PlusNet DNS servers take ages to update

[#1]

Hi All,
I have had to move the hosting of a website around the world a couple of times recently.  The DNS hosting was in New Zealand and although I can traceroute it to the new UK server happily from a number of US, UK and European servers, I cannot do so from my home.
This is not an one off.  I have noticed that the PN DNS servers take their time to update.  How long should this propagation take to be considered acceptable?
PS.  Please don't give me the scripted answer of "up to 48 hours" . . . when many other networks around the world are rather more responsive than that.
--
Regards,
Mick

[#2]

Quote from: MickKi

PS.  Please don't give me the scripted answer of "up to 48 hours" . . . when many other networks around the world are rather more responsive than that.

Considering that you are asking help from other community members, you could have phrased that a little better, and I am sure that you would have received a faster response.
Personally I have seen the PlusNet servers up date in less that a couple of hours, but that may have been lucky timing, otherwise about 6 hours is more typical.
How long have you waited?
Which servers are you using? please post up their IP addresses from memory PlusNet have at least 4 and I believe that some of them  cache.
It may also be helpful to post up the domains that you are having issues with.
Chilly

[#3]

Quote from: chillypenguin

Quote from: MickKi PS.  Please don't give me the scripted answer of "up to 48 hours" . . . when many other networks around the world are rather more responsive than that. Considering that you are asking help from other community members, you could have phrased that a little better, and I am sure that you would have received a faster response.

Sorry, I didn't mean this in a sarcky way.  All I'm saying is that all/most DNS hosting control panels advise their users that it can take up to 48 hours for new DNS settings to propagate across the Internet.  However, these days they seem to go through in less than a couple of hours.

Quote from: chillypenguin

Personally I have seen the PlusNet servers up date in less that a couple of hours, but that may have been lucky timing, otherwise about 6 hours is more typical. How long have you waited?

I would say that the last time I tried this (yesterday) it took around six hours, while US & European DNS servers had been updated in no more than two hours.  Earlier in the week I made some changes at work and I still couldn't see the new server when I got home, through the plusnet network.  I think it was around eight o'clock at night before it came through.  On both occasions the original DNS hosting control panel where I was making the nameserver changes was in New Zealand.

Quote from: chillypenguin

Which servers are you using? please post up their IP addresses from memory PlusNet have at least 4 and I believe that some of them  cache.

Peer address=195.166.128.53
DNS: Primary=212.159.6.10, Secondary=212.159.6.9
All plusnet DNS seem to be caching servers, (from whois): 
descr:        Telehouse North Caching DNS Server(s)
Anyway, the six hours you mention partly answers my question.  Thank you for your help.
--
Regards,
Mick

[#4]

So if PN DNS are caching is the time taking to propagate determined by the TTL settings that you have set on your DNS server?

[#5]

Other than my router, I am not running a caching server on my LAN.
When I look into my router settings, it seems to have cached these addresses:

ns1.force9.net	195.166.128.16	Dynamic 
ns2.force9.net	195.166.128.17	Dynamic

  Now I don't know how these relate to the DSN PlusNet servers on 212.159.6.10 and 212.159.6.9 - I am at a risk of confusing myself here. 
--
Regards,
Mick

[#6]

ns1 & ns2.force9.net are PlusNets authoritative servers for all their domains and the domains they are responsible for (i.e. any registered / hosted by customers). These are the ones that external DNS servers send requests to when looking for domains plusnet host.
The caching DNS servers (212.159.6.9 & 10, 212.159.13.49 & 50) are the internal DNS servers that are used by us and can take longer to update than the authoritative servers. Changes made to domains hosted / registered by PlusNet are update every 4 hours normally but sometimes this can take longer and not all caching DNS servers update at the same time. External domain changes can as you know take much longer than this depending on the TTL values where the domain is registered/held.

[#7]

Thanks Peter,
It seems that the ns1 & ns2.force9.net servers were cached in my router's table perhaps because I use ntp.plus.net to set its time.  For browsing I of course use the 212.159.6.9 & 10 caching servers which as you say take a bit longer to update.  All my domains are externally (to plusnet) hosted.