I run a large web site using iWeb for our national organization. Twice in the past year, our current ISP [Primus] has tinkered with the account for technical reasons I don't understand with the consequence that we have been 'down' for several days at a time until we are reindexed by the Internet. Every time they try to 'fix' something, they only make it worse. I'm fed up with this and am looking for better service from folks who know about forwarding to a CNAME, as required by Personal Domain Name hosting on MobileMe. Any suggestions? LeRoy has suggested Newsguy.com. Other possibilities? Thanks for your advice.
This isn't really a Apple/Mac issue, it's a Primus(Rogers!!!) issue with technical support, or the lack thereof. Primus was one of the best ISPs in Ottawa until they got neutered.
You can set up your own DNS management while still using Primus as your host - check out ZoneEdit.com, they are free for the first two DNS servers, and they will allow you to have complete control over A & AAAA records, MX records, SRV records, CNAMEs and nearly all other available record types. Or you can move your website somewhere else, probably at much lower cost and with much better tech support. GoDaddy, JustHost, the list is quite long - google "ten best web hosts" to get some ideas.
You can usually manage DNS through your ISP, but sometimes it's just easier to do it yourself.
Happy Mac'ing!
Dan
Thanks, Dan, for your reply. Yes, I realize that the issue I was facing was really at the Primus end, but I had a hard time trying to convince them of that. After all, they are 'experts', and I'm just a customer. As it turned out, I found the solution to the problem in an Apple Support document. Believe it or not, I was able to show them that they were not following their own procedures in registering our ANAME and CNAME, as required by iWeb. Three people, including the Technical Supervisor, refused to believe that it had anything to do with Primus and that it was all Apple's fault. As if! The solution, as I discovered, was amazingly simple. When I gave them our domain name for registration, I said it was, for example, 'XYZ.ca'. They then input the domain as exactly that. Primus, and other ISPs, will need to enter the domain as given, but followed by a final 'dot', as in "XYZ.ca." The final 'dot' is absolutely critical. When they tried that, our domain was again accessible in about an hour.
I am aware of Godaddy, and will look up the other '10 best' you suggest in the future if the situation warrants it.
Thanks, again.
Yes, that "dot" is the one variable - you either need it or you don't - and the only way to test it is "trial-and-error". Of course this has NOTHING to do with Apple - it's a DNS bug/feature that's been with us since DNS was devised.
I don't know what the problem is at Rogers/Primus, the one person who "gets it" is not always available, or maybe he's on vacation. The big problem, as I see it, is that instead of bona-fide network experts (B.Scs/Eng with CCNAs), they hire kids with MSCEs or A+ certification - which makes them expert on Windows... period.
We recently upgraded our Rogers network to Extreme, and had problems with their gateway - the SMC3DGN - and guess what? No one at Rogers really understands the device, and I have spent nearly a month trying to wring some performance out of this thing. I finally got it going, but with absolutely NO SUPPORT from Rogers. The stupid setup software is Windows-only, and doesn't work anyways, the Mac setup diagram (one) is from like OS X Jaguar(10.2!!!), it's a joke! Beware Rogers Extreme service - it's Extremely crappy.
The one good thing about this half of our duopoly (Bell/Rogers) is that at least you're speaking to Canadians who don't understand you or your equipment. Small mercies.
Happier Mac'ing!
Dan
Your troubles with Rogers Extreme service are puzzling. We did that several months ago and have had no problems at all. When I use SpeedTest.net to see how things are going, I consistently get upload speeds of 25mb/s even at the busy time of day, sometimes almost twice that in the 'off' hours'. Upload speed is a consistent 1 mb/s, as advertised, regardless of the time of day. For the moment, I am happy with Rogers, and am considering taking my Bell business to them.
Yes, it works "okay", as specified, with one or two wired clients, but the wireless router in this gateway is trash with no documentation and no user access to the configuration. If you are having no problems with this unit - count yourself lucky - check the Modems and Routers section of Rogers Community Feedback for more info.
Rogers best advice - disable the router and use it just as a modem, with your old router in front of it...
Best of luck with that unit - it does beat my old Bell 3G connection by a mile - when it works...
Happy Mac'ing
Dan