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Thread ID: 110594 2010-06-24 05:39:00 Accessing a US Govt site TideMan (4279) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1113064 2010-06-24 23:05:00 Interesting - sounds like there's more than one issue then.

I can still access the site fine on TelstraClear cable here, and those servers I gave you before are definitely still working. Can you try the following please:
Start>>run
Type 'cmd', then press enter
Type 'nslookup www.noaa.gov', then press enter.
Paste the result here
Type 'nslookup hdq-woc.lb.noaa.gov', then press enter
Paste the result here


Can you access the site at http://hdq-woc.lb.noaa.gov/ from your PC at the moment? If not, what's the error message?
Erayd (23)
1113065 2010-06-25 00:15:00 Its working again now.
Here's what I get from nslookup www.noaa.gov
Server: rachel.paradise.net.nz
Address: 203.96.152.4

DNS request timed out.
timeout was 2 seconds.
DNS request timed out.
timeout was 2 seconds.

Here's what I get from nslookup hdq-woc.lb.noaa.gov:
Server: rachel.paradise.net.nz
Address: 203.96.152.4

DNS request timed out.
timeout was 2 seconds.
DNS request timed out.
timeout was 2 seconds.

But I can access http://hdq-woc.lb.noaa.gov/ OK
TideMan (4279)
1113066 2010-06-25 01:46:00 Mmm - been using .4 all along and not seen the problem.

Could try http://www.opendns.com/
Twelvevolts (5457)
1113067 2010-06-25 02:17:00 Here's what I get from nslookup www.noaa.gov
Server: rachel.paradise.net.nz
Address: 203.96.152.4


I guess this means that I'm still using 203.96.152.4, even though I have changed it in the router and cleared the cache.

So, I've re-booted everything.
I'm now using the new DNS server and I can access the site OK.
TideMan (4279)
1113068 2010-06-25 03:31:00 No problem here on Telecom Big Time Agent_24 (57)
1113069 2010-06-25 05:45:00 I guess this means that I'm still using 203.96.152.4, even though I have changed it in the router and cleared the cache.Correct.


I'm now using the new DNS server and I can access the site OK.Excellent :thumbs:.


Mmm - been using .4 all along and not seen the problem.That's fascinating - .4 was completely unable to resolve the record. There must be some other factor at play here...


Could try www.opendns.com is an extremely bad idea. Using DNS servers other than TelstraClear's on TelstraClear's cable network is a recipe for disaster.
Erayd (23)
1113070 2010-06-27 11:52:00 That is an extremely bad idea. Using DNS servers other than TelstraClear's on TelstraClear's cable network is a recipe for disaster.

I can second that.

I often get jobs where people's "friends" have decided to set their DNS servers to OpenDNS with good intentions and caused their internet access to become unreliable or unusable.

I think it's only suitable for US connections but I am open to correction on that.
george12 (7)
1113071 2010-06-27 15:00:00 I think it's only suitable for US connections but I am open to correction on that.It's suitable for places other than the US, although if you use a server in a geographically remote location it'll increase your DNS latency (and often slow down your browsing experience). I'm fairly sure that OpenDNS has more than one point of presence (I think they also have servers in Europe), so you don't necessarily need to be in the US to get good performance from them.

The reason it's a bad idea on TelstraClear's network in particular is because TelstraClear have a misconfigured cache system that doesn't play nicely with CDNs. If you use DNS servers that resolve a different address for the CDN than the one that the TelstraClear cache sees - instant connectivity problems are the result. Hence why, if you are a TelstraClear customer, you should stick to TelstraClear's DNS (unless you know what you're doing and how to work around the problem, but even then it's not a straightforward solution).
Erayd (23)
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