A and H root-servers.net giving out bad information?

[Mark.Andrews at nominum.com]

	cdr.stanford.edu is registered in the whois database.

drugs:freebsd {379} % whois cdr.stanford.edu

Whois Server Version 1.3

Domain names in the .com, .net, and .org domains can now be registered
with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net
for detailed information.

   Server Name: CDR.STANFORD.EDU
   IP Address: 36.93.0.31
   Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, INC.
   Whois Server: whois.networksolutions.com
   Referral URL: www.networksolutions.com


>>> Last update of whois database: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 04:45:28 EDT <<<


> 
> Hello,
>     Thanks in advance for your help -- and your patience. For a while
> now I have been having periodic problems getting through to a mail
> server at Stanford University, though no one else complained of any
> difficulties.  A couple weeks ago I finally noticed that when those
> problems occurred, my email program(s) were using an old and now bad IP
> address (36.93.0.31) rather than the new one (171.64.48.31) for
> cdr.stanford.edu. 
>      More than a few moons ago IIRC stanford.edu made the final switch
> from using all of 36.x.x.x to smaller hunk of the IP space in
> 171.x.x.x.  I could not figure out where and why my name servers were
> getting the old IP address -- until tonight:  For some reason
> A.root-servers.net (and H) is giving out the now bogus IP address. Thus
> every so often when my DNS server happen to decide to go to A or H
> rather than another root-server,  it caches a bogus value until it
> expires, or I notice and flush the cache.  
>      Is there something special about A and H that make them cling to
> old records?   For that matter, if this isn't too a dumb question, why
> would A and H give an answer rather than just an Authoritative Record
> like the rest of the root-servers?
> 
> Thank you again,
> 
> Joe
> 
> PS, below are the results of a couple digs.  Note that I think in the
> past cdr.stanford.edu ran a name server though it doesn't anymore.
> --
> dig @a.root-servers.net cdr.stanford.edu
> 
> ; <<>> DiG 2.2 <<>> @a.root-servers.net cdr.stanford.edu
> ; (1 server found)
> ;; res options: init recurs defnam dnsrch
> ;; got answer:
> ;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 10
> ;; flags: qr rd; Ques: 1, Ans: 1, Auth: 3, Addit: 3
> ;; QUESTIONS:
> ;;      cdr.stanford.edu, type = A, class = IN
> 
> ;; ANSWERS:
> cdr.stanford.edu.       172800  A       36.93.0.31
> 
> ;; AUTHORITY RECORDS:
> STANFORD.EDU.   172800  NS      AVALLONE.STANFORD.EDU.
> STANFORD.EDU.   172800  NS      ATALANTE.STANFORD.EDU.
> STANFORD.EDU.   172800  NS      ARGUS.STANFORD.EDU.
> 
> ;; ADDITIONAL RECORDS:
> AVALLONE.STANFORD.EDU.  172800  A       171.64.2.210
> ATALANTE.STANFORD.EDU.  172800  A       171.64.2.220
> ARGUS.STANFORD.EDU.     172800  A       171.64.2.230
> 
> ;; Total query time: 76 msec
> ;; FROM: java to SERVER: a.root-servers.net  198.41.0.4
> ;; WHEN: Mon Sep 11 01:56:05 2000
> ;; MSG SIZE  sent: 34  rcvd: 176
> ---
> dig @i.root-servers.net cdr.stanford.edu
> 
> ; <<>> DiG 2.2 <<>> @i.root-servers.net cdr.stanford.edu
> ; (1 server found)
> ;; res options: init recurs defnam dnsrch
> ;; got answer:
> ;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 10
> ;; flags: qr rd; Ques: 1, Ans: 0, Auth: 3, Addit: 3
> ;; QUESTIONS:
> ;;      cdr.stanford.edu, type = A, class = IN
> 
> ;; AUTHORITY RECORDS:
> STANFORD.edu.   172800  NS      AVALLONE.STANFORD.edu.
> STANFORD.edu.   172800  NS      ATALANTE.STANFORD.edu.
> STANFORD.edu.   172800  NS      ARGUS.STANFORD.edu.
> 
> ;; ADDITIONAL RECORDS:
> AVALLONE.STANFORD.edu.  172800  A       171.64.2.210
> ATALANTE.STANFORD.edu.  172800  A       171.64.2.220
> ARGUS.STANFORD.edu.     172800  A       171.64.2.230
> 
> ;; Total query time: 165 msec
> ;; FROM: java to SERVER: i.root-servers.net  192.36.148.17
> ;; WHEN: Mon Sep 11 02:21:19 2000
> ;; MSG SIZE  sent: 34  rcvd: 160
> 
> -- 
> James Joseph Wagner, President            Web: http://www.hypertouch.com
> Hypertouch(R) Inc.                  Voice/FAX: (650) 367 - 6664
> 
> 
--
Mark Andrews, Nominum Inc.
1 Seymour St., Dundas Valley, NSW 2117, Australia
PHONE: +61 2 9871 4742                 INTERNET: Mark.Andrews at nominum.com