Hey,

I'm currently transfering my website to a new server and I was told by my old host that I just needed to switch my DNS to the ones provided by my new server. I did this and then I was told by my old host that it could take 72 hours for it to propagate. Is this true? And why does it take so long to do?

Thanks!

:// Matt (http://www.harrypotterfun.com)

Unfortunately this is true. HOWEVER, the key word is it "could" take up to 72 hours for the changes to take affect. I had the pleasure of changing mine recently three times within a three week period and the changes took no more than 24-36 hours to complete. The reason is because when you change your DNS settings, the new settings must propogate across the Internet to all the registrars. Once they update on your half of the world your site may work fine on the new servers but others that are hitting the wrong DNS entries will not see the new site.

Hope this information helps.

In my experience 72 hours is usually the outside limit for a domain shift. A rare instance will see it take longer in some areas. You should start to see the change in 24 hours if your computer is fairly well connected to the rest of the world (at least to the registrar).

All you can do is sit back and wait for it to happen. Saying it'll take to to 72 hours and have it happen in 24 is a lot better than saying it'll happen in 24 with it ending up taking 48 :)

Greg Moore

Ok thanks! After I updated my DNS entries two days ago, they showed instantly when I did a whois. But my site still has not switched, and it's getting close to being 72 hours. Is there a problem or has it just not finished doing it's thing in some areas of the world?

Also, my FTP account for my old server still works, but I use Blogger to update my news (which logs into my server via FTP) and it hasn't worked for a day or so now. I get ERROR: Unkown host: ftp.harrypotterfun.com, which is correct. Could this be occuring because my DNS entries have been updated in some areas of the world and not others?

Thanks Again!

:// Matt (www.harrypotterfun.com)

Record last updated on 28-Jun-2001.
Record expires on 20-Jul-2002.
Record Created on 20-Jul-2000.

Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.DIRECTORIS.COM 62.232.63.226
NS2.DIRECTORIS.COM 62.232.63.227

when it ype in www.harrypotterfun.com I get a site that's working (blue, white, yellow title etc)

So if all that is correct, your transfer is working.

You may experience some short circuits for a day or two as some routes take longer than others. It's usually a minor issue and fast to fix itself.

Naturally with a new host you'll have to change anything that's using an IP address as that will be different.

Greg Moore

akashik, the pages your are seeing are still on my old server. But the DNS entries are changed and that's what I am concerned about...

I just ran a DNS search and here are the results:

Domain Name: HARRYPOTTERFUN.COM
Registrar: TUCOWS, INC.
Whois Server: whois.opensrs.net
Referral URL: http://www.opensrs.org
Name Server: NS2.COOLWEBHOSTING1.COM
Name Server: NS1.COOLWEBHOSTING1.COM
Updated Date: 04-aug-2000

This comes direct from www.nsiregistry.com. I use them when checking the validity of DNS entries. Be careful to run searches from registrars because some only show you their database and if you are registered with them, of course the new changes will appear. I find the best is nsiregistry.com.

Once the DNS changes propogate across the Internet, all the problems you mentioned having should go away.

It also depends on when your ISP updates their database.

I have experienced that a couple of times. I could'n't access it from my home but other cities in the same country could.

I think athome updates it's databases once a week only :-(

Thanks for your help everyone! I'm just going to wait...i have a about 6 more hours to go before it's been 72 hours.

:// Matt (www.harrypotterfun.com)

Hey Again -

I'm just writing again to ask for possible reasons why my old ftp account no longer works...and now my website (www.harrypotterfun.com) doesn't display at all.

This WHOIS search:

http://www.nsiregistry.com./cgi-bin/whois?whois_nic=harrypotterfun.com&type=domain

^ Shows my old DNS entries still. Will this all be fixed soon when they completely propogate...now im nervous...cuz im new to this :eek:

Who is your registrar (Dotster, Godaddy, eNom, etc.)? I would check with them to make sure the changes were submitted properly. With many registrars, you can make changes by yourself and then see what they are after you made the changes. If you go back and check now and the old DNS entries appear, the changes never took affect.

Good luck...

My registrar was BlueGenesis.com and I updated my DNS entries using www.opensrs.net. They were submitted properly because they are showing on some whois searches but not others (try register.com, it shows my new dns servers). Is this something I should be concerned about or is this a normal thing that happens to everyone?

:eek: To be honest, this is very strange. It could be that some registrars are just really slow the past few days!?!?!? I know that doesn't help but I can't think of anything else. I did notice that your registrar didn't update until just today so maybe when you submitted the changes, they took their sweet old time to complete the change which will also affect the rest of the world getting the information. I know that with tons of other registrars, once you change your DNS settings, they usually update on their site within 24 hours. The rest of the world shortly afterwards. I am not familiar with opensrs.net so I'm not sure how they work.

I just called BlueGenesis, and I was told that my records were last updated yesterday (June 30th) which is when these problems started occuring. So I'm guessing that my domain will propogate in next 24 hours. I'll let you know when it starts working. Thanks for your help!

:// Matt

Real Site (Down): www.harrypotterfun.com
Temporary Site: www.directoris.com/~harryp