Problems with the server?

[Rabbit1]

The problem is your IP not updating DNS addresses --it has happened to me before ----and I called my IP and they fixed it ---

[Clevernick]

If that is it, Rabbit1, then reducing the DNS timeouts on your server will help me and others when it happens.

See the warnings on your DNSStuff report. Other servers will follow those very long timeouts and won't update their DNS addresses for a long time.

If I call my ISP and ask them to update, they will tell me to ask you to reduce your timeout.

Unless there is some unusual reason why they should be so long...

[Clevernick]

Just FYI --

Tonight I'm locked out again, and using a web proxy.

This morning and for the last day and a half, I've been ok logging in normally.

For three days before that, I was locked out.

I still think you could reduce your server DNS timeouts to help fix this, in case it's a problem for others besides me.

[Logic1]

the forums are extremely slow to load right now.
any idea why? cause I got no problems with other sites atm

[Rhabbi]

I used to have this slow loading problem a lot, so I went and changed the defaults in the options so that I only load 10 post per page instead of the forum default 30 and that helped a lot. It all but eliminated it. Also, using Firefox the forum loads faster, not sure why, maybe there is a setting in IE that can be tweaked for this but I have no idea what it is.

[gagged_Louise]

Having very slow or stalled loading of pages tonight, both on Explorer and on Firefox. There hasn't been any total break of contact though, so I guess the trouble may not be with the server but somewhere along the web.

[Logic1]

glad I wasnt the only one with that problem yesterday Louise.
Seems to load just fine today though.

[Thorne]

Can you give me more information on this error. I was not able to see any problem with the DNS servers.

All looks good according to:
http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/dnsrep...dsmlibrary.com

I don't know if this is the same problem, but I occasionally have trouble getting to the server. I will get error messages saying that the server can't be found. I get the messages in Firefox and in IE, on two different computers, so I don't think it's my system. I suppose it could be my ISP, but I don't get this with any other sites, just this one. I can be surfing through the forums and suddenly get the error when I click on a link. After a minute or two, whether I keep trying or not, I get back in. This is the ONLY site where I've experienced this, and it happens with the Forums and with the stories.

It's been very bad today, Saturday. Very frustrating. I can access other sites, either using a different browser or a separate tab in this one, but this site does not want to cooperate!

[Clevernick]

I think that link only checks *one* of the DNS servers; this version checks all of them, and the results don't look so good:

http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/traver...ary.com&type=A

Actually, even the link quoted by Tiger doesn't look so good: It shows two red "FAIL" points and 7 warnings, all of which look worth fixing to me.

I am still wondering why Tiger thinks it all looks good.

The slow loading problems people had the other day are probably unrelated - that sounds like a database overload which can happen for lots of spurious reasons. But the people unable to get in at all, when the site is actually up, could easily be due to those DNS warnings.

[js207]

Both the DNS servers on which bdsmlibrary.com relies are currently DEAD (or rather, their own DNS entries have disappeared, rendering them unreachable), and have been for a few hours at least.

Since the main webserver here is running Linux, it seems odd to rely on guihosting.com's clearly inadequate service when installing tinydns and configuring upstream glue would give a far more reliable service to us all - in exchange for half an hour's admin time to set up, plus a few megabytes of space. That way, the domain can only be down when the webserver itself is down anyway - much better all round!

[js207]

Aha - a little more digging explains it all: the glue is misconfigured. bdsmlibrary.com is configured with 'glue' identifying ns13.guihosting.com. as being 208.53.180.146 and ns14.guihosting.com. as 208.53.180.147 - but according to guihosting.com, neither of those servers exist at all!

This is bad, it IS a misconfiguration of the DNS hosting for the site, and it will cause problems (most obviously, anyone who has tried to communicate with the non-existent ns13 and ns14 will cache the fact that neither exists for several minutes, probably rendering bdsmlibrary.com unreachable) - however you look at it, though, it shouldn't be set up that way!

[Thorne]

Well, it's been one week since I last reported my problems, and I must say that I haven't had any trouble over the last couple of days. Whatever was causing it, the problem seems to be fixed.

Good job!

[Thorne]

LOL! I guess I spoke too soon. Until that last post I hadn't had any trouble in some time. This afternoon, all of a sudden, the problem is back. I keep losing the server. I get the message that Firefox can't connect to the server. It's only this site. Anyplace else doesn't have a problem.

Oh, well. Back to the drawing board guys. Is it possible it could have something to do with the number of people visiting the site?

[js207]

LOL! I guess I spoke too soon. Until that last post I hadn't had any trouble in some time. This afternoon, all of a sudden, the problem is back. I keep losing the server. I get the message that Firefox can't connect to the server. It's only this site. Anyplace else doesn't have a problem.

Oh, well. Back to the drawing board guys. Is it possible it could have something to do with the number of people visiting the site?

No, probably just the same DNS mis-configuration we've already diagnosed - that'll cause intermittent problems unless/until it gets fixed.

[rach]

I have that trouble a lot. Site goes down comes back up and I can't access it for at least 48 hours. I do all the things recommended and even rang my ISP and they reset some stuff for me. I just can;t access *this* site from my computer but I can from another one. Guess it must be an ISP thing but this is the only site I have the problem with! At the moment I can't access from my own!

Drives me insane!

rach

[Thorne]

I have that trouble a lot. Site goes down comes back up and I can't access it for at least 48 hours.

I never seem to have the same problem. I can usually access it after a couple of minutes or so. I'll be browsing through the forums, click on a link of some kind and get a message that my browser can't find the server. I'll go and surf somewhere else in a different tab and come back after a couple of minutes and I can usually get through again. After a couple more links the same thing happens. I've never yet been kept out for even a couple of hours, much less a couple of days.

It sounds like the DNS problem mentioned earlier is the most likely problem. Hopefully, after everything else gets settle down again they can look into it.

[js207]

I never seem to have the same problem. I can usually access it after a couple of minutes or so. I'll be browsing through the forums, click on a link of some kind and get a message that my browser can't find the server. I'll go and surf somewhere else in a different tab and come back after a couple of minutes and I can usually get through again. After a couple more links the same thing happens. I've never yet been kept out for even a couple of hours, much less a couple of days.

It sounds like the DNS problem mentioned earlier is the most likely problem. Hopefully, after everything else gets settle down again they can look into it.

As a workaround, I've added www.bdsmlibrary.com to my system's HOSTS file (a text file, /etc/hosts on Unix and Mac OS X systems, system32\drivers\etc\hosts in the Windows directory on Windows NT/2k/XP/Vista machines).

You should see lines like:
127.0.0.1 localhost

Add one for www.bdsmlibrary.com as follows:
208.53.170.232 www.bdsmlibrary.com


Now, your computer can bypass the buggy DNS servers and go directly to the bdsmlibrary server itself, without asking directions. (Downside: if the bdsmlibrary.com server ever moves, you'll need to update or delete that line so your browser finds the new location.)