Multisite network works except for one subsite

joesighting
(@joesighting)

1 year, 1 month ago

I’ve created a multisite network with 3 subsites.
Main site:
https://carvebot.com
Subsites:
https://support.carvebot.com
https://carvedepot.com
https://forum.carvebot.com

The problem I’m having is the forum site will not work and I cannot figure out why.
I’ve added it to the domains in Cpanel and it points to the same public_html root as the others, but cannot access the dashboard or even see the site as “unsecured”. AutoSSL reports an error (DNS DCV: No local authority: “forum.carvebot.com”; HTTP DCV: “forum.carvebot.com” does not resolve to any IP addresses on the internet.)

I tried adding a CNAME record in Godaddy’s DNS settings but that didn’t work either. Plus, I didn’t have to do that for the support subdomain site.

I’m at a total loss at this point. As far as I can tell I followed the exact same steps as the other 2 subsites which work perfectly.

The page I need help with: [log in to see the link]

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

George Appiah
(@gappiah)

1 year, 1 month ago

It’s your DNS.

You have CNAME’d support.carvebot.com to carvebot.com, which is why it works.

But there’s no such CNAME or A/AAAA record for forum.carvebot.com, so this subdomain does not resolve at all.

I’m not familiar with your provider’s DNS tools, but you’ll know you’re ready when you can get forum.carvebot.com to also return carvebot.com when you do a CNAME lookup here: https://dnschecker.org
bratgeneratorz
(@bratgeneratorz)

1 year, 1 month ago
It sounds like you’re really close — the issue you’re facing with forum.carvebot.com is likely DNS-related. Based on the AutoSSL error and the fact that the domain doesn’t resolve, it seems that the subdomain forum.carvebot.com isn’t properly set up in your DNS settings yet.

Even though support.carvebot.com worked without a CNAME, it’s possible that your hosting provider (or GoDaddy) automatically created an A or CNAME record for it when it was added. You’ll want to double-check in your GoDaddy DNS zone that there is an A record or CNAME for forum.carvebot.com. If not:
- Try creating an A record for forum.carvebot.com pointing to your server’s IP address (same as your main domain).
- Wait for DNS propagation (can take up to a few hours).
- Then rerun AutoSSL in cPanel to issue the certificate.
Also, make sure that the subdomain is added as an alias or addon domain in cPanel under the correct root, though it sounds like you already did that.
Thread Starter joesighting
(@joesighting)

1 year, 1 month ago
Thanks for the responses. I did have a CNAME record in the Godaddy DNS zone as well as adding the domain in cPanel. I let that sit for a couple of days and no change. I removed the CNAME record thinking maybe the 2 were conflicting, but no change. Now I’ve changed it to an A record to see if that makes a difference. If that doesn’t work, should I try removing the domain from cPanel and trying with just the host’s DNS zones? This is beyond frustrating. Been at this a week now as I let each change sit for at least a day to see if it propagates.
- This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by joesighting.
floydmarks
(@floydmarks)

8 months, 4 weeks ago

Hi @joesighting,

The issue is definitely DNS-related. You need a CNAME or A record for forum.carvebot.com pointing to your main site or server IP. Once that propagates, AutoSSL should work and the subsite will load. I had a similar setup on CarveBot, and adding the proper DNS record fixed the subdomain issue instantly.