservers are set to their nameservers then the only A record the domain is using is the ones set up on their servers.

If you wish you can PM me the domain name and I can have a look.

 

[dan_Vt]

What company are they telling you to contact?

Site 5 do not seem to understand what an A record is. If the nameservers are set to their nameservers then the only A record the domain is using is the ones set up on their servers.

If you wish you can PM me the domain name and I can have a look.

This is the response I got from Site5:

Hi,

The A record in your DNS zone is pointing to a server that is not on our network. You will need to contact the owner of the following IP address to resolve this issue:

75.126.144.180

$ whois 75.126.144.180

OrgName: SoftLayer Technologies Inc.
OrgID: SOFTL
Address: 1950 N Stemmons Freeway
City: Dallas
StateProv: TX
PostalCode: 75207
Country: US

I'll PM you the domain.

Thanks,
Dan

 

[Spade]

Its simple. Where the domain name servers are pointing, is where you can control the a-record. It sounds to me like if your nameservers are pointing toward your host - its 100% them at fault. The only exception to this rule could be that the zone files need to be refreshed, its not entirely uncommon - but this would be required at the registrar level.

Justin

 

[dan_Vt]

Its simple. Where the domain name servers are pointing, is where you can control the a-record. It sounds to me like if your nameservers are pointing toward your host - its 100% them at fault. The only exception to this rule could be that the zone files need to be refreshed, its not entirely uncommon - but this would be required at the registrar level.

Justin

Is there a way to check the zone file?

 

[Spade]

Is there a way to check the zone file?

Fill out an application through Verisign and get ready for one huge download. Not worth it. Call your registrar and ask them to refresh the zone files. Se what they say.... that couldnt hurt.

 

[dan_Vt]

Fill out an application through Verisign and get ready for one huge download. Not worth it. Call your registrar and ask them to refresh the zone files. Se what they say.... that couldnt hurt.

Ok thanks.

I may end up changing the nameservers back to the old host. If the site comes up it's definitely Site5's issue.

 

[Peter]

The nameservers are 100% correct. Their DNS mainly errors out for me at the moment.

The company they have told you to contact is a data centre. It is most likely that your old host was housed with them. But as Spade quite rightly says, their nameservers should be controlling the A record now.

It is possible that the SOA was set extremely high by your old host.

 

[XJ]

Ok, a couple pointers.

http://centralops.net/asp/co/NsLookup.vbs.asp
Check your zone file. "domain" is the one you want to look up, "server" is the nameserver you entered at your domain registrar. Look for IN A, that should be the IP of your host server. In the "Authority records" section, these are the registered nameservers for your domain. Again, these should be the ones you actually use, either provided by your host or set up by you somewhere else.

DNS changes take a while (sometimes up to a couple days) to propagate. However, the tool does display the current info at the server you query. Obviously it would be best to query an authority record DNS to get the actual settings as those are the ones that propagate (get copied) all over the Internet.

If you have problems with the DNS, use zoneedit.com. Last I read, they offer DNS for up to 3 domains for free - if that has changed, don't blame me please. The advantage of a separate DNS is that it avoids your current problem.

 

[dan_Vt]

Thanks for the help everyone. I'll be adding another ticket to Site5.com tonight.

I'll post updates for those who are curious.

 

[dan_Vt]

Thanks for the help people. The issue has been resolved, it was at my host. They said there was a bug that caused an issue setting up the DNS.

Thanks again,
Dan