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  1. #1

    Question Intermittent trouble accessing with ftp and http

    Hi,

    For the past couple of weeks I've been struggling to get my account at a new host set up and working.

    At first, I had trouble setting the dns at my registrar. I eventually reset those and that seemed to help. The DNS propigation went slowly, but that seems to be long done now.

    But I'm still getting frequent "Unable to resolve name" sorts of errors. My browser tells me "Cannot find server or DNS error" when I try to go to the site. This may be 3 out of 10 times. And when it's inaccessible, I can't get in for an hour or more.

    My FTP client will say that it can't connect (when I use the domain name). If I use the numeric version, I get in! Again this isn't all the time. One evening I can't get in by FTP, the next morning I can, then in the afternoon I can't--all using the same FTP set up.

    If I can't get into FTP, I can often get in with the browser, and vice versa, so I'm usually not totalled locked out. Usually...

    I'm running Win XP, so I have disabled the firewall by going into IE > Tools > Internet Options > Connections > Settings > Properties > Advanced.

    I have also disabled the Norton Personal Firewall, but haven't uninstalled it....maybe I should? I have to disable it after startup each time.

    Alertra usually says it can access the sites, but sometimes it takes 10 seconds or so.

    I can generally see my sites hosted on other sites. And haven't noticed problems FTPing, but haven't done much on the other sites.

    At first the host blamed it on bad DNS settings, then slow DNS propagation, then a slow internet because of that SQL virus. Now my host thinks it's a problem on my end, not theirs, which could be.

    I'm getting pretty frustrated.

    Does anyone have any idea of what might be up?

    What should I try next? I'm tempted to try a different host to see if the problems reappear. It might help eliminate a possibility.

    TIA,
    AZW

  2. #2
    Hmm. No edit button!

    I also want to clarify one point.

    I've used both Dreamweaver's FTP and PrishtinaFTP. When one can't get in, neither can the other. But I've set up an alternative numeric "account" in PrishtinaFTP and that always gets in.

  3. #3
    I've also had my host check the settings I'm using for FTP and those appear to be correct.

    When I switch from using the domain name to using the numeric form, the FTP address is the only thing I change.

  4. #4
    If your host is using Proftpd on a cpanel server that might explain your ftp problems.

    I would guess its not your hosts fault as they would be doing all they could to make sure your account works properly.

    If in fact they are using cpanel and proftpd then its a wide spread problem just like recent email authentication issues plagueing hosts as isp's change the way email is sent and recieved to battle the spam epidemic.

    Many clients change hosts because of these issues only to find themselves in the same boat again.

    we changed our ftp client to solve those issues.

  5. #5
    Interesting. What FTP Client are you using now? Is it working well?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    Ponchatoula, LA
    Posts
    497
    What's your domain name? It really sounds like a DNS issue if you're not having problems when you use the IP address. A good resource for checking your DNS set up is http://www.dnsreport.com/

    Richard
    Enigma Hosting
    "I wasn't speeding, I was qualifying!"

  7. #7
    The dnsreport site did show a number of warnings and one fail for "Reverse DNS entries for MX records". I've asked the host to check this out. Thanks, that may really help.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    Ponchatoula, LA
    Posts
    497
    Some of the warnings that DNSreport shows aren't something that would cause the problems that your seeing. Here's kind of a breakdown of the categories to pay attention to:

    Root: Any problems reported here is probably something to look into

    NS: Any problems here should also be looked at. You can safely ignore a warning for "Nameservers on separate class C's"

    SOA: Warnings about the SOA serial # format and some of the SOA values like REFRESH and EXPIRE are probably OK.

    MX: A warning about Multiple MX records is OK. Most people will only have one. An error about Reverse DNS entries for MX records could cause problems sending email to some sites, but not the problems you're seeing. Other warning or error could cause problems receiving email.

    Mail: Any problems here could cause problems sending email.

    WWW: Warnings or error here could cause problems reaching your site.

    If you'd like to PM me your domain I'll take a look and let you know if I think there could be a DNS problem.

    Richard
    Enigma Hosting
    "I wasn't speeding, I was qualifying!"

  9. #9
    I'm nearly positive, now, that it was the ISP. They weren't much help, either....

    But after about 3 weeks, the domain names are resolving better! YEAH, really slow, wasn't it!

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