Unable to access websites I manage unless using VPN/Proxy. Spark network blocking?

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Unable to access websites I manage unless using VPN/Proxy. Spark network blocking?

inspectaclueso

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Geek
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#303885 17-Mar-2023 12:08

Hoping someone at Spark will see this and can assist as it's been several days without a response going through email support channels.

Several days ago, I lost access to several websites I manage that are hosted on the same shared hosting server.

Timeout error...

I've contacted the hosting company and they say there are no IP blocks on their end.

tracetcp shows timeout on Spark network...

If I use a VPN or website proxy service the sites are visible. I suspect other ISP's are also fine as websites are getting orders etc.

Same results on Skinny fibre connection, Spark fibre connection and Skinny mobile network.

As a temporary measure I've put two of the sites behind Cloudflare and they are accessible.

How to resolve this?

Thanks

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meow
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#3051177 17-Mar-2023 12:43

Honestly, keep them behind Cloudflare. It’s an awesome product that offers a bit of web security along with a full CDN all for the grand cost of zero.

Use an origin certificate from Cloudflare and set TLS to 1.2/1.3 along with SSL settings to strict.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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cbrpilot

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#3051182 17-Mar-2023 12:58

I can do an ordinary traceroute to that target:

Tracing route to server263-1.web-hosting.com [198.187.29.4]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 2 ms 2 ms 2 ms 192.168.1.254
2 6 ms 8 ms 4 ms 219-88-156-1-vdsl.sparkbb.co.nz [219.88.156.1]
3 * * * Request timed out.
4 12 ms 14 ms 14 ms 122.56.113.6
5 14 ms 13 ms 16 ms voyager-dom.akcr11.global-gateway.net.nz [122.56.118.162]
6 16 ms 26 ms 22 ms ae9-143.akbr6.global-gateway.net.nz [122.56.118.157]
7 18 ms 13 ms 15 ms ae7-2.akbr7.global-gateway.net.nz [122.56.119.53]
8 38 ms 38 ms 38 ms et1-0-0.sgbr3.global-gateway.net.nz [122.56.119.30]
9 38 ms 37 ms 50 ms 103.13.80.125
10 * * * Request timed out.
11 143 ms 130 ms 132 ms ae-3.r00.sngpsi07.sg.bb.gin.ntt.net [129.250.2.97]
12 129 ms 130 ms 130 ms 128.241.15.50
13 * * * Request timed out.
14 * * * Request timed out.
15 * 233 ms 234 ms 199.193.7.174
16 * * * Request timed out.
17 * * * Request timed out.
18 236 ms 238 ms 239 ms server263-1.web-hosting.com [198.187.29.4]

So considering that routing is working and we don't block port 80, I cannot see an issue within the Spark network.

Dave.

My views are my own, and may not necessarily represent those of my employer.

Silvrav

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#3051185 17-Mar-2023 13:06

and you can access them 100% from another provider?

I had a similar issue, albeit skinny-related where I couldn't open skinnys website or any of my local sites. magically fixed itself in a few days but have since then moved my sites to cloudflare as michaelmurfy suggested.

michaelmurfy

meow
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#3051186 17-Mar-2023 13:09

I can also ping + traceroute from a Spark connection totally fine but the web server refuses to respond.

yitz

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#3051198 17-Mar-2023 13:34

cbrpilot:

So considering that routing is working and we don't block port 80, I cannot see an issue within the Spark network.

Unless Voyager are doing some sort of transit or DDoS protection for NAMECHEAP that routing does not look right at all...
Spark -> Voyager (Spark customer) -> Spark -> transit -> Namecheap

@VygrNetworkMonkey

inspectaclueso

32 posts

Geek
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#3051207 17-Mar-2023 14:13

Silvrav:

and you can access them 100% from another provider?

I had a similar issue, albeit skinny-related where I couldn't open skinnys website or any of my local sites. magically fixed itself in a few days but have since then moved my sites to cloudflare as michaelmurfy suggested.

Unfortunately, both my home, work and mobile connections are on the Spark fibre network so I can't check this myself. However, the site is still visible to some customers as still receiving orders so definately ISP related. Also, visible to me using a VPN or a website proxy site.

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inspectaclueso

32 posts

Geek
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#3051208 17-Mar-2023 14:17

michaelmurfy:

I can also ping + traceroute from a Spark connection totally fine but the web server refuses to respond.

If you try to access https://server263.web-hosting.com:2083 do you get a timeout error?

inspectaclueso

32 posts

Geek
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#3051211 17-Mar-2023 14:24

yitz:

cbrpilot:

So considering that routing is working and we don't block port 80, I cannot see an issue within the Spark network.

Unless Voyager are doing some sort of transit or DDoS protection for NAMECHEAP that routing does not look right at all...
Spark -> Voyager (Spark customer) -> Spark -> transit -> Namecheap

@VygrNetworkMonkey

I can ask them (Namecheap) but it does seem unlikely Namecheap would have Voyager doing this.

Like you say, tracert routing does seem odd... why would it need to go through Voyager at all and seeing server is USA based, why via Singapore?

inspectaclueso

32 posts

Geek
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#3051227 17-Mar-2023 15:02

cbrpilot:

I can do an ordinary traceroute to that target:

Tracing route to server263-1.web-hosting.com [198.187.29.4]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 2 ms 2 ms 2 ms 192.168.1.254
2 6 ms 8 ms 4 ms 219-88-156-1-vdsl.sparkbb.co.nz [219.88.156.1]
3 * * * Request timed out.
4 12 ms 14 ms 14 ms 122.56.113.6
5 14 ms 13 ms 16 ms voyager-dom.akcr11.global-gateway.net.nz [122.56.118.162]
6 16 ms 26 ms 22 ms ae9-143.akbr6.global-gateway.net.nz [122.56.118.157]
7 18 ms 13 ms 15 ms ae7-2.akbr7.global-gateway.net.nz [122.56.119.53]
8 38 ms 38 ms 38 ms et1-0-0.sgbr3.global-gateway.net.nz [122.56.119.30]
9 38 ms 37 ms 50 ms 103.13.80.125
10 * * * Request timed out.
11 143 ms 130 ms 132 ms ae-3.r00.sngpsi07.sg.bb.gin.ntt.net [129.250.2.97]
12 129 ms 130 ms 130 ms 128.241.15.50
13 * * * Request timed out.
14 * * * Request timed out.
15 * 233 ms 234 ms 199.193.7.174
16 * * * Request timed out.
17 * * * Request timed out.
18 236 ms 238 ms 239 ms server263-1.web-hosting.com [198.187.29.4]

So considering that routing is working and we don't block port 80, I cannot see an issue within the Spark network.

Dave.

Do you have any thoughts on why the websites can't be accessed while on the Spark network but are acessible on other ISP's networks and/or via the use of VPN?

Jase2985

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#3051229 17-Mar-2023 15:20

what DNS server are you using?

pureinception

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#3051235 17-Mar-2023 15:35

I am also having the same issues with Namecheap and Spark. I can't access/manage sites hosted with them. Also, the email services are failing too. Namecheap says it's not an issue on their side while Spark says it is out of their control and Namecheap is aware of the issue.

I have put one site though cloudflare but the email service is still not working. All fine through 2Degrees though

Here's a response from Spark:

Dell

Shop now for Dell laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

inspectaclueso

32 posts

Geek
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#3051236 17-Mar-2023 15:44

Jase2985:

what DNS server are you using?

Just the default Spark ones however I've tried 8.8.8.8 also with no change.

cbrpilot

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#3051237 17-Mar-2023 15:44

inspectaclueso:

cbrpilot:

I can do an ordinary traceroute to that target.

So considering that routing is working and we don't block port 80, I cannot see an issue within the Spark network.

Dave.

Do you have any thoughts on why the websites can't be accessed while on the Spark network but are accessible on other ISP's networks and/or via the use of VPN?

Not being an expert on web hosting I do not. All I can say is that ICMP packets (used for ping and traceroute) are getting there and back.

When I did a pcap at my local PC earlier this afternoon I could see that on port 80 we were not getting TCP responses.

It might be worth doing a pcap on your webserver to see if those packets are arriving, and if they are being responded to.

Obviously something is dropping packets somewhere in the middle - I'd be asking about firewalls etc in the path.

I realise how frustrating this must be! All I can say is that I'm confident (based on the tracert results) that packets are leaving Spark's network, and we're just not getting responses.

My views are my own, and may not necessarily represent those of my employer.

inspectaclueso

32 posts

Geek
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#3051239 17-Mar-2023 15:47

pureinception:

I am also having the same issues with Namecheap and Spark. I can't access/manage sites hosted with them. Also, the email services are failing too. Namecheap says it's not an issue on their side while Spark says it is out of their control and Namecheap is aware of the issue.

I have put one site though cloudflare but the email service is still not working. All fine through 2Degrees though

Here's a response from Spark:

Sorry to hear you are having the same issue but glad it is not just me. It's driving me crazy going from one support person to the next from both sides and no one seeming to know what is going on or taking any responsibility.

pureinception

37 posts

Geek
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#3051240 17-Mar-2023 15:52

inspectaclueso:

Sorry to hear you are having the same issue but glad it is not just me. It's driving me crazy going from one support person to the next from both sides and no one seeming to know what is going on or taking any responsibility.

Yeah I hear you, It's very frustrating! It started on Tuesday and had been down since. Neither party will accept any responsibility. Namecheap even suggested switching providers while Spark suggests using a VPN. I wish they could work together and fix the root cause.

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