Oddness: specific sub-domain failing

  • Resolved jonlink

    (@jonlink)


    14 years, 4 months ago

    I almost don’t know where to start.

    I just did a clean install of WordPress. I imported my old blog (fairly) smoothly. Then I tried to set up domain mapping. That was a complete failure… for hours.

    So, I decided to step it back. I deleted the domain mapping tables in MySQL, the references in sitemeta table, the sunrise line in my config file, and finally the sunrise.php and domain mapping plugin. I also deleted the folder (the site was an addon domain), the references to my domain in my Lunarpages Cpanel (no references in parked, addon, subdomains, or redirects). I also deleted the site in the WordPress Multisite Dashboard.

    My goal was just to see if the wordpress multisite subdomain worked with a clean start.

    It did and it didn’t!?

    After cleaning up everything, I added a new subdomain ( http://amateurinfidel.mutantsquirrel.com ) using myself as the admin. The site was added, but it comes up with a Server Not Found page.

    Here is the weird part. If I create a site with any other name it works! For example, http://infidelamateur.mutantsquirrel.com worked just fine.

    In phpMyAdmin I can see the table for both subdomains. The tables look identical. I’ve commented out everything in my .htaccess file that wasn’t given on the Network Setup page, checked to see if the old sub-domain folder is gone (it is).

    Does anyone have any ideas? I’m losing my mind, so I’d appreciate any help.

    Thanks!

    ps.I’ve noticed that the (number)_bad_behavior table doesn’t delete when site is deleted. That could really clutter up MySQL.

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)
  • Moderator Ipstenu (Mika Epstein)

    (@ipstenu)

    🏳️‍🌈 Advisor and Activist

    14 years, 4 months ago

    Check that your subdomain isn’t accidentally defined in your vhosts.

    As you’re on cpanel, go in and look at your subdomains. Do you have them all defined via a wildcard (*) subdomain, or are they named?

    Thread Starter jonlink

    (@jonlink)

    14 years, 4 months ago

    Thank you for your reply.

    I have a wildcard and some named subdomains. I used to have amateurinfidel on this list, but I deleted it. The list now reads:

    * .mutantsquirrel.com
    atomiclemur .mutantsquirrel.com
    glitterponymag .mutantsquirrel.com
    somechess .mutantsquirrel.com
    widgets .mutantsquirrel.com

    EDIT:
    I’m thinking I might just nuke the whole site and start clean. That would tell me positively if it is WordPress or Lunarpages that is at fault. Thoughts?

    Andrea Rennick

    (@andrea_r)

    14 years, 4 months ago

    vAfter cleaning up everything, I added a new subdomain ( http://amateurinfidel.mutantsquirrel.com ) using myself as the admin. The site was added, but it comes up with a Server Not Found page.

    check and see if a physical folder was added to the server. if that was one of the original sites you added, that might be why.

    Thread Starter jonlink

    (@jonlink)

    14 years, 4 months ago

    Thanks for the reply, Andrea_r. I just checked again— there’s nothing there. Originally there was a folder for the site, but I deleted it so that I could set it up in multisite.

    EDIT:
    Based on what I’m seeing, it seems like multisite isn’t quite polished yet. Right now I’m just trying to transfer a fun blog into multisite, so I’m not worried about the downtime. On the other hand, I don’t think I’ll be transferring my important blogs anytime soon. Hopefully, once I work my kinks out, I can still use it for new blogs. I just don’t want days of downtime on blogs I use to make (a very tiny bit of) money.

    Moderator Ipstenu (Mika Epstein)

    (@ipstenu)

    🏳️‍🌈 Advisor and Activist

    14 years, 4 months ago

    Multisite is polished. What you’re seeing is more likely a server problem handling dns.

    I used to have amateurinfidel on this list, but I deleted it.

    You may need to double check your vhosts manually on the server. Or restart apache. It may be caching things stupidly.

    Thread Starter jonlink

    (@jonlink)

    14 years, 4 months ago

    I don’t mean to denigrate WordPress or the amazing support here, but I have to disagree. The truth is, compared to setting up WordPress, this is a bit of a nightmare. I used WordPress for years and written semi-complicated programs using PHP and MySQL and mod_rewrites. I’ve never hit a brick wall like this.

    We can also point at the multisite plugin, which is partially broken, or that some multisite tables don’t delete with the site, or the limited plugin support.

    Again, it isn’t that I don’t appreciate all the fantastic work done on WordPress or the responsive support community here, but it just doesn’t seem to be enough to balance the wackiness I’ve experienced so far in a production environment (for me).

    EDIT: nuked the whole site. This is definitely not a WordPress issue. I’m moving on to take this problem to Lunarpages. God help me…

    Thanks for taking the time to offer advice folks!!

    Moderator Ipstenu (Mika Epstein)

    (@ipstenu)

    🏳️‍🌈 Advisor and Activist

    14 years, 4 months ago

    WordPress.com is using Multisite. So yes, I feel strongly when I tell you this stuff works 🙂

    Now. With all advanced options, like Multisite, your server has to be configured and set up right. WordPress Multisite requires certain configurations on the server. These are common, but not as common as PHP 5 and SQL 5, so most of the time.

    You’re having a problem when WP can’t ‘handle’ a subdomain. I have actually had that before, on non WP and WP sites. It’s not uncommon, it just means that subdomain allocation, on your server, isn’t letting go somewhere. Which is why I said to bounce apache 🙂 Takes under 60 seconds on a good server, clears caches everywhere.

    We can also point at the multisite plugin

    What plugin? There’s no multisite plugin. It’s all built into WP.

    Thread Starter jonlink

    (@jonlink)

    14 years, 4 months ago

    Sadly, my shared hosting doesn’t let me restart apache. Lunarpages is hit or miss with support, so we’ll see how that goes…

    I believe the broken part of the domain mapping plugin has already been documented, but I did add a post here earlier this morning:
    wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-wordpress-mu-domain-mapping-setting-changes-dont-stick

    I’m worried about (slightly) advanced things. Google sitemap doesn’t support multisite yet, and I’m skeptical about some of the other plugins that set up their own tables (to name two: Broken Link Checker, BSuite), but don’t seem to set up site specific ones. My gut tells me those are going to get huge and slow and/or broken— I do realize how non-scientific a gut feeling is, though.

    Moderator Ipstenu (Mika Epstein)

    (@ipstenu)

    🏳️‍🌈 Advisor and Activist

    14 years, 4 months ago

    There are other plugins 🙂

    http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-seo/ has a sitemap in it, and is MultiSite friendly, for example.

    Thread Starter jonlink

    (@jonlink)

    14 years, 4 months ago

    Yeah, but I’m lazy. (^_^)

    So….. I guess I’ll have to start researching/testing plugins again after sitting happily on the ones I’ve got.

    Thanks for the tip!

    Thread Starter jonlink

    (@jonlink)

    14 years, 4 months ago

    Just an update. I’m still waiting for Lunarpages tech support. If/When this finally gets resolved, I will be jumping into domain mapping. I had run into some trouble when doing this. It is still unclear whether it was because of my own mistakes or wackiness from Lunarpages.

    One thing is sure, I didn’t really find anything about domain mapping and Lunarpages. So, I’ll be sure to document that for anyone in the same boat. I think it is safe to call this issue resolved, at least from a WordPress perspective.

    Thank you again for the help everyone!

    Andrea Rennick

    (@andrea_r)

    14 years, 4 months ago

    I’m skeptical about some of the other plugins that set up their own tables (to name two: Broken Link Checker, BSuite), but don’t seem to set up site specific ones. My gut tells me those are going to get huge and slow and/or broken— I do realize how non-scientific a gut feeling is, though.

    BLC is deifinitely…fun… in multisite. do not network activate it. In fact, i don;t even like to keep it running.

    One thing is sure, I didn’t really find anything about domain mapping and Lunarpages. So, I’ll be sure to document that for anyone in the same boat.

    most hosts know nothing about domain mapping. they’ll tell you it’s wp specific.

    Docs:
    http://ottopress.com/2010/wordpress-3-0-multisite-domain-mapping-tutorial/

    Thread Starter jonlink

    (@jonlink)

    14 years, 4 months ago

    Thanks Andrea_r, for the link to the docs, and for the tip about BLC. It’s a shame it doesn’t work well, I really love that plugin. Do you have an alternative plugin recommendation?

    .
    .
    .
    I’m still waiting for Lunarpages… I’ve been waiting in “Escalation” for over twenty hours now (and that’s not counting the other hours I was waiting for a response to my support ticket). If I ever get really serious about my sites think I’m going to have to look for a new host.

    Andrea Rennick

    (@andrea_r)

    14 years, 4 months ago

    Do you have an alternative plugin recommendation?

    No, I do not.

    For broken links, I;d pay attention to access logs, google webmaster tools and my analytics.

    Thread Starter jonlink

    (@jonlink)

    14 years, 4 months ago

    update: three days and I’m still waiting for Lunarpages to help me…

    Sadly, my contract with them just renewed. You can be sure that won’t be happening again though. Hosting recommendations anyone? What do people think of Bluehost or Hostgator?

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)

The topic ‘Oddness: specific sub-domain failing’ is closed to new replies.

Tags