IP Address Change for RPTools.net

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Azhrei
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IP Address Change for RPTools.net

Post by Azhrei »

This has caused problems for some folks because their ISP's DNS cache still has the old address. Here's a post that talks about a temporary solution until such time as your ISP's cache expires and is refreshed with new information.

The RPTools.net site was moved to new hardware recently by HostGator, our hosting provider. When they moved it the IP address changed. But the DNS records (that convert hostnames to IP addresses) are often cached for some time, anywhere from 24 hours up to a couple weeks.

The proper way to change the IP address of a public-facing site is to shrink the cache times prior to the move, change the IP address, then increase the cache times again.

For example, two weeks before the move the DNS time-to-live values should be dropped to one week. Then 7-8 days in advance, the TTL should drop to 2 days. Then 3-4 days in advance the TTL should drop to 24 hours. And then 36 hours in advance, they drop to 8 hours. Now when the IP address changes, all of the DNS records around the world will catch up within 8 hours. After the change happens, the DNS records are updated and the TTL is reset back to two weeks (or whatever it was originally). It seems HG didn't do this, but I don't have older DNS records so I can't know that for sure.

Sorry for the hassle. And if you make the change mentioned in that other post, please subscribe to that thread or this one and I'll post again when it appears that all caches are cleared and that will serve as your reminder to take out your temporary changes.

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zeroyazi
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Re: IP Address Change for RPTools.net

Post by zeroyazi »

I haven't dug around too much looking for an answer, so sorry if my assumption is wrong.

Would this change be why MapTools is showing the server public IP address as 74.54.95.210, a Hostgator address, instead of returning the real public IP of the server (from our ISP)?

I was able to recreate this same behavior on 3 different instances of 1.3.b89 on three different ISPs.

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aliasmask
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Re: IP Address Change for RPTools.net

Post by aliasmask »

Would using the direct connect bypass this problem?

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zeroyazi
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Re: IP Address Change for RPTools.net

Post by zeroyazi »

zeroyazi wrote:I haven't dug around too much looking for an answer, so sorry if my assumption is wrong.

Would this change be why MapTools is showing the server public IP address as 74.54.95.210, a Hostgator address, instead of returning the real public IP of the server (from our ISP)?

I was able to recreate this same behavior on 3 different instances of 1.3.b89 on three different ISPs.
To further clarify my question, when I say server public IP, I'm referring to a random GM server hosted by a user. Not the RPTools.net server.

When checking the "connection Information..." screen last week it worked correctly. I just think it's more than coincidence that the issue arises the same there are server changes and the public IP address that is returned now is a HostGator address.

Just curious. I will be looking into testing direct connections with players later on, but this connection information screen is handy to check the public IP at the start of a game. Saves time from having to jump into a web browser and pulling up a site that spends more time displaying ads than it does giving the address from the ISP.

Lee
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Re: IP Address Change for RPTools.net

Post by Lee »

zeroyazi wrote:I haven't dug around too much looking for an answer, so sorry if my assumption is wrong.

Would this change be why MapTools is showing the server public IP address as 74.54.95.210, a Hostgator address, instead of returning the real public IP of the server (from our ISP)?

I was able to recreate this same behavior on 3 different instances of 1.3.b89 on three different ISPs.
I forgot to comment about this on another thread as I found something odd on one of the resource pages on services.rptools.net. It has a copy of canyouseeme.org's webpage and loading it will reveal this Hostgator address, whereas going directly to canyouseeme will generate your real public IP. It might be that the registry service employs the trick of parsing a client's IP from this(?), and while it has long been reliable, it stopped being so due to a change.
aliasmask wrote:Would using the direct connect bypass this problem?
I hope I don't ninja Azhrei on this but someone reported success when using a direct connection; granting that the actual external IP of the game's host is used, along with the correct port.

Servicious
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Re: IP Address Change for RPTools.net

Post by Servicious »

I am very disappointed that it has become such a difficult service to set up. I still can't get the connection to work so that other distant players can join a game session. How long before this gets fixed so that it is once again simple to use?

I've tried all of the various fixes that have been posted and none seem to work.

Direct and LAN still work for local players.

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Azhrei
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Re: IP Address Change for RPTools.net

Post by Azhrei »

Servicious wrote:Direct and LAN still work for local players.
The rptools.net site and subdomains are back up and accessible. However, the DNS records have a TTL of 6 hours, so they will update around the world at different times and may take up to the full 6 hours to become visible. That means this subdomain, forums.rptools.net, but also the others like download.rptools.net (used for downloads), services.rptools.net (used for the MapTool registry), and library.rptools.net (used for Java Web Start launches). There are others as well.

Because MapTool has to register your server name with the web site, when the web site is down so is the registry. However, the only thing the registry does is provide a servername -> IP address translation. So there's no reason why you couldn't just give your players your external IP address directly. You would go to File > Connection Information... and then give your External IP Address to your players, along with whatever port number you're using. They would then use the Direct tab when they want to connect and type in that information.

(The registry simply fills in the Direct information for you. Much simpler, but workarounds are pretty easy.)

clippittee
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Re: IP Address Change for RPTools.net

Post by clippittee »

Changing the TTL on DNS settings to a minimum can cause BW issues too. It's better I think to leave it at default.

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