DNS returns "Server Failed"

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jeff Fink
  • Start date Start date
J

Jeff Fink

Was querying an A record on the net (www.laplink.com) and my server was
returning Server Failed. Using nslookup as a diagnostic tool, I found that
one of the laplink.com DNS servers is never returning an answer to me. But
the other one works fine. It seems though, that the MS DNS server gets
stuck on the one bad server and never tries the other one.

Anyone else seen this? Suggestions?
 
In
Jeff Fink said:
Was querying an A record on the net (www.laplink.com) and my server
was returning Server Failed. Using nslookup as a diagnostic tool, I
found that one of the laplink.com DNS servers is never returning an
answer to me. But the other one works fine. It seems though, that
the MS DNS server gets stuck on the one bad server and never tries
the other one.

Anyone else seen this? Suggestions?
Click to expand...

The way it works, if nslookup (or any other tool or app querying DNS)
returns a failure, that is actually an answer and will not go to the next
one. The only time it will go to the next one is if the server fails to
respond at all. Now are you specifying these two servers in your IP
properties? Is that what you mean it will not go to the next one?

Nameservers for laplink.com are:
ns06.laplink.com internet address = 198.102.199.124
ns03.laplink.com internet address = 198.102.199.123

I ran the same thing against laplink.com's nameservers and got a
timeout on 198.102.199.124, but not on 198.102.199.123, which was fine. I
even bumped up the timeout to 10 seconds trying it again on 198.102.199.124,
and still no answer.

So I then entered these two in my IP properties on my workstation (XP Pro
SP2), just to verify what you are saying, and put 198.102.199.124 (the bad
one) as my first entry. I put 198.102.199.123 (the good one) as my second
entry. I then did an nslookup and of course, it tries to initialize using
198.102.199.124 because that is my first entry, but it timed out, and it
immediately went to the second one, which is 198.102.199.123, and it was
able to do the query.

Maybe you can explain a little more on how you processed your query to
conclude it wouldn't go to the next one?

Thanks.

--
Regards,
Ace

Please direct all replies ONLY to the Microsoft public newsgroups
so all can benefit.

This posting is provided "AS-IS" with no warranties or guarantees
and confers no rights.

Ace Fekay, MCSE 2003 & 2000, MCSA 2003 & 2000, MCSE+I, MCT, MVP
Microsoft Windows MVP - Windows Server - Directory Services

Paramount: What's up with taking Enterprise off the air??
=================================
 
Jeff Fink said:
Was querying an A record on the net (www.laplink.com) and my server was
returning Server Failed. Using nslookup as a diagnostic tool, I found that
one of the laplink.com DNS servers is never returning an answer to me. But
the other one works fine. It seems though, that the MS DNS server gets
stuck on the one bad server and never tries the other one.

Anyone else seen this? Suggestions?
Click to expand...

As Ace says....

Remember this: All clients expect that EVERY DNS
server will return the SAME (and correct) answers.

The only time that clients use a "second" server is
when the first fails to answers AT ALL.

This is also generally true of servers who forward
to another server or query another server directly.

It is even true with conditional forwarding as long
as one recognizes that it ONLY affects those zones
in that "conditional" test.
[/QUOTE]
 
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