OK, Computer geeks...

[trbig]

About 9 out of 10 times when I try to get on this site, I get this...





It happens to all 3 computers here at the house with 3 different operating systems on 4 different web browsers. Is it something with my router/modem or something with the internet company? It's done this with 2 different routers. I've not visited this website for weeks at a time due to this... which many may find nice. lol.

[motoman]

Had similar issues some tiime back. Replaced router, no joy. Service guy found it was always 'looking' for a phone service, which I don't use was affecting the wi-fi's ability,(however all that works). Once that was re-set out of system, all's good. Aparantly the original installer had got things wrong.
Other than that, I know just enough to get myself in trouble. Sorry, that wasn't much help.

[Gmac]

Try using the IP address

to see if you can reach it.

140.194.241.247

Just cut 'n paste it into the address bar.

[ekim]

This is my 'day job' ...

I am an "IT" guy by trade. Earned all the wrinkles and grey hairs.

The message is actually telling the problem in a subtle fashion.

For the average XSive:
There is a network problem and nothing you can do to fix it.
It is not your computer or router or home connection.

Oh and using the IP address previously posted will not work due to the method used by the provider to host the site.

Why...
When you browse to www.xs11.com, that address is translated to an IP address: 209.151.89.187
This is DNS (Domain Name System)
There is some geek stuff happening under the covers - worse than electrical carb issues :>)
This site does not have a dedicated IP address so you can not just use the address.
As an example, type this into your browser address bar:
74.125.239.51
These folks have a dedicated (static) IP address.

This site has an issue with the way its DNS is configured and being updated.
The failure you see is that www.xs11.com can not be looked up and consistently give an answer. The lookup fails and sends the error message to your browser.

I can help the site admin try and fix this...
- send me a private message

BTW, I usually experience this when I am on my Verizon smart phone.
My comcast home connection has been pretty reliable

[Jerry]

I have never had a DNS problem and I check in on the site almost every day. I suspect this may be an internet service provider (ISP) issue.

As was mentioned before, many site hosting companies use a public IP such as 209.151.89.187 that get routed to an internal IP. In theory the public IP isolates the internal IP for security, but it also means the internal IP can change as long as the firewall routing (public to private ip) is modified. This happens quite often as servers undergo upgrades or new servers are created to replace old ones.

However, the public IP should never change, or very rarely change. It is registered with the powers that be that control internet numbers, ICANN. If your browser cannot find the public IP it is probably not the fault of the hosting site.

If your ISP has not updated the entries in their "forward lookup zones," or they are incorrect, the public IP numbers of the hosting service will not resolve correctly.

There are also timing issues involved; a slow connection will "time out" before it can get an answer from the authoritative servers. This can give you a 404 (page not found) error.

By the way, XS11.com uses the domain name services of a Denver-based company called Data 393. Web site is http://www.aboutus.org/Data393.net

I would contact my ISP and tell them you are having a problem connecting to known active web sites and have them check their settings. You may also want to run a connection speed test just to verify your upload and download speeds; there are many free test available from the web. I use this one:
http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/
but there are many others and I have two more that I use as backup tests.

If you are techie enough, you can fix this problem locally by modifying your computer's "Hosts" file. This is a file that contains IP-to-name information and your computer looks to this file first, before it goes to the internet, to find IP information. (It speeds up loading web sites since your browser does not have to wait for an answer from an internet server.) Article on how to do this for Windows 7 is at http://helpdeskgeek.com/windows-7/windows-7-hosts-file/

And yes, I still modify my Hosts file to include my favorite sites, including XS11.com

[trbig]

Been trying all day to get back on here. Finally got on, did the speed test thing, and hit reply... "XS11 not available". (&*@%^$

[BA80]

You've been banned.......

[Jerry]

One perk for working with a local government agency...

We have decent internet access speeds.

Even at home I get near 100mbps (Usually upper 90s) download speeds and that is a cable modem line provided by Century Link. Trbig, it looks to me like your numbers are very low. I would contact my ISP and / or look at your contract to see what kind of throughput you are contracted for. I am not an expert on residential lines, but I've never seen a contract for less than 100mbps download speeds. Upload speeds are generally lower as ISP services are generally optimized for web browsing which requires higher download speeds. If you are contracted at a lower level I would find out how much more it would be to bump up your connection speed.

I am guessing your connection is not receiving its DNS info fast enough and is timing out.

[BA80]

That's a good point. My internet slowed and slowed and then quit and I called for a repair man to come out and he found that a branch had opened up the cable from the pole and the wire was full of water. He replaced the line in and it's fine now.

[trbig]

Jerry,

Though your answer sounds good and my reduced internet speeds sound like an easy thing to blame, out of every website I go to and every forum I'm a member of, day in and day out, THIS website is the only problem I ever have and the only site I get that notice from. Ever.

[Jerry]

I don't know why only 1 site would be affected; as I mentioned earlier I have never had a problem contacting XS11.com provided the server was up and running. Somewhere along the line your connection is not getting the name to IP number resolution for the site. I don't believe this is a site hosting problem but something in your ISP's set up.

An option is to enter the IP number instead of the name in your browser's address bar, so instead of entering xs11.com enter 209.151.89.187. This bypasses the process of a server going out and translating the name into an IP number.

Just out of curiosity, another test you can do is a 'ping' test. You need to open a command prompt (start, type cmd into the command line, press enter key) and type ping 209.151.89.187 (or xs11.com, you can ping by name) then hit your Enter key.

You should get back a series of replies from your PC to the web site. Should look like this:

************************
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\jfields>ping 209.151.89.187

Pinging 209.151.89.187 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 209.151.89.187: bytes=32 time=7ms TTL=54
Reply from 209.151.89.187: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=54
Reply from 209.151.89.187: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=54
Reply from 209.151.89.187: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=54

Ping statistics for 209.151.89.187:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 6ms, Maximum = 7ms, Average = 6ms

C:\Users\jfields>
******************

Ping other sites, such as Google, and compare the results. In my case, the results are nearly identical:

********************
C:\Users\jfields>ping google.com

Pinging google.com [216.58.217.32] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 216.58.217.32: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=56
Reply from 216.58.217.32: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=56
Reply from 216.58.217.32: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=56
Reply from 216.58.217.32: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=56

Ping statistics for 216.58.217.32:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 6ms, Maximum = 6ms, Average = 6ms

C:\Users\jfields>
*****************

Lost packets should always be 0 (zero), anything else indicates a problem along the route. This can include a bad port on a switch or modem or a bad network cable, among other things.

I had a 4-port modem that developed a bad port; plugging the cable into a different port solved the problem of slow or dropping connections. Don't overlook the simple stuff.

There is some disagreement, but a Maximum = value should be under 200 - 250ms.

Check your cable; someplace on it will be something that says "cat xx" and if it is anything under cat 5e then replace the cable with one rated cat 5e or cat 6.

You may want to contact your ISP and have them run the same tests. Tell them you are having problems getting to this site and have them run some diagnostics.

Let me know if you ever find an answer.

[trbig]

I understand where you're going, Jerry, but something has changed. I never got this message when I had even dial-up. I just don't think speed is the problem. If it were, it'd be a problem with other sites as well.

[ViperRon]

The problem is with the server supplying Domain Name Services to you. Typically when you have internet you either get primary and secondary DNS server ip addresses or the default router is used and that has a line to route you to their server. You can use the default configuration on your router or your PC and it will get the address for DNS from your ISP (internet service provider) the problem that often happens is the people who give you internet service are high demand networks and they have many things that can slow down response. They have different protocol's on how the information is routed and many tunable characteristics that can speed up or slow down service. They have programs to protect you from spam pop ups and viruses that have an effect on how fast you get response. If your response is delayed too long it times out and it is Not found.

A way around this on most networks is either get a good IP address and make an entry into the Host file on the PC but even this fails if the address of XS11.com changes. A different way is to cheat and use a high powered server on the internet to do your Name Services (Change name to physical IP address for the PC to find). To do this you go into your Adaptor settings TCP IP configuration for the network interface on your PC and where it asks about DNS services choose use preferred DNS and set primary and secondary to someone like Google Primary DNS 8.8.8.8 secondary 8.8.4.4. What this does is bypass your ISP (Internet service Provider) and get name to address service from Google. You can normally use any DNS servers that are accessible on the internet. Different releases of Windows use different screens for configuration of network adaptors you can use help to read up on procedure for your version by looking up (change DNS Settings and network) and it should give you the sequence of screens to go though. Hope this makes sense to at least some of you.

Do not USE a government or state DNS server address because if the network engineer at that site gets confused on why your PC is connecting to their network it may not be a good day!

[ekim]

It is an xs11.com issue

Folks have posted a lot of good information on DNS configuration and usage for the users PC etc. The changes suggested will improve overall performance, usage and stability but NOT this issue.

The issue is on how DNS is configured for the domain xs11.com.
The DNS lookup information is not being properly propagated across the internet. It still works correctly for some ISPs and the lookup techniques that they use.

This is an unusual scenario and may be a result of a change of the hosting provider.

The site admin needs to add an NS record.

Given the current records:

Source Of Authority (SOA)
SOA 	xs11.com 	ns1.neenernet.com

Nameserver records (NS)
Non-authoritative answer:
 xs11.com	nameserver = ns3.vosn.net.
 xs11.com	nameserver = ns4.vosn.net.

The server: ns1.neenernet.com
needs to be include in the NS records.

Some ISPs (internet providers) adhere to the standards and the current configuration is incomplete and may cause lookup problems. The SOA server should also be included as an Nameserver (NS) record.

PC configuration issues would affect all website look ups.
I see the problem when I use my Verizon 4G smart phone.
The phone has no ability for me to change network settings. The settings are all pushed from the Verfizon network.
I think Verizon would be strict on adhering to standards in their configuration.

[trbig]

...the problem that often happens is the people who give you internet service are high demand networks and they have many things that can slow down reThey have different protocol's on how the information is routed and many tunable characteristics that can speed up or slow down service. They have programs to protect you from spam pop ups and viruses that have an effect on how fast you get response. If your response is delayed too long it times out and it is Not found. sponse.

Again, Ron, if this scenario were correct, I'd have this problem with other sites as well. I appreciate the response though.

Most of what you guys have written is way over my head. I wrote my ISP (Understood that much of it anyway... lol) and they emailed back and said to call them. I'll do that at some point next week and see what they have to say, and hopefully I'll understand some of it. This has been going on since way back when the site did some hosting changes and posted the sticky asking if anyone had problems accessing the site. I've posted a couple times in there of my problems, but nobody seems to have listened.. or cared at least. lol