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Cache, Transfers, Domains, & DNS Propagation

Cache, Transfers, Domains & DNS Propagation

First of all please READ all of this. You may hate it, but it will help you know many things about the internet and browsers that will probably solve future issues and save wasted time sending Emails back and forth to support groups and webmasters.

What Is This About?

When a site is transferred from one server to the next I sometimes get clients and visitors complaining about not being able to login / log off, see the right page, etc. I hope to explain in BRIEF (So you do not get bored from technical jargon) why this happening and how to help get you to see the most up to date page.

The Technical Stuff

The internet is like a big index with IP numbers (IP = Internet Protocol) that are used to tell where the location of something is. When you see a domain like bordeglobal.com, the site you are on now, you are really seeing a name that represents an IP number like 196.186.1.1 for instance. Depending on which part of the world you are at, your ISP, and so forth these IP numbers which are set to the domain names are updated instantly or within 24-48 hours. Therefore, if bordeglobal.com moved to a new IP address someone in the East Coast might see the new IP address and therefore new domain right away while someone in the West Coast might have to wait 24 hours. This is due to DNS Propagation or in other words what you see may not be what someone else sees. No one has control over that, BUT there are some things you can do:

1. Patience. As difficult as that may seem in this fast paced world if you know a site is moving to a new server then do NOT keep reloading the domain expecting to see the new site. This actually causes propagation to reach your area SLOWER. Take a break go take a walk or something if you do not see the new site after doing the below.

2. Browsers. They like to cache old pages of sites (Keep records). This means if you visited a site a week ago the Browser's cache will try to use that old recorded page to try and assemble what you might want to look at today. This is especially true with style sheets that control colors and backgrounds.

3. Clearing Your Cache - How To

If you are using IE, I hate that browser, then you need to clear your browser cache and reload the page. Now rather than go into long details about that here look at the below (It opens in a new window) which has photos to guide you:

* Internet Explorer 6: How and Why to Clear Your Cache
* Internet Explorer 7: How and Why to Clear Your Cache
* IE 8 and FireFox versions: How and Why to Clear Your Cache

4. Sessions. Because of propagation sometimes your browser is confused as whether it is logged in or not in a site. Sometimes you need to do what is called CLEARING YOUR COOKIES. I'm not talking about cookie monster. Cookies is what is kept on your browser about the sites you visit. Sometimes things get messed up. Again, rather than write it all out I will share this page on how to fix that: Clear Cookies - All Browsers. Tip: In some cases if you have login trouble or find that you are asked to login often then ensure that you try logging OFF and then Logging ON again, sometimes do this process twice just to clear the sites session with your IP.

5. Using "WWW" Instead As silly as it may seem if you are accustomed to using Source 8 name to get to a site then you should try https://www.DOMAIN name instead. That may show you the latest page - the reverse is also true.

6. Your Firewall Or Browser Settings - Sometimes if these are set high you will find that no matter what you will not be able to login properly. Ensure that your firewall / browser ALLOWS you to connect to the site you are trying to view and not blocking it in any way. IE uses a system of zones:

Changing default security level for any zone, perform the following steps:

1. Open Internet Explorer
2. On the Tools menu, select Internet Options
3. Select the tab labeled Security
4. Select the zone which you want to change the default security level
5. Slide the bar to the security level that you want to use for that particular zone
6. Click Apply
7. Click OK

** Note that not all security levels are available for each zone.

7. Change your host file to tell Windows where to look for the new host.

This may work fast but it should only be done by someone technically inclined or you could mess up your accessibility to the net. For instance, on a Windows 7 machine go to:

C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\

There will be a hosts file there with an example of how to add a domain and the new IP address for it.

Manually Editing Security Settings for a Security Zone

To customize security options for a security zone in Internet Explorer:
(Note: this is only recommended for advanced users)

1. Open Internet Explorer
2. On the Tools menu, select Internet Options
3. Select the tab labeled Security
4. Select the zone which you want to edit the settings
5. Click Custom level"¦
6. Make desired changes
7. Click OK
8. Click Apply
9. Click OK
10. You need to close your browser and restart for changes to take effect

If after doing all of this you still do not see the new site others may be seeing then please consider #1. If after 48 hours you still have problems then ask the webmaster if there is anything he can do… There is a good way of doing that see the header below "Contacting Support / Webmaster"... BUT WAIT - you can still do more because more than likely the issue is on your end if you are more technically minded:

* What Is Open DNS?
* Open DNS Free Signup

Contacting Support / Webmaster

After more than a decade of web development and design I can tell you that I have received thousands of Emails requesting help for various internet related things. Most of them came with such little info that I could hardly find a solution so I ended up having to go back and forth via Email to try and find out what the REAL problem was. If you ever get errors or problems in general it is helpful that BEFORE you contact Support or the Site's Webmaster that you send the following information so they can BETTER HELP you:

1. What is the EXACT error message you got?
2. What page were you on when you got the error?
3. What were you trying to do?
4. What Browser do you have (Name, version)
5. Did you follow the steps above first before contacting support?

If you have question(s) feel free to Reply as detailed as possible below (Open for Guests as well).

Propagation DNS and Domains Transfers Cache

This information is some of the best I've read today or in a long while. I recently needed to open up a new site and JB pointed me here when I was getting some problems and this really opened my eyes to a lot of things I did not know. Thank you so much.

Cache, Transfers, Domains, & DNS Propagation Gaming Video & Issues Computer

You can also try flushing your DNS to get your own computer to release what it has on domain / IP association. Try any one of these depending on your OS:

Propagation DNS and Domains Transfers Cache

If while trying to flush your DNS you get this error:

Could not flush the DNS Resolved Cache: Function failed during execution

Then it means the service is not available in Windows. Try this:

1. From the Start menu go to Run and type services.msc

2. Double click the DNS Client and the DNS Client properties window will open.

3. Make sure the Startup type is set to Automatic

2. See if service status is Started. If not, just select the drop down menu, select Automatic and then click the Start button.

Propagation DNS and Domains Transfers Cache

Looking back at this topic I think we have come a long way. Propagation, domain transfer and all that is related happens a lot faster now like in seconds rather than hours or days. Even the cost associated with all that has changed a lot.