.gov registrar problem

Thu Dec 23 23:12:17 UTC 2010

In case anyone else notices spotty problems resolving .gov names, I
just sent the following message to registrar at dotgov.gov:

----

I started investigating a dns issue after we received a few customer
complaints regarding intermittent problems resolving hostnames under
noaa.gov.  After some in-depth investigation, I believe I’ve
identified the issue.

First, the query to see the list of authoritative name servers for .gov:

        # dig NS gov @c.root-servers.net

        ; <<>> DiG 9.6.1-P3 <<>> NS gov @c.root-servers.net
        ;; global options: +cmd
        ;; Got answer:
        ;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 53495
        ;; flags: qr rd; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 0, AUTHORITY: 7, ADDITIONAL: 7
        ;; WARNING: recursion requested but not available

        ;; QUESTION SECTION:
        ;gov.                           IN      NS

        ;; AUTHORITY SECTION:
        gov.                    172800  IN      NS      f.usadotgov.net.
        gov.                    172800  IN      NS      a.usadotgov.net.
        gov.                    172800  IN      NS      g.usadotgov.net.
        gov.                    172800  IN      NS      b.usadotgov.net.
        gov.                    172800  IN      NS      d.usadotgov.net.
        gov.                    172800  IN      NS      e.usadotgov.net.
        gov.                    172800  IN      NS      c.usadotgov.net.

        ;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
        a.usadotgov.net.        172800  IN      A       74.208.172.129
        b.usadotgov.net.        172800  IN      A       206.204.217.151
        c.usadotgov.net.        172800  IN      A       69.72.142.35
        d.usadotgov.net.        172800  IN      A       204.168.112.71
        e.usadotgov.net.        172800  IN      A       213.165.80.240
        f.usadotgov.net.        172800  IN      A       66.207.175.172
        g.usadotgov.net.        172800  IN      A       64.62.200.134

        ;; Query time: 9 msec
        ;; SERVER: 192.33.4.12#53(192.33.4.12)
        ;; WHEN: Thu Dec 23 17:37:59 2010
        ;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 258

The glue records show a.usadotgov.net with an ip of 74.208.172.129.

Next, using one of the authoritative name servers for usadotgov.net,
we resolve the a.usadotgov.net name:

        # dig a.usadotgov.net @DNSSEC7.DATAMTN.COM

        ; <<>> DiG 9.6.1-P3 <<>> a.usadotgov.net @DNSSEC7.DATAMTN.COM
        ;; global options: +cmd
        ;; Got answer:
        ;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 61276
        ;; flags: qr aa rd; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 6, ADDITIONAL: 10
        ;; WARNING: recursion requested but not available

        ;; QUESTION SECTION:
        ;a.usadotgov.net.               IN      A

        ;; ANSWER SECTION:
        a.usadotgov.net.        86400   IN      A       76.73.18.236

You can see that the ip address is incorrect for that hostname.  This
is going to cause an issue where some responses for .gov addresses
will come from a non-authoritative source and should be taken care of
as soon as possible as this could potentially affect all .gov domains.

--
Andy Harrison
Lead Systems Engineer
Metrocast Cablevision