web server trouble

whenever I connect to the internet I always try out my DNS url, but it always goes to the wrong page. It goes to my localhost root directory. I have set up the virtual host in my webserver properties and set the start page where is should start, but it doesn't. About 10 or so mins later when I try, it works fine. Any ideas? I have omnihttpd if that's any help.

Another thing I would like to know is, when I disconnect the internet, can people still access my DNS hostname? I was wondering because it is a dynamic hostname, and the IP needs to be kept up-to-date.

tom

Need more info, but if your IP isn't static then it should take up to 72hours for the domain routers to respond.

Anyway, what OS and webserver are you using?

I may be kicking in the wrong spot but have you included your vitual hostname in you 'hosts' file?

Yes, but they won't get your site... What do you expect?

This is not necessarily true; if you keep the DNS the same and change the IP from the DNS, it should be up almost instantaneously after the initial wait of 1-3 days it takes for new domains.

Due to TTLs and DNS caching, yes, it takes up to 72 hours before everyone out there can see your site on the new IP address.

No, nderdog. I believe what mattkns is getting at is you can get services that allow you to map your dynamic IP, presumably these services use a very short TTL.

I use dynu.com, dyndns.org, and tzo.com (yes, all of them. They all work well, too) for my DNS and there's no way in heck it takes more than a couple minutes for my IP address to be changed on DNS lookups when my IP changes. I don't know all the specifics behind it, but I do know that it works perfectly.

Okay...I think I get it...I used to run the DNS server for an ISP, and always had problems with DNS caching...but I was under the impression that some DNS servers would cache for longer periods of time regardless of TTL times...but I probably made that up somewhere along the way...