Understanding what happens during the 3 - 4 days propagation period
When you change your domain DNS settings in
your domain registrar control panel , these new settings must propagate
throughout the worlds DNS servers.It also means that every ISP (
Internet Service Provider ) must update thier 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 server will query "domain
registrars" several times a day.The root name server will gather this
information from the many registrars now in existence and update their
master records accordingly.Now your ISP must access ther Root Name
servers and update their DNS records which resides on their local DNS
server.The 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 happends, it will no doubt cause additional confusion as
everyone else will be reaching your new account on our server 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 you've
registered , then you'll receive a blank 'Site Not Found Page'.
DNS cache and your ISP
Everytime 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.domain.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.
The DNS propagation process is not limited to
ISP's ! The internet itself must update / clear its DNS cache as
well.When we say the Internet,we mean the numerous intermediate "point
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 traffice
/ 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 lof the various "Domain
Registrars for updates".After the root name server has done this
processing, 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.
Site effect that can be expected during the propagation time frame
It's perfectly normal for strange things to
happen within the 48 hours 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 experiece.
Help ! My friends can reach my website , but I'm still being redirected to the OLD ONE !
This is a classic 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 it if appears that everyone but you can accesss your new
account,then contact yours ISP and tell them to expire their old DNS
cache records.
WOW!http://www.mydomain.com is taking me to
my new 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 cleaning 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.
What's going on with my email?When I try to
access it , I receive "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. |
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