Hi there,

I am checking out a new host. It looks like I will transfer to them but I am wondering if in doing so whether I will loose any incoming email to my domain addresses?

I am currently using the email services of my old hoster while testing out the new one using an IP address in the URL instead of a domain name.

But if I change the DNS entries for name servers to the new one is there a danger that some email will end up not being routed to either one as the change starts to propagate accross the Internet?

What is the best way to effect a change so that email doesn't get interrupted, bounced, or lost?

Any input would be very appreciated.

Thanks.

Carlos

Make the DNS change and then check email at the old location for two to three days before cancelling the old account. You can check it at the old location by using the ip as incoming and outgoing mail servers.

Thanks for the input Marty.

I had no idea that one could use the old IP in place of the name servers through an email client to keep on collecting one's email from the old POP boxes.

That's great!

Carlos

What you are doing is leaving the old site up and bringing the new site up. Therefore, in the process, whichever site is pointed to by dns, you will receive the email. This is important because some isp's will lag behind others, so there is not a clear switchover.

Hi Incognito,

I should have been clearer. What I did not realize that one could do was to use the IP address instead of a domain name in one's email client. As the incoming mail server (works great by the way).

While at the same time making a change in the DNS domain record to point to the new hoster's DNS servers.

Thanks.

Carlos

A better method is to change the nameservers but keep the dns records in the server1 and server 2 in sync

before changing nameservers, create zone records pointing to server1 in server2 and then change nameservers

after 4 days, change the zone records in both the servers at the same time to the new server - server2

less overlap and smooth transition

Huh?

I kinda lost you there ;). Oh well.

Carlos

What Motley recommends will work fine if you have control of the servers dns settings at both the old location and the new. If not, then this is difficult to accomplish. Also, it is not 100% effective. I have done this and still had some mail end up on the old server after the transfer. Why? Mail that was sent from people that were behind a proxy and the proxy had a dns cache set up that translated the domain in the email to and ip address and sent it one it's way.

To be 100% sure, the only way is to check it at both locations for a couple of days before shutting down the old account. You may want to check even long as some places overseas may take up to week to propogate to the new location.

You will miss some of mail and traffic during transfer to new host. My experience:

The old server still get some traffic and mails even the site had been transfered to another server for 2 months.

I should have locked this after the third post. That covered it, don't get confused by the rest. Not saying the rest don't have any significance, however the Marty answered the question completely in the second post.