Network Solutions and Register.com Extended Outage  - Update

Update: This story is developing. See below for an update.

Network Solutions customers are experiencing a service interruption that is denying access to their users. Used by Fortune 500 companies, Network Solutions provides email solutions, website building, hosting, and cybersecurity, among other cloud-based products that are currently inaccessible to their customers. In a recent Twitter post, Network Solutions addressed the outage:

“Some customers are experiencing a service interruption that affects accessing their services. Our engineers are working diligently. We are starting to see some resolve and are working to a full resolution. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.”

Network Solutions and Register.com 2021 Outage

This is the second time this year that Network Solutions has experienced a service issue. On March 17, 2021, they were hit with a similar multi-hour DNS outage. Some of Network Solutions’ clientele include First Bank, Fidelity, Ebony, Franchise Law Solutions, and Easy Spirit. Downdetector started displaying reports for the Network Solutions’ outage today at about 8:00 a.m. CST. User reports of the problem started to peak at around 1:15 p.m. CST.

Sister company, Register.com, is also experiencing an outage. They had a similar disruption in service on October 19, 2020, that affected their DNS customer service base. They sent out the same tweet announcing the outage.

Customers Demand Updates on the Network Solutions Outage

Customer responses to the outage tweet posted from Network Solutions have expressed great concern about their own businesses that rely on the company’s infrastructure. Some are stating the services have been out for over four hours and others are receiving complaints from their clients. Many are requesting a simple update on this ongoing outage and are receiving the same blanket response that states, “We understand your frustration, however unfortunately, we do not have additional information regarding specifics or an ETA to provide.”

Is Cloudflare Down?

A DNS lookup shows that Network Solutions and Register.com utilizes Cloudflare as their DNS providers. Downdetector also shows a service disruption for the DNS provider during the same time frame. 

Cloudflare has addressed the outage on their status page stating that they identified a connectivity issue and are attempting to mitigate the problem. 

Secondary DNS Backup for When Your Primary DNS Goes Down

There are services that can assist with outages and it is crucial to have a backup DNS strategy. Secondary DNS is a solution that allows resources to be stored on two servers. In the event of an outage, the second configured DNS systematically steps in to answer queries with no change to the end-user experience. Adding a second DNS provider adds redundancy to DNS infrastructure and doubles resiliency.

Update: Network Solutions Outage Status

Network Solutions customers are still experiencing service interruptions. The last status update provided by the company on Twitter that was made at 9:25 p.m. of the day of the outage states, “We are aware some customers are still experiencing service issues and our team is currently working to restore services.” Network Solutions continues to apologize for the inconvenience but does not offer an ETA on a complete resolution. Customers are now demanding to know the root cause of the outage and as of now, it has not been made available. Some are voicing concerns about increasing service failures. 

Downdetector confirms that the service disruption is ongoing.

Customers Threaten to Change DNS Providers

Network Solutions’ customers are upset about the persistent issue and are now demanding to know the root cause of the outage. As of now, it has not been made available. Some are voicing concerns about increasing service failures and many are threatening to move their services to another provider.

Outages are not just a part of doing business online. The ever-growing need for redundancy has been proven and service interruptions can be prevented with the right DNS management. There are several authoritative DNS options that can be utilized in conjunction with Network Solutions or on their own for those opting to migrate providers entirely. See DNS Provider Migration - Switch and Compare Network for more information.

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https://constellix.com/news/google-dns-outage-affects-millions-of-users-globally

https://constellix.com/news/network-solutions-still-suffering-a-multi-hour-dns-outage