[thelist] DNS update - web is fine, mail goes to the old server

Hassan Schroeder hassan at webtuitive.com
Sat Jul 27 11:04:01 CDT 2002


Massimo Mezzini wrote:

> one of my clients asked me to move to e new hosting service a domain they've
> used so far only for mail. I updated the DNS information on the registrar servers but
> apparently it's not enough: whois shows the new info, the web URL finds the new
> server, but mail keeps going to the old server (where the account will be terminated
> tomorrow).

John Handelaar's explanation of the difference between CNAME, A, and
MX records is correct, but when I moved from one provider to another
a while back, I also noticed that even after my MX record change had
propogated, a lot of mail -- all of it from various bulk-ish sources
like news sites -- kept going to the old system.

I'm guessing that bulk mailers (even legitimate ones) cache mailhost
IP addresses to speed up transmission (an MX record lookup per mail
recipient would be both time-consuming and processor- and network-
intensive).

So if you're seeing only some mail going to the old system, that'd
be a possibility. If it's mail from individuals or test mail you're
sending that's being delivered to the old system, then you probably
have an incorrect MX record problem.

FWIW!
--
H*
Hassan Schroeder ----------------------------- hassan at webtuitive.com
Webtuitive Design ===  (+1) 408-938-0567   === http://webtuitive.com

     -- creating dynamic Web sites and applications since 1994 --





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