Author Topic: DNS Issue (now resolved) - May 7, 2015  (Read 7592 times)

Online Chris Bergin

DNS Issue (now resolved) - May 7, 2015
« on: 05/07/2015 12:36 pm »
I still seem to have access, but I know we have a DNS issue - and the site is quiet. We are getting it resolved.
« Last Edit: 05/07/2015 12:52 pm by Chris Bergin »
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Offline Bargemanos

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Re: DNS Issue (now resolved) - May 7, 2015
« Reply #1 on: 05/07/2015 12:43 pm »
Up and Running here again, The Netherlands.

Online ehb

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Re: DNS Issue (now resolved) - May 7, 2015
« Reply #2 on: 05/07/2015 12:45 pm »
FYI - It is working again for me. 
Was concerned when I couldn't access for a few minutes and then was concerned that I was a NSF junkie ;)


edit: location Texas
« Last Edit: 05/07/2015 12:47 pm by ehb »

Online Chris Bergin

Re: DNS Issue (now resolved) - May 7, 2015
« Reply #3 on: 05/07/2015 12:46 pm »
Yeah, site getting busier, so must be coming back. Might need to propitiate across the internet. Funny how it never became a problem for me! Thanks to those who let me know, otherwise I'd have been sat here twiddling my thumbs wondering why the site was quiet!
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Online ehb

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Re: DNS Issue (now resolved) - May 7, 2015
« Reply #4 on: 05/07/2015 12:49 pm »
Thanks to those who let me know, otherwise I'd have been sat here twiddling my thumbs wondering why the site was quiet!
What is the recommended way to let you know when the site is down ?

Offline R7

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Re: DNS Issue (now resolved) - May 7, 2015
« Reply #5 on: 05/07/2015 12:49 pm »
North back on track. Used UK proxy for a while.
AD·ASTRA·ASTRORVM·GRATIA

Online Chris Bergin

Re: DNS Issue (now resolved) - May 7, 2015
« Reply #6 on: 05/07/2015 12:50 pm »
Crazy to watch the analyticals as people flood back into NSF. Amazingly we had a good amount of people who probably never even saw it (not sure how that works!) Including me!

Important lesson of running a website was made today! I guess 10 years old does mean something.........including domain name hosting (embarrassed face).
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Online Chris Bergin

Re: DNS Issue (now resolved) - May 7, 2015
« Reply #7 on: 05/07/2015 12:51 pm »
Thanks to those who let me know, otherwise I'd have been sat here twiddling my thumbs wondering why the site was quiet!
What is the recommended way to let you know when the site is down ?


Twitter. @nasaspaceflight - that's me :)
« Last Edit: 05/07/2015 12:52 pm by Chris Bergin »
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Offline Rocket Science

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Re: DNS Issue (now resolved) - May 7, 2015
« Reply #8 on: 05/07/2015 01:05 pm »
Crazy to watch the analyticals as people flood back into NSF. Amazingly we had a good amount of people who probably never even saw it (not sure how that works!) Including me!

Important lesson of running a website was made today! I guess 10 years old does mean something.........including domain name hosting (embarrassed face).
Is NSF becoming senile due to advanced age? ;D
"The laws of physics are unforgiving"
~Rob: Physics instructor, Aviator

Offline kevinof

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Re: DNS Issue (now resolved) - May 7, 2015
« Reply #9 on: 05/07/2015 01:07 pm »
You feel confused and discombobulated because you can't check the morning posts on NSF.com due a DNS issue. And keep hitting F5 as if it were a SpX launch or something similar...

Phew. And I thought it was just me.  :)

Offline kcrick

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Re: DNS Issue (now resolved) - May 7, 2015
« Reply #10 on: 05/07/2015 01:08 pm »

Ya I was getting concerned, too!

I've been trying since about 7:30am EDT and figured that there was something wrong with the site.
At first I thought I couldn't get access to the internet, then I figured that NSF was down.

Kept trying every few minutes and finally got on.

Guess I'm an NSF junkie !   ;D
Kevin

Offline Bargemanos

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Re: DNS Issue (now resolved) - May 7, 2015
« Reply #11 on: 05/07/2015 01:10 pm »
You feel confused and discombobulated because you can't check the morning posts on NSF.com due a DNS issue. And keep hitting F5 as if it were a SpX launch or something similar...

Same feeling, this were the 15 productive minutes of my life..


« Last Edit: 05/07/2015 01:10 pm by Bargemanos »

Offline rds100

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Re: DNS Issue (now resolved) - May 7, 2015
« Reply #12 on: 05/07/2015 01:18 pm »

Yeah, it seems someone forgot to renew the domain and the expiration date was May 6th.


Online Chris Bergin

Re: DNS Issue (now resolved) - May 7, 2015
« Reply #13 on: 05/07/2015 01:24 pm »
Crazy to watch the analyticals as people flood back into NSF. Amazingly we had a good amount of people who probably never even saw it (not sure how that works!) Including me!

Important lesson of running a website was made today! I guess 10 years old does mean something.........including domain name hosting (embarrassed face).
Is NSF becoming senile due to advanced age? ;D

No, but I think I am. ;)


Ya I was getting concerned, too!

I've been trying since about 7:30am EDT and figured that there was something wrong with the site.
At first I thought I couldn't get access to the internet, then I figured that NSF was down.

Kept trying every few minutes and finally got on.

Guess I'm an NSF junkie !   ;D

:) And the timing of the notes and your issue - plus when the site started to get quieter - looks like it was about 50 minutes we had the DNS showing up. 50 minutes more than I'd ever want, but thankfully not at a peak time or during an event. Phew.

Well, lesson learnt and one thing we know we can avoid happening again.

Apologies to everyone who saw it. We're a 24/7 service and I don't like the idea of a closed sign going up for a while.
« Last Edit: 05/07/2015 01:26 pm by Chris Bergin »
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Offline Lourens

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Re: DNS Issue (now resolved) - May 7, 2015
« Reply #14 on: 05/07/2015 01:30 pm »
Here's an explanation of what happened and why the site was still up for some people but not for others.

The NSF web server can be reached via its IP address, which is currently 208.43.2.163. Because that's impossible to remember, and may change, it also has a domain name, nasaspaceflight.com. This means that when you go to the site, your browser needs to convert "nasaspaceflight.com" into 208.43.2.163. It does this by contacting a server at your internet service provider called the DNS (Domain Name System) server.

This DNS server keeps a list of all IP addresses for recently requested domain names, so if you or some other customer has recently visited the site, it'll just get the IP address from its local list and return it to you.

If it doesn't have the IP address already, it will contact the server that controls the .com domain, ask it who is responsible for nasaspaceflight.com, then contact that second server and ask it for the IP address. It'll then store that in its local list, and return it to you.

Every once in a while, the DNS server will throw out the current IP address, and request it again if someone wants to know. This way, if the IP address changes, it isn't handing out the old one forever and misleading everyone.

Now, what happened is that nasaspaceflight.com was registered 10 years ago, for 10 years. That registration expired yesterday, and the DNS was updated to reflect that today. Thus, any DNS server having to re-request the IP address didn't get any answer, and those people got an error message. Others whose DNS server still had the IP address in its list could get to the site however.

This is actually a fairly common occurrence, as DNS registrations often run for a long time (many years), so it's easy to lose track of them. Even Microsoft and Google have had domains unintentionally expire.

There is a workaround if something like this happens: you can tell your computer directly which IP address is associated with a particular domain name by editing your hosts file. So for those real addicts, adding the following to their hosts file if something like this happens again should get you back on the site:

208.43.2.163   nasaspaceflight.com
208.43.2.163   forum.nasaspaceflight.com
208.43.2.163   www.nasaspaceflight.com
208.43.2.163   content.nasaspaceflight.com


Of course, this only works if the IP address hasn't changed in the mean time, so try this only if things are down, don't put it in permanently.

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