Tag: DNS error

DNS Monitoring Improves Web Site Speed and Reliability – Part 2

Dotcom-Monitor uses a non-cache DNS monitoring solution with high frequency monitoring that propagates DNS queries to the root name servers. That means a DNS issue will be identified quickly, as opposed to being masked for days as it might be with a cached monitoring approach. When monitored properly, using a non-cache method, an error is quickly identified so the designated workaround, like a DNS failover, can be implemented.

Dotcom-Monitor non-cached DNS monitoring (unlike some other cache-based DNS monitoring solutions) also provides diagnostics with an automated trace-route as soon as a DNS problem is detected. This means less time investigating the problem and much faster mean-time-to-repair (MTTR). The Dotcom-Monitor DNS monitoring solution also allows website owners to spot trends so that small DNS issues can be addressed before they become big DNS problems.

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DNS Monitoring Improves Web Site Speed and Reliability – Part 1

The only way to know how well or how reliably DNS servers perform is to make consistent, regular objective tests and measurements over time. While DNS servers can be verified manually, that is not a practical solution. Manually checking the DNS servers a few times a week, or even a few times a day, simply does not provide enough data to accurately judge performance, nor does it quickly alert website owners to problems. Automatic DNS monitoring gives website owners the information needed.

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Doing DNS Monitoring Right: The AT&T DNS Outage

Doing DNS Monitoring Right: The AT&T DNS Outage: The AT&T domain name server (DNS) outage of Aug. 15, 2012 exemplifies why a “non-cache based” method for monitoring of websites is important for mission-critical websites. Firstly, a bit of a review. The most common, basic form of website monitoring is conducted using a synthetic browser (not an actual browser), which connects to the target server via an HTTP request process. A number of server-focused processes, such as the availability of the target server, the time it takes to load the HTML file for the website from the server, and the capability to detect keywords within the HTML file are checked via the use of a synthetic browser using an HTTP request process.

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DNS Diagnostic: Update on the ATT DNS error

August 15, 2012-The ATT DNS outage demonstrates the importance of real-time root cause diagnostics when monitoring Internet services. Intermittent ATT DNS errors were first detected at 5:23 AM PST by Dotcom-Monitor a full hour before AT&T reported the issue. The Dotcom-Monitor Minnesota node noted the issue and captured a diagnostic DNS trace at the time of error. Non-clients of Dotcom-Monitor can use a free DNS trace tool here to test if their domain is affected by selecting Trace Style “DNS”.

This piece of info was sent immediately to Dotcom-Monitor clients whose services were affected by the ATT DNS outage. This diagnostic gave Dotcom-Monitor clients immediate info that pinpointed the root cause of the issue without the need for additional troubleshooting. Dotcom-Monitor clients using ATT DNS made extremely fast, informed decisions, such as moving their DNS to another provider, or taking alternative measures to re-route traffic.

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