Issues with my domain

Hello everyone,

I have my own domain, the server of which provides my webpage (updated every few mins automatically via FTP) and my email accounts.

A very annoying issue has cropped up where I lose access to my domain from my home connection.
I know it's not my hosting company, because I can still connect using my mobile using mobile data, and if I ask my friends, they can still access my website.
I, however cannot, my FTP fails as does fetching of email.

It is definitely a problem with my BT connection. But.. all other webpages load absolutely fine.

Rebooting my BT router solves the problem, though it may take 2-3 attempts to do so. It's annoying as it takes 5 mins for the router to start up and reconnect every time (is this normal?!)

This only started happening a few months ago but it's every other morning now. Seems to start failing mid-evening on most occasions.

I can't yet bring myself to phone BT support as I know I will only get a script monkey who will not understand my problem.

Can anyone give me any pointers? Could it be something that e.g. updating the firmware in the router might fix?

You could try flushing your DNS when it happens.

Are you using Googles DNS Server, your IP of the server might of changed for some reason, or maybe the DNS Server had issues updating like Googles DNS Server are run on several servers and if its not updated on all DNS Servers it would be hit and miss when trying to access.

Also when you connect to your server is it by IP or Domain ?

So when it next has issues try connecting via FTP using the IP address and also try flushing your DNS Cache.

To flush your DNS Cache on your PC type "ipconfig /flushdns" (without the quotes) in a command prompt.

Paul

Thanks for your comments.

It's not my PC, its a problem on the router affecting ALL machines on my network, and all services to my domain.. FTP, POP, email, webpage.

I could try flushing the DNS on the router, I guess..... I'll have a look later and see if I can do that.

Can you ping the site normally but not when the issue occurs?

If so, I would recommend tracing it at both times to see if the route changes.

Could the host be blocking your IP for a period of time and although you checked on another connection, if it was an IP block, that would work normally.

Matt

In reply to a post by Jim_AFCB:

Thanks for your comments.

It's not my PC, its a problem on the router affecting ALL machines on my network, and all services to my domain.. FTP, POP, email, webpage.

I could try flushing the DNS on the router, I guess..... I'll have a look later and see if I can do that.

If its a bad DNS Cache it could affect all PC on your network, assuming they are using the same DNS Servers, hence me asking did you flush the DNS Cache, it a PC Cache not a router one.

Paul

In reply to a post by uno:

Can you ping the site normally but not when the issue occurs?

If so, I would recommend tracing it at both times to see if the route changes.

Could the host be blocking your IP for a period of time and although you checked on another connection, if it was an IP block, that would work normally.

Matt

Maybe his server is blacklisting his BT IP (assuming his BT connection is dynamic) I know all the BT IP's I have had have all been blacklisted due to being dynamic and a few other issues.

So maybe his mail, ftp etc checks for blacklisting.

Paul

If the IP address is shared i.e. not uncommon with some economy hosting packages then it may be that another site is being blacklisted and you get caught in the fall-out

Usually if a domain query fails the thing to do is verify whether connectivity exists at the IP level.

Thanks all.

If my hosting co has blacklisted (temporarily) my BT IP, then this would obviously affect all my services?
I initially raised a ticket with my hosting company and they said it was the router.... I may raise another ticket and ask them to confirm that there is no way that they are blocking BT IPs for any reason.

What would a ping come back with if my IP *was* blocked??

If I do a traceroute, what am I looking for?

A reply on the BT forum has suggested a complete reset of my BT hub. I'll wait on that for now and see what happens with the suggestions made on this forum.

The suggestion was more that BT had added the IP to one of its block lists, not the hosting company.

A ping would come back with timeouts, so you need to
a) Know if the host responds to ping normally via IP address and via host name
b) Whether your hosting is a shared IP service or if you have a dedicated IPv4 address
c) Traceroute will eventually sit there timing out

If the DNS on the hub has been poisoned then just a turn off and turn on should resolve this rather than needing to reset to factory defaults

Thanks Andrew.
.

A reboot of the modem normally sorts it, but sometimes needs 2 or 3 attempts.
If I ping my www or ftp by name it comes back with an IP number. I will see if it, or my BT IP changes after a reboot next time the issue occurs.

I assume I use a shared IP service,.. I will ask them.

Do a tracert when it is working and save it.

When it stops working do another tracert. Post them both here.

It may be that sometimes you are connected to a part of the BT network that has a dodgy routing table and so cannot "get to" the servers. Rebooting the router (perhaps multiple times) could put you on a different part of the network that uses a different route and therefore "resolve" the issue.

Thanks.
Have saved a working tracert.

Bet the issue doesn't recur for days now.....

In reply to a post by Jim_AFCB:

(updated every few mins automatically via FTP)

Some web hosts view frequent FTP attempts/logins as an "attack" and triggers the firewall to block the IP address for a period of time, locking you out of all services on their IP address (FTP, email, etc).

I've certainly seen it on some web hosts where I upload a succession of edits in a short period and the FTP times out quickly after a minute or so, forcing me to reconnect each time and trip the firewall limit.

Interesting point.

Never had this issue when on a fixed IP with Sky. It may be that this is a recent change by my hosting company, but wouldnt explain why it only happens on random days. My weather website is updated every 5 mins like clockwork.

I may ask them to take a look at their logs next time this happens.

In reply to a post by Jim_AFCB:

Interesting point.

Never had this issue when on a fixed IP with Sky. It may be that this is a recent change by my hosting company, but wouldnt explain why it only happens on random days. My weather website is updated every 5 mins like clockwork.

I may ask them to take a look at their logs next time this happens.

Might be CGNAT that has some weird intermittent issues with FTP etc.

Paul

I thought BT had abandoned CGNAT ages ago.

Andrew

Edited by andew (Fri 10-Aug-18 10:01:37)

I also believe it never went beyond a trial.

It fairly easy for the OP to check if they're subject to CGNAT: the WAN address will be in the RFC6898 range 100.64.0.0/10 (100.64.0.1-100.127.255.254)

In reply to a post by DougM:

I also believe it never went beyond a trial.

It fairly easy for the OP to check if they're subject to CGNAT: the WAN address will be in the RFC6898 range 100.64.0.0/10 (100.64.0.1-100.127.255.254)

I know when joined BT 3 to 5 years back we were on it and had loads of issues, phoned BT and they knew we was on it and move us off it and then everything started working.

But not sure if they are still using it or not.

Paul

Was only ever used for the entry level usage limited products

Also try accessing the server as usual then wait for it to break and make a note of your current connection IP and when you can access your server again, check its logs and look for your IP and if it logged see why.

Paul

Thanks for that tip.

Had another instance overnight.

Here is tracert with things working normally -

Tracing route to g0ofe.com [185.119.111.8]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 5 ms 3 ms 11 ms BThomehub.home [192.168.1.254]
2 * * * Request timed out.
3 * * * Request timed out.
4 12 ms 11 ms 11 ms 31.55.185.176
5 12 ms 12 ms 12 ms core1-hu0-15-0-8.colindale.ukcore.bt.net [213.121.192.12]
6 12 ms 12 ms 12 ms peer7-et-0-1-6.telehouse.ukcore.bt.net [109.159.252.166]
7 13 ms 13 ms 13 ms 62.72.139.85
8 13 ms 13 ms 13 ms te2-3.cr05.te1.bb.gxn.net [62.72.137.14]
9 13 ms 13 ms 13 ms te2-3.cr05.te1.bb.gxn.net [62.72.137.14]
10 17 ms 17 ms 17 ms 112.132.241.212.adsl.cix.gxn.net [212.241.132.112]
11 16 ms 16 ms 16 ms 185.119.111.2
12 18 ms 18 ms 18 ms svr8.theemailshop.co.uk [185.119.111.8]


Tracert no worky:

Tracing route to g0ofe.com [185.119.111.8]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 1 ms 1 ms 1 ms BThomehub.home [192.168.1.254]
2 * * * Request timed out.
3 * * * Request timed out.
4 11 ms 10 ms 10 ms 31.55.185.188
5 10 ms 10 ms 10 ms core2-hu0-15-0-6.colindale.ukcore.bt.net [213.121.192.32]
6 10 ms 10 ms 10 ms peer7-et-3-1-7.telehouse.ukcore.bt.net [109.159.252.172]
7 11 ms 13 ms 11 ms te0-2-0-4.cr15.tn5.bb.daisyplc.net [62.72.139.9]
8 12 ms 13 ms 14 ms te2-3.cr05.te1.bb.gxn.net [62.72.137.14]
9 12 ms 12 ms 12 ms te2-3.cr05.te1.bb.gxn.net [62.72.137.14]
10 17 ms 19 ms 16 ms 112.132.241.212.adsl.cix.gxn.net [212.241.132.112]
11 64 ms 48 ms 16 ms 185.119.111.2
12 * * * Request timed out.
13 * * * Request timed out.
14 * * * Request timed out.
15 * * * Request timed out.
16 * * * Request timed out.
17 * * * Request timed out.
18 * * * Request timed out.
19 * * * Request timed out.
20 * * * Request timed out.
21 * * * Request timed out.
22 * * * Request timed out.
23 * * * Request timed out.
24 * * * Request timed out.
25 * * * Request timed out.
26 * * * Request timed out.
27 * * * Request timed out.
28 * * * Request timed out.
29 * * * Request timed out.
30 * * * Request timed out.

Trace complete.


===============================================

I think I have my answer. Going to go to my cpanel and see if I can get anything out of my logs, and also raise a ticket with my hosting company.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread.

Well I just did a trace route shown below:

tracert g0ofe.com

Tracing route to g0ofe.com [185.119.111.8]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

  1    <1 ms    <1 ms    <1 ms  Yazoo [192.168.2.253]
  2     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  3     4 ms     4 ms     6 ms  31.55.186.177
  4     4 ms     4 ms     4 ms  31.55.186.176
  5     4 ms     4 ms     4 ms  core4-hu0-16-0-3.faraday.ukcore.bt.net [195.99.127.206]
  6     6 ms     7 ms     6 ms  peer7-et-3-1-3.telehouse.ukcore.bt.net [62.6.201.230]
  7     5 ms     5 ms     5 ms  62.72.139.85
  8     6 ms     6 ms     6 ms  te2-3.cr05.te1.bb.gxn.net [62.72.137.14]
  9     6 ms     5 ms     5 ms  te2-3.cr05.te1.bb.gxn.net [62.72.137.14]
 10     7 ms     8 ms     6 ms  112.132.241.212.adsl.cix.gxn.net [212.241.132.112]
 11     8 ms     8 ms     8 ms  185.119.111.2
 12     8 ms     9 ms     9 ms  ns1.theemailshop.co.uk [185.119.111.8]

Trace complete.

So I don't think it's a BT issue.

I say try reading the server logs to see if your connection IP pops up in there, if so see what it says about it.

Paul

You had CGNAT with BT?
That's extremely unlikely.

It was only trialled, only only a single specific product (BT Total Option 1) and there was an automatic opt-out page for it.

BT Option 1 had a 10GB usage limit at the time.

Thanks.

It's clearly an issue with the hosting co, I have been in discussions with them and I am hoping that with the next blocking episode, I will pass them the IP number and they will be able to tell me what is causing it.

At the moment, they are saying it must be repeated logins with incorrect credentials five times in quick succession, but I don't see how that can be the case, given that it usually begins when I am no longer up and about, and the automated (FTP) connection is set up correctly.

Wierd.

I have been through my CPanel, and there appears to be no information about any blocked connections etc, available to me.

Edited by deleted (Sun 12-Aug-18 17:27:12)

In reply to a post by j0hn83:

You had CGNAT with BT?
That's extremely unlikely.

It was only trialled, only only a single specific product (BT Total Option 1) and there was an automatic opt-out page for it.

BT Option 1 had a 10GB usage limit at the time.

Yep, we had it (well at least for 4 days) on ADSL2+, BT even confirmed we were on it at the time when they removed us from it.

And yeah I was aware of the opt out page.

Paul

Seems I am no further forward with this.

My hosting company tell me that the IP I am connecting with is NOT being blocked, according to their logs, They only log "non-performing IPs" in their firewall logs.

That is the only reply I get from them after 3 attempts.

I have asked them to provide me with the IP currently being used to connect to my FTP, so I can see if it matches with my current IP according to "What is my IP" but I had no response to the question.
They are not being terribly helpful with this siiue, and didn't even refer to the Tracerts I provided and then subsequently mentioned again.

Ummmm. I suggest you change your hosting company.

It appears to be The Email Shop, which says it is "part of" Grid Hosting Ltd. (The link is to Trust Pilot where The Email Shop say this).

I looked up that company on the Companies House website and didn't like what I saw in the last couple of years accounts. So also looked them up on Company Check which gives far more detail and some graphics.

They seem to me to be going downhill quite rapidly. Falling from a net worth of minus £53 in August 2010 to minus £10,649 in August 2017. (August 2018 accounts are not due until 31 May 2019).

It's also worth noting in the first link that they have only one customer review on Trust Pilot. Posted this year by one of the directors of Grid Hosting LOL.

I think he and his pals took over the company at some stage, with that being officially registered at Companies House at the end of October 2017.

Just out of interest, what is your weather site please ?

Edited by RobertoS (Thu 30-Aug-18 15:10:53)

It's www.g0ofe.com/weather

I've been with them since 2009 and they have always been fine up til now.

Don't really want to have to move hosting companies, as my email accounts are all on my domain as well. Would be a real pain if my email services suffer an interruption during any move.

It shouldn't take long to do a move and cause minimal disruption - if you plan the DNS changes well and set a short time to live on the entries prior to the move then it should be fairly seemless. Big companies who rely on email do it and survive.

Looks good .

I'll have a think about the move. I'm sending you a PM in a moment.

It would be even more of a pain if your email services suffered interruption if the host ceased trading as it would be a very unplanned move. And if you have your domain registered through them, even worse.

I have migrated a number of companies to Office 365 and as has been said, with the right planning and preparation there should be no mail loss and little inconvenience.

If you were getting amazing support I'd say don't worry so much but as it sounds like they aren't very helpful I'd ensure your mail is secure and your website recoverable.

In terms of the problem it's an odd one. If you don't reboot your router when the connection fails, does it ever start working or are you blocked forever? And I presume you are blocked from your mobile on wifi, but I see your mobile on mobile data works. Do.you have any devices or software that you may have forgotten about which could be doing failed logins; a tablet or different mail software (eg/ Windows Mail when you usually use Outlook) could be causing invalid logins? Does the host's answer just relate to them not seeing any failed FTP logins, or were they implying no failed logins for any service?

It only starts working again when I disconnect/reconnect and get as new IP. I've not tried leaving it to see if it gets unblocked of its own accord.

Yes I connect fine using mobile data or if I open a Tor browser.

I am due to renew in a couple of months, so I have a decision to make in the meantime.

Thanks for everyone's input into this thread.