One Of The Blogger / Google Custom Domain DNS Servers Is Down

This afternoon, we started seeing some frantic problem reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

My custom domain published blog is not loading today. What is going on with your servers???

The numbers, of concerned blog owners, are relatively small, compared to normal custom domain publishing problems - but the concern is very real.

When we look at the DNS addresses for the domains involved, we see one common factor - a custom domain, relying solely on the Google Apps DNS server "216.239.32.21".

Long ago, I warned people about the dangers of relying on one single DNS server, for domain address resolution.

But not one server is going to be 100% reliable, or last forever. Every computer ever made, like every human born, will die, one day.

Now, we see just that, happening.

This is the correct DNS address setup, for your domain "mydomain.com".

mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.32.21
mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.34.21
mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.36.21
mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.38.21
www.mydomain.com. 3600 IN CNAME ghs.google.com.

This will work - for a while (but not this week).

mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.32.21
mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.34.21
mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.36.21
mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.38.21
www.mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.32.21

This will work - for a while (but not this week).

mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.32.21
www.mydomain.com. 3600 IN CNAME ghs.google.com.

This will work - for a while (but not this week).

blog.mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.32.21

None of the above three DNS address setups are working, right now - and here is why.

C:\>ping 216.239.32.21

Pinging 216.239.32.21 with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 216.239.32.21:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

Server "216.239.32.21" is not online.

Conversely,

C:\>ping 216.239.34.21

Pinging 216.239.34.21 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 216.239.34.21: bytes=32 time=25ms TTL=52
Reply from 216.239.34.21: bytes=32 time=23ms TTL=47
Reply from 216.239.34.21: bytes=32 time=24ms TTL=52
Reply from 216.239.34.21: bytes=32 time=34ms TTL=52

Ping statistics for 216.239.34.21:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 23ms, Maximum = 34ms, Average = 26ms

Server "216.239.34.21" is online.

C:\>ping 216.239.36.21

Pinging 216.239.36.21 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 216.239.36.21: bytes=32 time=49ms TTL=47
Reply from 216.239.36.21: bytes=32 time=45ms TTL=47
Reply from 216.239.36.21: bytes=32 time=25ms TTL=52
Reply from 216.239.36.21: bytes=32 time=23ms TTL=47

Ping statistics for 216.239.36.21:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 23ms, Maximum = 49ms, Average = 35ms

Server "216.239.36.21" is online.

C:\>ping 216.239.38.21

Pinging 216.239.38.21 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 216.239.38.21: bytes=32 time=45ms TTL=52
Reply from 216.239.38.21: bytes=32 time=71ms TTL=47
Reply from 216.239.38.21: bytes=32 time=46ms TTL=52
Reply from 216.239.38.21: bytes=32 time=24ms TTL=52

Ping statistics for 216.239.38.21:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 24ms, Maximum = 71ms, Average = 46ms

Server "216.239.38.21" is online.

If you specified "216.239.32.21" by itself, for a host address in your domain, that address is now down - except, possibly, for readers who use Firefox. One server ("216.239.32.21") is down - maybe intentionally - but the remaining three servers ("216.239.34.21", "216.239.36.21", and "216.239.38.21") are up. Google will continue as is, until "216.239.32.21" can be conveniently repaired or replaced.

It's Labour Day Weekend in the USA, and all is well - for everybody who specified all four servers for their domains.

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