View source

{{Tree menu}}

Before you start with DNS troubleshooting you have to make sure that you have added your domain name to your site via '''Admin -> Manage Domain Name''' and that you have either '''[[DNS_redelegation|redelegated]]''' your domain name or that you have setup A-records on the '''[[External_DNS|external DNS]]''' server to point to our relevant server [[IP address]]


== Checking your domain name settings in Admin ==


[[Login]] into the back end of your website and go to Admin -> Manage Domain Names. Make sure that you have added a correct domain name to the site and selected "I will re-delegate my domain and use this service for DNS" if you are redelegating your domain to us which you have to do if you are using our mail service. 


== Looking up your domain name with www.dnsstuff.com ==


Once you have established that you have done the above steps you can go to [http://dnsstuff.com DNS stuff] and use their reporting tools to look-up your domain name.

All you have to do is place your domain name into the DNS Report box and click '''DNSReport''' button. (Please make sure that you do not have www in front of your domain name)



[[Image:DNS troubleshooting - DNS Report box.jpg]]



Once the report is created the first thing you will see in the table are the name server URLs and their IP addresses. If the domain name has been redelegated properly the information should match the information in the screenshot below. If you see different DNS server URLs it means that your domain name has not been redelegated properly or that you have decided to use external DNS. 



[[Image:DNS troubleshooting - nameservers.jpg]]


The next thing you will see in this report is the MX record. If you are using us for your mail service you will find that your MX record is your domain name with "mail." for prefix e.g. mail.yourdomainname.com. If the MX record is not there that means that you haven't got the correct settings in Admin -> Manage Domain Names. If you are using us for your email you need to select "I will re-delegate my domain and use this service for DNS" in Admin -> Manage Domain Names.
 

[[Image:DNS troubleshooting - MX record.jpg]]


Next thing of importance in that report are the [[A-record]]s. You need to be able to see two A-records. One will be www record and one non-www record. Both A-records will be pointing to the relevant [[IP address]] depending on the data centre your site is hosted on. This information will be same if you have redelegated your domain name or if you are using external DNS. '''In both cases you should have those two records pointed at the above IP address.''' 

If these A-records do not exist that means that you haven't added your domain name to your site in Admin -> Manage Domain Name. If only one A-record exists, or one or both are pointing at the at the address different from above, that means that you are using [[external DNS]] service and that you haven't setup one or both of the A-records properly.


[[Image:DNS troubleshooting - A-records.jpg]]


'''VIDEO''' - [http://www.screencast.com/t/z1ShbOPZ DNSStuff.com explained]

== Looking up your domain name with www.dnswatch.info ==


This is another service you can use to look-up your domain name and make sure it's setup properly. It is not as detailed as dnsstuff.com, but it's faster and it's FREE!

So go to [http://dnswatch.info DNS Watch] and enter your domain name into "DNS Lookup / IP Lookup" box, select NS from the drop down menu and click '''Resolve'''.


[[Image:DNS troubleshooting - DNSwatch step1.jpg]]


You should then see the DNS servers if you have [[DNS_redelegation|redelegated]] your domain name. If you are using [[external DNS]] servers you will see some other DNS URLs.

To look up your MX record do the same first step but instead of NS select MX from dropdown menu. For A-records you need to do the same thing.


== Dealing with a picky registry ==

Some registries have very strict requirements about your DNS configuration. A common rule is that your DNS servers must exist on separate subnets. If your registry has this requirement, use "ns03.businesscatalyst.com" as your primary nameserver and "ns01.businesscatalyst.com" as your secondary nameserver.





[[Category:Troubleshooting Guides]]