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Find a DNS record's TTL value by querying one of its authoritative name servers.
With the 'dig' (domain information groper) command, it is possible to look up the TTL (time-to-live) value of a DNS record. For example, you may want to lookup the 'A' record for chrisburge.net.
The website migration described in this post provides a real-world example of how a reverse proxy server can facilitate a website migration and eliminate the lag caused by DNS propagation.
Summary
The client's situation is summarized below:
- Client has a WordPress site that continuously receives user-generated content in the form of comments
- Client is switching marketing agencies
- Client's old marketing agency is also his current webhost
- Client's DNS is hosted by his internet service provider (ISP)
- To update DNS records, the client must submit a ticket to the ISP
- It can take up to 24 hours for the ticket to be processed and completed.
Due to user-generated content, the client can't keep the website live on both the old web server and the new web server during propagation. A user post to the old web server would be lost.
DNS propagation can throw a wrench in a website migration or website launch. Clients don't like to hear that their customers may see either the new site or the old site for up to 48 hours during propagation.
This post will discuss two methods for addressing DNS propagation:
- Reduce TTL Value
- Route Traffic Through a Reverse Proxy Server