Why is My Public DNS Not Resolving for Home Networks?
Asked by
TechieTiger87
I'm facing a frustrating issue with my public DNS hostname. I have a record set up through GoDaddy that points to a public IP address I've used for VPN services in the past. Recently, I added another A record for a private IP address (192.168.200.X/24). While everything works fine when I check the DNS from work, it fails to resolve on home networks, instead showing the router's IP (like 192.168.1.1). I even tried changing the DNS settings to Google or Cloudflare's servers, and it resolves correctly then. Is it possible that home routers can't handle a private IP in a public DNS record, or is there something else going on? I've already flushed the DNS and rebooted, but no luck so far.
Answers
Your nslookup commands at work are pulling the correct DNS records, but when trying to connect from home, you're trying to reach a private IP directly from the public internet—this won't work. Running a traceroute should show you where it fails.
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It's worth asking why you’re including a private IP in your public DNS entry. Typically, home networks can't reach resources in a different private network unless they're connected via a VPN. You should really keep private IPs in a private DNS instead.
CuriousCoder: Exactly! Users will need a VPN to access those resources correctly. It's not a good idea to mix the two.
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Another important aspect is routing. You need to set up traffic forwarding on your router/firewall to access the internal IP. Generally, requests to a private IP can't be accessed externally unless it's through a VPN.
TechieTiger87: Good point! I think setting that up might clear this problem up.
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Don't forget that if you have multiple A records, it can lead to unexpected behavior. Your application might be defaulting to the first record it finds, which could be the private IP, causing it to fail. Consider trying to unify or structure your records differently!
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HomeHacker99: True! That could help pinpoint where the connection is breaking down.