DNS monitoring that tells a domain problem from a server problem
When your domain name stops resolving, your website is gone for everyone, even though the server is running. KeenCrow looks the name up every minute and emails you when the lookup fails.
What is checked
DNS turns your domain name into the address of your server. Every check starts with that lookup. If the name cannot be found, the name servers do not answer, or the lookup takes too long, the check fails at the DNS step and the later steps are not attempted.
Like every failure, a DNS failure is checked twice more before an alert is sent. Three failed checks in a row confirm it.
Why it matters
- A domain that was not renewed stops resolving, usually without warning on the website itself.
- A change at your DNS provider can remove or break a record.
- A DNS provider can have an outage of its own while your server is fine.
In each case the alert names DNS as the most likely area, so you know to look at the domain and not at the server.
What you see
Your dashboard shows the result of the name lookup for the latest check and the address the name pointed to. The same information is in every outage email.
DNS checks are part of website monitoring on every plan, together with availability and certificate checks. Plans start at $2 a month for 3 websites.