beginner question - confusing DNS results

Popcorn6 · March 24, 2011, 10:41:20 AM

Hi,

I'm hoping someone can guide me here. I've setup my tunnel, web server and mail server, but throughout I've been getting intermittent failures. Without changing any configuration services stop working then start again.

I registered a domain 'mycontactpoint dot info' and pointed it at the FreeDNS service.

On my tunnel information page I have the following:
Available DNS Resolvers
Anycasted IPv6 Caching Nameserver: 2001:470:20::2
Anycasted IPv4 Caching Nameserver: 74.82.42.42

When I 'dig any @2001:470:20::2 mycontactpoint dot info' I get consistent results as I expect.
When I 'dig any @74.82.42.42 mycontactpoint dot info' the results change between the same as @2001:470:20::2 and the original information submitted by my registrar.

I also tried 'dig any @8.8.8.8 mycontactpoint dot info' and these results are also correct.

What can I have done wrong that gets inconsistent results with 74.82.42.42?

Thanks in advance,
D.

cconn · March 24, 2011, 12:42:10 PM

trying to see what you are speaking of, what exactly are you getting as wrong info?

johnpoz · March 24, 2011, 12:49:03 PM

Ok -- that IPv4 address is the A record, the IPv6 would be AAAA records.. So if I query

; <<>> DiG 9.7.1-P2 <<>> @2001:470:20::2 mycontactpoint.info A
; (1 server found)
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 54656
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;mycontactpoint.info. IN A

;; ANSWER SECTION:
mycontactpoint.info. 16 IN A 67.55.9.20

;; Query time: 39 msec
;; SERVER: 2001:470:20::2#53(2001:470:20::2)
;; WHEN: Thu Mar 24 14:46:41 2011
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 53

Same as if I query that 74.82.42.42 server.

If I query the ipv4 for the AAAA record it gives the IPv6 address as well

; <<>> DiG 9.7.1-P2 <<>> @74.82.42.42 mycontactpoint.info AAAA
; (1 server found)
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 13132
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;mycontactpoint.info. IN AAAA

;; ANSWER SECTION:
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN AAAA 2001:470:1f06:be2::3

;; Query time: 110 msec
;; SERVER: 74.82.42.42#53(74.82.42.42)
;; WHEN: Thu Mar 24 14:48:14 2011
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 65

If you do not want an 'A' record then you should remove it.

Popcorn6 · March 24, 2011, 06:48:56 PM

Sorry, I should have posted specific results to be clear.
I invoked dig twice with the same command. The first results are incorrect (this is the original information when the domain was registered before I updated the DNS hosting), the second is what I'm expecting. This only happens if I use the IPv4 Hurricane Electric nameserver provided in my tunnel configuration. I tried with googles nameservers and that give me the expected result every time.

I only registered the domain and updated the DNS hosts last night. Could that impact HE DNS and not Google?

Thanks for your help and sorry for the long post.
D.

-------1st try-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# dig any @74.82.42.42 mycontactpoint.info

; <<>> DiG 9.7.3-RedHat-9.7.3-1.fc13 <<>> any @74.82.42.42 mycontactpoint.info
; (1 server found)
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 62607
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 3, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 2

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;mycontactpoint.info. IN ANY

;; ANSWER SECTION:
mycontactpoint.info. 10891 IN MX 10 mx01.1and1.com.
mycontactpoint.info. 10891 IN MX 10 mx00.1and1.com.
mycontactpoint.info. 55185 IN SOA ns51.1and1.com. hostmaster.1and1.com. 2011032302 28800 7200 604800 86400

;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
mx00.1and1.com. 7200 IN A 74.208.5.3
mx01.1and1.com. 7200 IN A 74.208.5.21

;; Query time: 167 msec
;; SERVER: 74.82.42.42#53(74.82.42.42)
;; WHEN: Thu Mar 24 21:32:33 2011
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 172

-------2nd try (immediately after)-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# dig any @74.82.42.42 mycontactpoint.info

; <<>> DiG 9.7.3-RedHat-9.7.3-1.fc13 <<>> any @74.82.42.42 mycontactpoint.info
; (1 server found)
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 38426
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 8, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 10

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;mycontactpoint.info. IN ANY

;; ANSWER SECTION:
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN NS ns3.he.net.
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN A 67.55.9.20
mycontactpoint.info. 86400 IN SOA ns1.he.net. hostmaster.he.net. 2011032405 10800 1800 604800 86400
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN AAAA 2001:470:1f06:be2::3
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN NS ns2.he.net.
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN MX 10 mycontactpoint.info.
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN NS ns5.he.net.
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN NS ns4.he.net.

;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
ns2.he.net. 86097 IN AAAA 2001:470:200::2
ns3.he.net. 86097 IN AAAA 2001:470:300::2
ns5.he.net. 86097 IN AAAA 2001:470:500::2
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN A 67.55.9.20
ns4.he.net. 86097 IN A 216.66.1.2
ns2.he.net. 86097 IN A 216.218.131.2
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN AAAA 2001:470:1f06:be2::3
ns3.he.net. 86097 IN A 216.218.132.2
ns4.he.net. 86097 IN AAAA 2001:470:400::2
ns5.he.net. 86097 IN A 216.66.80.18

;; Query time: 150 msec
;; SERVER: 74.82.42.42#53(74.82.42.42)
;; WHEN: Thu Mar 24 21:33:32 2011
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 446

-------3rd try (Google DNS)-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# dig any @8.8.8.8 mycontactpoint.info

; <<>> DiG 9.7.3-RedHat-9.7.3-1.fc13 <<>> any @8.8.8.8 mycontactpoint.info
; (1 server found)
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 34606
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 8, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;mycontactpoint.info. IN ANY

;; ANSWER SECTION:
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN NS ns5.he.net.
mycontactpoint.info. 86400 IN SOA ns1.he.net. hostmaster.he.net. 2011032405 10800 1800 604800 86400
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN NS ns4.he.net.
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN AAAA 2001:470:1f06:be2::3
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN NS ns2.he.net.
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN A 67.55.9.20
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN NS ns3.he.net.
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN MX 10 mycontactpoint.info.

;; Query time: 99 msec
;; SERVER: 8.8.8.8#53(8.8.8.8)
;; WHEN: Thu Mar 24 21:46:25 2011
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 226

johnpoz · March 25, 2011, 05:54:35 AM

Im not getting any such info from a any query.. I only see the authority info, ie NS records

; <<>> DiG 9.7.1-P2 <<>> any @74.82.42.42 mycontactpoint.info
; (1 server found)
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 65348
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 4, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 8

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;mycontactpoint.info. IN ANY

;; ANSWER SECTION:
mycontactpoint.info. 24522 IN NS ns5.he.net.
mycontactpoint.info. 24522 IN NS ns3.he.net.
mycontactpoint.info. 24522 IN NS ns4.he.net.
mycontactpoint.info. 24522 IN NS ns2.he.net.

;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
ns3.he.net. 78192 IN A 216.218.132.2
ns5.he.net. 78192 IN AAAA 2001:470:500::2
ns2.he.net. 78192 IN AAAA 2001:470:200::2
ns2.he.net. 78192 IN A 216.218.131.2
ns3.he.net. 78192 IN AAAA 2001:470:300::2
ns4.he.net. 78192 IN A 216.66.1.2
ns5.he.net. 78192 IN A 216.66.80.18
ns4.he.net. 78192 IN AAAA 2001:470:400::2

;; Query time: 17 msec
;; SERVER: 74.82.42.42#53(74.82.42.42)
;; WHEN: Fri Mar 25 07:53:19 2011
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 291

Popcorn6 · March 25, 2011, 07:09:16 AM

I'm getting the same now, but if I put in a specific request (mx/a/aaaa) instead of 'any' I get an answer.

I'm trying to figure out whether this is something:

I've configured incorrectly - most likely as I'm new to this
delays in DNS propagation - the HE nameserver forwarding to different nameservers and relaying their different responses
some problem with the HE nameserver - Unlikely as others would be having problems

Thanks for your advice,
D.

# dig a @74.82.42.42 mycontactpoint.info

; <<>> DiG 9.7.3-RedHat-9.7.3-1.fc13 <<>> a @74.82.42.42 mycontactpoint.info
; (1 server found)
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 9238
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;mycontactpoint.info. IN A

;; ANSWER SECTION:
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN A 67.55.9.20

;; Query time: 148 msec
;; SERVER: 74.82.42.42#53(74.82.42.42)
;; WHEN: Fri Mar 25 09:59:03 2011
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 53

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# dig aaaa @74.82.42.42 mycontactpoint.info

; <<>> DiG 9.7.3-RedHat-9.7.3-1.fc13 <<>> aaaa @74.82.42.42 mycontactpoint.info
; (1 server found)
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 48415
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;mycontactpoint.info. IN AAAA

;; ANSWER SECTION:
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN AAAA 2001:470:1f06:be2::3

;; Query time: 76 msec
;; SERVER: 74.82.42.42#53(74.82.42.42)
;; WHEN: Fri Mar 25 09:59:08 2011
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 65

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# dig any @74.82.42.42 mycontactpoint.info

; <<>> DiG 9.7.3-RedHat-9.7.3-1.fc13 <<>> any @74.82.42.42 mycontactpoint.info
; (1 server found)
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 2971
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 5, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 8

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;mycontactpoint.info. IN ANY

;; ANSWER SECTION:
mycontactpoint.info. 41943 IN NS ns4.he.net.
mycontactpoint.info. 41943 IN NS ns5.he.net.
mycontactpoint.info. 41943 IN NS ns2.he.net.
mycontactpoint.info. 10296 IN SOA ns51.1and1.com. hostmaster.1and1.com. 2011032302 28800 7200 604800 86400
mycontactpoint.info. 41943 IN NS ns3.he.net.

;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
ns3.he.net. 82718 IN AAAA 2001:470:300::2
ns5.he.net. 82718 IN A 216.66.80.18
ns4.he.net. 82718 IN A 216.66.1.2
ns2.he.net. 82718 IN AAAA 2001:470:200::2
ns2.he.net. 82718 IN A 216.218.131.2
ns3.he.net. 82718 IN A 216.218.132.2
ns5.he.net. 82718 IN AAAA 2001:470:500::2
ns4.he.net. 82718 IN AAAA 2001:470:400::2

;; Query time: 55 msec
;; SERVER: 74.82.42.42#53(74.82.42.42)
;; WHEN: Fri Mar 25 10:00:41 2011
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 352

johnpoz · March 25, 2011, 09:18:26 AM

still confused what your concerned about?

the returned A record?

;; ANSWER SECTION:
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN A 67.55.9.20

Do you have that record in your he dns config?

What do you have in your HE dns config??

As to other nameservers?? You lost me on that - why would the HE dns forward to any other servers.. Your whois clearly shows what NS records are for your domain

Domain Name:MYCONTACTPOINT.INFO
Created On:23-Mar-2011 21:38:17 UTC
Last Updated On:24-Mar-2011 05:36:16 UTC
Expiration Date:23-Mar-2012 21:38:17 UTC

Name Server:NS3.HE.NET
Name Server:NS2.HE.NET
Name Server:NS4.HE.NET
Name Server:NS5.HE.NET

And a query to the root servers only respond with those NS records.

If I do a trace for your domain -- you get this

INFO. 172800 IN NS a2.info.afilias-nst.INFO.
INFO. 172800 IN NS b0.info.afilias-nst.org.
INFO. 172800 IN NS c0.info.afilias-nst.INFO.
INFO. 172800 IN NS d0.info.afilias-nst.org.
INFO. 172800 IN NS a0.info.afilias-nst.INFO.
INFO. 172800 IN NS b2.info.afilias-nst.org.
;; Received 440 bytes from 192.112.36.4#53(g.root-servers.net) in 164 ms

MYCONTACTPOINT.INFO. 86400 IN NS ns2.he.net.
MYCONTACTPOINT.INFO. 86400 IN NS ns5.he.net.
MYCONTACTPOINT.INFO. 86400 IN NS ns4.he.net.
MYCONTACTPOINT.INFO. 86400 IN NS ns3.he.net.
;; Received 115 bytes from 2001:500:1a::1#53(b0.info.afilias-nst.org) in 271 ms

MYCONTACTPOINT.INFO. 300 IN A 67.55.9.20
;; Received 53 bytes from 2001:470:300::2#53(ns3.he.net) in 89 ms

Then ns3 returns that A record -- which you must of setup on their servers via the dns interface at https://dns.he.net/

Popcorn6 · March 25, 2011, 09:42:25 AM

My initial concern was that querying 74.82.42.42 for mycontactpoint.info was sometimes returning

;; ANSWER SECTION:
mycontactpoint.info. 10891 IN MX 10 mx01.1and1.com.
mycontactpoint.info. 10891 IN MX 10 mx00.1and1.com.
mycontactpoint.info. 55185 IN SOA ns51.1and1.com. hostmaster.1and1.com. 2011032302 28800 7200 604800 86400

and othertimes

;; ANSWER SECTION:
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN NS ns3.he.net.
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN A 67.55.9.20
mycontactpoint.info. 86400 IN SOA ns1.he.net. hostmaster.he.net. 2011032405 10800 1800 604800 86400
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN AAAA 2001:470:1f06:be2::3
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN NS ns2.he.net.
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN MX 10 mycontactpoint.info.
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN NS ns5.he.net.
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN NS ns4.he.net.

This is no longer happening now. Could this have happened because the original DNS info was cached somewhere with a large TTL. If so, why would I sometimes get the correct answer and sometimes the old one?

The only thing I don't understand now is why I only get a list of nameservers in the ANSWER section when I do an 'any' query at 74.82.42.42. If I do an any query at 8.8.8.8 I get the complete list.

Thanks again for your help (and patience),
D.

johnpoz · March 25, 2011, 11:58:29 AM

I don't think it has to do with anything cached at all.

You have that A record in the he dns do you not? And the MX, etc.

; <<>> DiG 9.7.1-P2 <<>> @ns3.he.net mycontactpoint.info any
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;mycontactpoint.info. IN ANY

;; ANSWER SECTION:
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN A 67.55.9.20
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN AAAA 2001:470:1f06:be2::3
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN MX 10 mycontactpoint.info.
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN NS ns4.he.net.
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN NS ns5.he.net.
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN NS ns2.he.net.
mycontactpoint.info. 300 IN NS ns3.he.net.
mycontactpoint.info. 86400 IN SOA ns1.he.net. hostmaster.he.net. 2011032405 10800 1800 604800 86400

;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
ns3.he.net. 86400 IN A 216.218.132.2
ns5.he.net. 86400 IN AAAA 2001:470:500::2
ns4.he.net. 86400 IN AAAA 2001:470:400::2
ns2.he.net. 86400 IN A 216.218.131.2
ns5.he.net. 86400 IN A 216.66.80.18
ns2.he.net. 86400 IN AAAA 2001:470:200::2
ns4.he.net. 86400 IN A 216.66.1.2
ns3.he.net. 86400 IN AAAA 2001:470:300::2

;; Query time: 94 msec
;; SERVER: 2001:470:300::2#53(2001:470:300::2)
;; WHEN: Fri Mar 25 13:57:22 2011
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 402

Are you saying you do NOT have that A record in he dns??

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beginner question - confusing DNS results