Problems loading with WWW

[rh0926]

Just this morning, my site started having issues. It now seems that when somebody adds the normal 'www.' to the web address, it doesn't work.

My site is RedCrossColumbus.org. For the past several years, it has worked with WWW or without it. Now, it won't work with it and gives a standard 404 page.

Any ideas? I have made NO changes to the web site in months. I have checked the forums for similar issues but haven't found anything.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'll be opening a case with user support immediately.



My package and my domain are not expired. I just renewed in August for another year on our package and in March for a 2 year extension on our Domain name.

[extras]

When you go into OPS->Packages->DNS, do you have Alias: * Hostname: @ in CNAME section?

canonical name (CNAME) Alias: * Hostname: @

[rh0926]

Thanks for the reply Extras.

Here's what I have in the CNAME section:

Alias: * Hostname: @
Alias: pop Hostname: mail
Alias: webmail Hostname: webmail.powweb.com.
Alias: * Hostname: redcrosscolumbus.org.
Alias: rooms Hostname: redcrosscolumbus.org.

All looks OK and if I use the pointer to one of my subdomains (rooms), it acts normal and takes me right to it.

Should I add an explicit CNAME for WWW?
Hmmmm.....

[extras]

Did you change anything in DNS tab, lately?
I don't think you need this line, as you already have another *.
Alias: * Hostname: redcrosscolumbus.org.

I'm not sure if removing that would solve the issue, though...
(And any correction may take time to become active.)

[rh0926]

Nope. No changes have been made in the OPS panel for several months.

Since it's probably DNS related, I'll probably just wait it out until tomorrow morning. If the problem is still occuring, I'll take away the CNAME entry you specified and see if that helps.

With most things Powweb, I've found that giving them a day or two to resolve themselves is the way to go.

Thanks again Extras.

[rh0926]

Same problems today......

Can anybody tell me if this entry:
Alias: * Hostname: @
is normal in the CNAME section? I don't recall seeing it before.

I deleted the unnecessary Alias: * Hostname: redcrosscolumbus.org. entry. It had no effect.

I also added a Alias: www Hostname: redcrosscolumbus.org. entry and it had no effect.

How long does the CNAME section take to update around the web?

Any other ideas? I've opened a ticket with support, but haven't heard back yet.

[stevel]

I have found that it takes 1-2 days for DNS changes made in OPS to start to propagate, and then 2-3 days for the actual propagation. You can use www.dnsstuff.com to query DNS servers to see what they actually have.

[rh0926]

Thanks Stevel.

When I went to the site you suggested and checked out my site, I got this response:

WWW FAIL WWW Category ERROR: I couldn't find any A records for www.redcrosscolumbus.org. But I did find a referral to ns3.powweb.com. (and maybe others). If you want a website at www.redcrosscolumbus.org, you will need an A record for www.redcrosscolumbus.org. If you do not want a website at www.redcrosscolumbus.org, you can ignore this error.

Another check gave me this:

Searching for www.redcrosscolumbus.org CNAME record at m.root-servers.net Got referral to TLD3.ULTRADNS.org. [took 184 ms]
Searching for www.redcrosscolumbus.org CNAME record at TLD3.ULTRADNS.org. Got referral to NS3.POWWEB.COM. [took 4 ms]
[Had to look up A record for NS3.POWWEB.COM.; assume 200ms]
Searching for www.redcrosscolumbus.org CNAME record at NS3.POWWEB.COM. Reports no CNAME records (NXDOMAIN). 63ms.

Anybody have any ideas?

[stevel]

Well, your domain has an A record but no CNAME record that would resolve the www. If the OPS panel says you do have a * CNAME record for @, then you have to contact support and have them fix it (probably by "reloading" the zone record.)

[extras]

I agree with stevel. www.redcrosscolumbus.org isn't resolving even on poweb servers yet..
File a ticket (and post the number here).

[stevel]

Just to clarify - PowWeb's servers DO know redcrosscolumbus.org. They do NOT know any CNAME records that would allow a www.redcrosscolumbus.org to resolve.

[rh0926]

Extras, the ticket # is 407239510002c1b4. It's been open for about 12.5 hours.

Once they respond, I'll ask about reloading the zone record.

Thanks again.

***EDIT*** Nevermind, it started working again tonight. Wonder if it was me adding the Alias: www Hostname: redcrosscolumbus.org. entry or something Powweb did without responding to my ticket.

[stevel]

I see that you do now have a * CNAME entry, so whatever was wrong before, it is fixed. I will note that you have two TXT records, which is a bit odd.

[extras]

He had it from the beginning.
I don't know if someone from the support reloaded the zone-file, or the double inscription of * was causing the problem.
Anyway, at least the problem is solved. :)

[stevel]

No, he didn't have it. OPS said it was there but the DNS server disagreed.

[extras]

I see. Thanks for the clarification. :)
Then, maybe the change he made (removing duplicate *) reloaded the zone file....