Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Domain Names : DNS Propagation Question

[ara-uk]

I changed the IP which my nameservers direct my domain to yesterday. Within a few hours, the new server IP was working with the domain, but now it is redirecting the old server IP.

I've spoken to my domain registrar who said sometimes they can "bounce back" on and off, meaning it is still propagating.

Is that normal?

[plumsauce]

Please be more specific.

Did you change the ip addresses of your dns servers or did you change the ip of a record that the dns server is serving. And *how* did you make the change?

[GCM]

Please be more specific. Propagation usually happens within 24 to 72 hours to be fully visible on the web.

All the best,

[ara-uk]

Sorry for not being more specific...

Here's how it goes:

I used to have a hosting account with Bluehost.com and also had the domain registered there when I setup hosting with them. When the site got busier, Bluehost couldn't handle the requests, so I decided to go onto a Virtual dedicated server. The server had a new IP address so the nameservers had to direct to that address. I contacted Bluehost and they did the necessary changes. That worked fine after the propagation time with no "bounces" as mentioned in the first post. The site was working fine on the VPS.

I have now moved to a Dedicated server, and have asked Bluehost to change the IP address to the new server (just as they did before), which they have said has been done, and I should just wait the 24-72hrs for the propagation. However, now I'm seeing my site switch back and forth, to and from the dedicated and virtual dedicated servers every few hours.

Is this normal?

Also, what is an A-Record, and what does it do?

[foobic]

A records control how your nameservers translate a domain name into one or more IP addresses, eg. example.com -> 208.77.188.166

It's unusual to get the bounces you describe after just changing a single A record, but not impossible - it might be for example that your ISP runs two resolvers and only one's been updated, so you get a different answer depending on which you connect to.

A much more common cause though is misconfigured dns. Try your domain at www.intodns.com and see what it says.

Edit: It could be that they've added a new A record pointing to the new server in addition to the earlier one pointing to the VPS - having 2 A records for your site would give exactly the behaviour you're describing...