We have had a number of issues since moving to this hosting (based on nopCommerce forum recommendations to move away from Arvixe). I would to share with you what has happened to date to see if anyone is experiencing the same issue and/or help with making some informed choices.
1. Default DNS setup different
Out of the box their default DNS has issues - at worst poses a security risk and at best unprofessional image hurts brand.
For example, let's say your domain is: companyx.com so the website is: http://companyx.com (or http://www.companyx.com - whichever).
Go to a non-existent sub-domain like http://randomness.companyx.com and see what happens - it's not the usual DNS response you will be expecting.
2. Missing emails (even with greylisting disabled).
We were missing urgent emails for action and after disabling greylisting they still went missing. We only found out about this missing emails as we asked the senders to cc in external addresses like Apple, Microsoft and Gmail.
3. ASP.NET modules not working (running) properly.
Think this is self-explanatory. Tested on IIS8.0, 8.5, 10 and on a range of hosting providers Azure, 1and1, Netcetera, etc., etc. and all worked fine but not on SmarterASP.NET.
Has anyone else experience the above and if so do you know how to resolve them? Heck, even knowing the causes would help.
Plus has anyone found any Social Media channels? Like Twitter? Or Facebook? This is an observation but only hosting provider I know of that doesn't have a presence.
That's my thoughts and, of course, everyone is different.
Did you previously host with SMARTERASP.NET? Did you move from them, and why? to whom?
SMARTERASP.NET HOSTING UPDATE
MVP
- 11317
- 100917
- 5/22/2011
- United States
RE: #1 Default DNS
Thanks. I'll look into that
RE # 2. Missing emails
Login to your webmail account
In left nav, click the gear (settings)
open Filtering item
click Spam Filtering
on Options tab, click "Override spam settings for this account"
On Actions tab, set the thresholds with "No Action" - e.g.
Low - 30, No Action
Medium - 40, No Action
High - 50, No Action
(P.S. for secure mail with their online mail client, rather than using your domain in url, you can get https connected with
https://mail5002.smarterasp.net/Default.aspx
although the "mail5002" part might differ for you. If it does not work, ask their tech support for url.)
RE: 3. ASP.NET modules not working (running) properly.
Sorry. not to " self-explanatory." ;) What do you mean?
Thanks. I'll look into that
RE # 2. Missing emails
Login to your webmail account
In left nav, click the gear (settings)
open Filtering item
click Spam Filtering
on Options tab, click "Override spam settings for this account"
On Actions tab, set the thresholds with "No Action" - e.g.
Low - 30, No Action
Medium - 40, No Action
High - 50, No Action
(P.S. for secure mail with their online mail client, rather than using your domain in url, you can get https connected with
https://mail5002.smarterasp.net/Default.aspx
although the "mail5002" part might differ for you. If it does not work, ask their tech support for url.)
RE: 3. ASP.NET modules not working (running) properly.
Sorry. not to " self-explanatory." ;) What do you mean?
- 1390
- 11685
- 8/10/2012
- United States
I have about a dozen clients hosted there with very few complaints. On one site I had to upgrade to the premium email account so that their site could send up to 10k messages per day, and on another it was necessary to add disk space for their email accounts...but that is to be expected with growth.
1. Hmm..true. Just noticed that.
I get a 403 - Forbidden: Access is denied. instead of the typical DNS error..still though, I'm not really that concerned.
2. I'd just add that at the domain level settings in SmarterMail, you might have a content filter that is catching/trashing those emails. Maybe it's text in the body which is filtered, or the domain or sender, etc..
As NewYork says, override the settings at the user level and set no action.
3. If you are talking about ASP.NET modules as it pertains to the framework on the server, no problems there. I've had 99% uptime with them over the past few years. If you are talking about plugins, most of my client's sites use multiple 3rd party plugins and I haven't had a hitch with any of them.
1. Hmm..true. Just noticed that.
I get a 403 - Forbidden: Access is denied. instead of the typical DNS error..still though, I'm not really that concerned.
2. I'd just add that at the domain level settings in SmarterMail, you might have a content filter that is catching/trashing those emails. Maybe it's text in the body which is filtered, or the domain or sender, etc..
As NewYork says, override the settings at the user level and set no action.
3. If you are talking about ASP.NET modules as it pertains to the framework on the server, no problems there. I've had 99% uptime with them over the past few years. If you are talking about plugins, most of my client's sites use multiple 3rd party plugins and I haven't had a hitch with any of them.
MVP
- 11317
- 100917
- 5/22/2011
- United States
RE: #1 DNS/domain
Here are the instructions to resolve it:
1) Map a new domain to your web site
click Websites icon (top row)
click "control panel" button next to your hosting plan
click "Manage Domain Name" next to your web sitr
put your static IP in the text box and click "Map New Domain" (ignore the www. prefix/prompt; it does not get used when entering an IP)
2) Add the wildcard A record (e.g. *.yourdomain.com) and point it to your static IP:
click DNS icon (top row)
Add Record:
Name *.yourdomain.com
Address (yourstatic IP address)
Type A
There might be some short delay before it takes effect. Hit ctrl-F5 in browser. If still not working, then try checking it through a proxy service (e.g. megaproxy.com, hideme.be, etc.).
Here are the instructions to resolve it:
1) Map a new domain to your web site
click Websites icon (top row)
click "control panel" button next to your hosting plan
click "Manage Domain Name" next to your web sitr
put your static IP in the text box and click "Map New Domain" (ignore the www. prefix/prompt; it does not get used when entering an IP)
2) Add the wildcard A record (e.g. *.yourdomain.com) and point it to your static IP:
click DNS icon (top row)
Add Record:
Name *.yourdomain.com
Address (yourstatic IP address)
Type A
There might be some short delay before it takes effect. Hit ctrl-F5 in browser. If still not working, then try checking it through a proxy service (e.g. megaproxy.com, hideme.be, etc.).
- 57
- 375
- 7/2/2013
- United Kingdom
New York wrote:
Hey, thanks for replying.
In response:
#2 Missing emails
Yep, did that 'override spam settings for this account' a while back (over a month ago) but no difference. Didn't know about Actions tab although the settings are currently:
Low - Weight 5 - No Action,
Medium - Weight 10 - No Action, and
High - Weight 15 - No Action
Did disable greylisting on domain and made external DNS changes to MX record because domain not with them. Still no difference, I'm afraid.
#3 Simple ASP.NET web app using NuGet packages not working on their servers, works fine everywhere else (other hosting providers). The package is a module that runs dll that parses the HTML files (whitespace and comments). Minification and bundling with being done by something else. So the web.config setting for this runs fine in IIS 7, 8.0, 8.5 and 10. See? Simples. ;)
RE: #1 Default DNS
Thanks. I'll look into that
RE # 2. Missing emails
Login to your webmail account
In left nav, click the gear (settings)
open Filtering item
click Spam Filtering
on Options tab, click "Override spam settings for this account"
On Actions tab, set the thresholds with "No Action" - e.g.
Low - 30, No Action
Medium - 40, No Action
High - 50, No Action
(P.S. for secure mail with their online mail client, rather than using your domain in url, you can get https connected with
https://mail5002.smarterasp.net/Default.aspx
although the "mail5002" part might differ for you. If it does not work, ask their tech support for url.)
RE: 3. ASP.NET modules not working (running) properly.
Sorry. not to " self-explanatory." ;) What do you mean?
Thanks. I'll look into that
RE # 2. Missing emails
Login to your webmail account
In left nav, click the gear (settings)
open Filtering item
click Spam Filtering
on Options tab, click "Override spam settings for this account"
On Actions tab, set the thresholds with "No Action" - e.g.
Low - 30, No Action
Medium - 40, No Action
High - 50, No Action
(P.S. for secure mail with their online mail client, rather than using your domain in url, you can get https connected with
https://mail5002.smarterasp.net/Default.aspx
although the "mail5002" part might differ for you. If it does not work, ask their tech support for url.)
RE: 3. ASP.NET modules not working (running) properly.
Sorry. not to " self-explanatory." ;) What do you mean?
Hey, thanks for replying.
In response:
#2 Missing emails
Yep, did that 'override spam settings for this account' a while back (over a month ago) but no difference. Didn't know about Actions tab although the settings are currently:
Low - Weight 5 - No Action,
Medium - Weight 10 - No Action, and
High - Weight 15 - No Action
Did disable greylisting on domain and made external DNS changes to MX record because domain not with them. Still no difference, I'm afraid.
#3 Simple ASP.NET web app using NuGet packages not working on their servers, works fine everywhere else (other hosting providers). The package is a module that runs dll that parses the HTML files (whitespace and comments). Minification and bundling with being done by something else. So the web.config setting for this runs fine in IIS 7, 8.0, 8.5 and 10. See? Simples. ;)
- 57
- 375
- 7/2/2013
- United Kingdom
embryo wrote:
That's good feedback.
1. Yep, everyone different. Some like security by obscurity, others it's a brand image, some not bothered as nothing visible, etc., etc.
2. Thanks - triple checked that. Other clients, who I moved over to Smarterasp.net as well, had the same issue with emails not being received. There were no bounce back or undelivered receipts so as far as the sender was considered the emails were received/delivered. But they never showed up in the mailbox. The senders were all from different mail domains but nothing showed in the logs. There were no forward rules in place and only using webmail to connect to mailbox. Very odd, may need to move to Gmail or Office365 as some of the emails missed were timely and sensitive.
3. That's interesting, could give you our codebase for you to see exactly what is happening and what should happen. Also you mention 99% uptime, what monitoring tool are you using? Other than uptimerobot.
I have about a dozen clients hosted there with very few complaints. On one site I had to upgrade to the premium email account so that their site could send up to 10k messages per day, and on another it was necessary to add disk space for their email accounts...but that is to be expected with growth.
1. Hmm..true. Just noticed that.
I get a 403 - Forbidden: Access is denied. instead of the typical DNS error..still though, I'm not really that concerned.
2. I'd just add that at the domain level settings in SmarterMail, you might have a content filter that is catching/trashing those emails. Maybe it's text in the body which is filtered, or the domain or sender, etc..
As NewYork says, override the settings at the user level and set no action.
3. If you are talking about ASP.NET modules as it pertains to the framework on the server, no problems there. I've had 99% uptime with them over the past few years. If you are talking about plugins, most of my client's sites use multiple 3rd party plugins and I haven't had a hitch with any of them.
1. Hmm..true. Just noticed that.
I get a 403 - Forbidden: Access is denied. instead of the typical DNS error..still though, I'm not really that concerned.
2. I'd just add that at the domain level settings in SmarterMail, you might have a content filter that is catching/trashing those emails. Maybe it's text in the body which is filtered, or the domain or sender, etc..
As NewYork says, override the settings at the user level and set no action.
3. If you are talking about ASP.NET modules as it pertains to the framework on the server, no problems there. I've had 99% uptime with them over the past few years. If you are talking about plugins, most of my client's sites use multiple 3rd party plugins and I haven't had a hitch with any of them.
That's good feedback.
1. Yep, everyone different. Some like security by obscurity, others it's a brand image, some not bothered as nothing visible, etc., etc.
2. Thanks - triple checked that. Other clients, who I moved over to Smarterasp.net as well, had the same issue with emails not being received. There were no bounce back or undelivered receipts so as far as the sender was considered the emails were received/delivered. But they never showed up in the mailbox. The senders were all from different mail domains but nothing showed in the logs. There were no forward rules in place and only using webmail to connect to mailbox. Very odd, may need to move to Gmail or Office365 as some of the emails missed were timely and sensitive.
3. That's interesting, could give you our codebase for you to see exactly what is happening and what should happen. Also you mention 99% uptime, what monitoring tool are you using? Other than uptimerobot.
- 57
- 375
- 7/2/2013
- United Kingdom
New York wrote:
Hey, thanks for getting back.
1. DNS setup issue
That's an interesting workaround. Ours was different to that as the domains are held elsewhere (i.e. GoDaddy, 1and1, etc., etc.). Plus we were using a CDN as well. To resolve our issue we just deleted the wildcard A record from the CDN DNS and that worked - bye bye 403 detailed error page.
However every time we need to create a sub-domain we had to add in an entry for it. The point here is I've never knew this setup in all my years of using hosting providers. Must be a new standard.
I think your solution definitely helps customers who have domains hosted with SmarterASP.NET.
For me personally the less time I spent with any hosting support is an indication of how good the service is. And that's after I go though any KB or support portals.
RE: #1 DNS/domain
Here are the instructions to resolve it:
1) Map a new domain to your web site
click Websites icon (top row)
click "control panel" button next to your hosting plan
click "Manage Domain Name" next to your web sitr
put your static IP in the text box and click "Map New Domain" (ignore the www. prefix/prompt; it does not get used when entering an IP)
2) Add the wildcard A record (e.g. *.yourdomain.com) and point it to your static IP:
click DNS icon (top row)
Add Record:
Name *.yourdomain.com
Address (yourstatic IP address)
Type A
There might be some short delay before it takes effect. Hit ctrl-F5 in browser. If still not working, then try checking it through a proxy service (e.g. megaproxy.com, hideme.be, etc.).
Here are the instructions to resolve it:
1) Map a new domain to your web site
click Websites icon (top row)
click "control panel" button next to your hosting plan
click "Manage Domain Name" next to your web sitr
put your static IP in the text box and click "Map New Domain" (ignore the www. prefix/prompt; it does not get used when entering an IP)
2) Add the wildcard A record (e.g. *.yourdomain.com) and point it to your static IP:
click DNS icon (top row)
Add Record:
Name *.yourdomain.com
Address (yourstatic IP address)
Type A
There might be some short delay before it takes effect. Hit ctrl-F5 in browser. If still not working, then try checking it through a proxy service (e.g. megaproxy.com, hideme.be, etc.).
Hey, thanks for getting back.
1. DNS setup issue
That's an interesting workaround. Ours was different to that as the domains are held elsewhere (i.e. GoDaddy, 1and1, etc., etc.). Plus we were using a CDN as well. To resolve our issue we just deleted the wildcard A record from the CDN DNS and that worked - bye bye 403 detailed error page.
However every time we need to create a sub-domain we had to add in an entry for it. The point here is I've never knew this setup in all my years of using hosting providers. Must be a new standard.
I think your solution definitely helps customers who have domains hosted with SmarterASP.NET.
For me personally the less time I spent with any hosting support is an indication of how good the service is. And that's after I go though any KB or support portals.
MVP
- 11317
- 100917
- 5/22/2011
- United States
Will.i.am wrote:
In control panel / website, what do you see for "Website Type". (Mine shows ".NET 4.x(i)")
...
#3 Simple ASP.NET web app using NuGet packages not working on their servers, works fine everywhere else (other hosting providers). The package is a module that runs dll that parses the HTML files (whitespace and comments). Minification and bundling with being done by something else. So the web.config setting for this runs fine in IIS 7, 8.0, 8.5 and 10. See? Simples. ;)
#3 Simple ASP.NET web app using NuGet packages not working on their servers, works fine everywhere else (other hosting providers). The package is a module that runs dll that parses the HTML files (whitespace and comments). Minification and bundling with being done by something else. So the web.config setting for this runs fine in IIS 7, 8.0, 8.5 and 10. See? Simples. ;)
In control panel / website, what do you see for "Website Type". (Mine shows ".NET 4.x(i)")
- 57
- 375
- 7/2/2013
- United Kingdom
New York wrote:
Hi there,
That's part of the problem. It should always be Integrated pipeline (4.x) but because the website throws a blank page on Integrated they 'recommended' I use Classic pipeline instead (in fact in one of their replies they said it should always be Classic - quote) which I found odd. Just for reference the same codebase on Azure, 1and1, local dev all work fine on Integrated.
Odd, isn't it?
...
#3 Simple ASP.NET web app using NuGet packages not working on their servers, works fine everywhere else (other hosting providers). The package is a module that runs dll that parses the HTML files (whitespace and comments). Minification and bundling with being done by something else. So the web.config setting for this runs fine in IIS 7, 8.0, 8.5 and 10. See? Simples. ;)
In control panel / website, what do you see for "Website Type". (Mine shows ".NET 4.x(i)")
#3 Simple ASP.NET web app using NuGet packages not working on their servers, works fine everywhere else (other hosting providers). The package is a module that runs dll that parses the HTML files (whitespace and comments). Minification and bundling with being done by something else. So the web.config setting for this runs fine in IIS 7, 8.0, 8.5 and 10. See? Simples. ;)
In control panel / website, what do you see for "Website Type". (Mine shows ".NET 4.x(i)")
Hi there,
That's part of the problem. It should always be Integrated pipeline (4.x) but because the website throws a blank page on Integrated they 'recommended' I use Classic pipeline instead (in fact in one of their replies they said it should always be Classic - quote) which I found odd. Just for reference the same codebase on Azure, 1and1, local dev all work fine on Integrated.
Odd, isn't it?