vaheeD khoshnouD

We’ve all been there, that dreaded DNS switch can turn things from O.K. to disaster in a matter of seconds.

Through-out my time learning and my experience with DNS, I’ve curated a list of essential tools for trouble shooting common domain issues.

Domain Propagation Check via Dig

Using Dig, one can query a specific ISP DNS server, or public DNS server such as Google Public DNS or Level3 to check the status of domain propagation:

For instance, the following query:

dig @8.8.8.8 vaheed.net

Will result in:

; <<>> DiG 9.8.3-P1 <<>> @8.8.8.8 vaheed.net
; (1 server found)
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 21728
;; flags: qr aa rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 2, ADDITIONAL: 1

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;vaheed.net. IN A

;; ANSWER SECTION:
vaheed.net. 3600 IN A 109.125.179.14

;; AUTHORITY SECTION:
vaheed.net. 3600 IN NS ns0.xname.org.
vaheed.net. 3600 IN NS ns.faratar.net.

;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
ns.faratar.net. 86400 IN A 109.125.179.1

;; Query time: 13 msec
;; SERVER: 8.8.8.8#53(8.8.8.8)
;; WHEN: Mon Dec 31 17:44:33 2012
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 112

Additionally, one can check the status of a particular record, by issuing a query such as:

dig @8.8.8.8 MX vaheed.net

dig @8.8.8.8 TXT vaheed.net

Alternatively, you can use a tool such as the Global DNS Propagation Checker to check domain propagation against a list of international DNS servers (including Australia)

You can find a comprehensive list of recursive DNS servers here.

Detailed Status Reports of a Domain Name via IntoDNS or ViewDNS

If you would prefer a more detailed overview of a domain name, you could use a tool such as IntoDNS or ViewDNS to check the health of a domain name.

These tools offer a broader insight into the domain, highlighting any defects that it may encounter.

See it for yourself:

http://intodns.com/vaheed.net