Plesk Obsidian: How to set up a sub-domain on a different Plesk server

Question

We have a Plesk server with the parent Domain, the Plesk main domain runs fine.

We have a new PlesK Obsidian server specifically for holding a specific subdomain of the main domain. This is a different server on a different IP address.

I have done these subdomain redirections on WHM many times without fail and all works well, simply by adding the A record for the subdomain and entering the residing IP address, however for some reason the Plesk method is lacking.

Parent domain DNS:

_dmarc.domain.co.uk.        TXT v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; adkim=r; aspf=r; pct=100; sp=reject;
    domain.co.uk.       MX (20) mailtwo.domain.co.uk.
    _imaps._tcp.domain.co.uk.       SRV domain.co.uk.
    _pop3s._tcp.domain.co.uk.       SRV domain.co.uk.
    _smtps._tcp.domain.co.uk.       SRV domain.co.uk.
    ns2.domain.co.uk.       A   208.88.212.106
    domain.co.uk.       TXT v=spf1 +a -all
    _domainkey.domain.co.uk.        TXT o=-
    default._domainkey.domain.co.uk.        TXT v=DKIM1; p=DKIM1; p=MIGfMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBAQUAA4GNADCBiDmBfwuINbLeF/iCWYXnZoXWcVf71kcY7B8cQsWc6VfiDNIGmKR9w/gxc7mz5MSliz4c/mjQIDAQAB;
    domain.co.uk.       NS  ns2.domain.co.uk.
    domain.co.uk.       A   77.31.68.87
    www.domain.co.uk.       CNAME   domain.co.uk.
    mailtwo.domain.co.uk.       A   208.88.212.106
    webmail.domain.co.uk.       A   77.31.68.87
    ftp.domain.co.uk.       CNAME   domain.co.uk.
    ipv4.domain.co.uk.      A   77.68.31.87
    ns1.domain.co.uk.       A   77.68.31.87
    domain.co.uk.       MX (10) mail.domain.co.uk.
    domain.co.uk.       NS  ns1.domain.co.uk.
    mail.domain.co.uk.      A   77.68.31.87
    staging.domain.co.uk.   43200   A   50.221.77.68 

The final line is the only line we have added to the parent DNS records.

Subdomain DNS on seperate server ( 50.221.77.68 )

_dmarc.staging.domain.co.uk.        TXT v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; adkim=r; aspf=r; pct=100; sp=reject;
    staging.domain.co.uk.       MX (20) mailtwo.staging.domain.co.uk.
    _imaps._tcp.staging.domain.co.uk.       SRV staging.domain.co.uk.
    _pop3s._tcp.staging.domain.co.uk.       SRV staging.domain.co.uk.
    _smtps._tcp.staging.domain.co.uk.       SRV staging.domain.co.uk.
    ns2.staging.domain.co.uk.       A   208.88.212.106
    staging.domain.co.uk.       NS  ns2.staging.domain.co.uk.
    mailtwo.staging.domain.co.uk.       A   50.221.77.68
    ftp.staging.domain.co.uk.       CNAME   staging.domain.co.uk.
    staging.domain.co.uk.       MX (10) mail.staging.domain.co.uk.
    staging.domain.co.uk.       NS  ns1.staging.domain.co.uk.
    staging.domain.co.uk.       TXT v=spf1 +a -all
    staging.domain.co.uk.       A   50.221.77.68
    webmail.staging.domain.co.uk.       A   50.221.77.68
    ipv4.staging.domain.co.uk.      A   50.221.77.68
    ns1.staging.domain.co.uk.       A   50.221.77.68
    mail.staging.domain.co.uk.      A   50.221.77.68
    ns2.staging.domain.co.uk.       A   50.221.77.68
    _domainkey.staging.domain.co.uk.        TXT o=-
    default._domainkey.staging.domain.co.uk.        TXT v=DKIM1; p=DKIM1; p=DKIM1; p=MIGfMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBAQUAA4GNADCBiQKMQsEj2LT6DcNhGhqMG/q8Rv+aymZvUoMOJcAF6bYOMQSzzggDmBfwuINbLeF/iCWYXnZoXWcVf71kcY7B8cQsWc6VfiDNIGmKR9w/gxc7mz5MSliz4c/mjQIDAQAB;

This is the full set of records in Plesk. Aside from the record added, they're all the "default" Plesk records when the domains were set up.

Added record to the parent:

staging.domain.co.uk. 43200   A   50.221.77.68  

I have looked at this question as well as this Plesk article but I am unclear as to if this plesk article should be applied as we only need to do this for one single subdomain one one single domain.

But the address staging.domain.co.uk does not reach the intended destination.

What am I missing?

Answer 1

It appears that the DNS configuration is mostly correct. However, there are a couple of things to double-check and consider:

1. Propagation time: DNS changes may take time to propagate across the internet. It can take up to 24-48 hours for the changes to fully propagate, depending on the Time to Live (TTL) value set in your DNS records. If you've recently made changes, you may need to wait for the propagation to complete.
2. Double-check the A record on the parent domain DNS: Ensure the A record for the subdomain staging.domain.co.uk is pointing to the correct IP address (50.221.77.68) and has a reasonable TTL value (e.g., 3600 seconds or 1 hour). If the TTL is too high (e.g., 43200 seconds or 12 hours), it may take longer for the changes to propagate.
3. Verify the domain and subdomain DNS settings: Double-check the DNS settings for both the main domain and subdomain to ensure there are no typos or incorrect entries.
4. Check the Plesk server configuration: Make sure the Plesk server is properly configured to serve the staging subdomain. Ensure the domain is added to the Plesk server, and the document root is correctly pointing to the subdomain's files.
5. Firewall or network configuration: Check if there are any firewall or network configuration issues on the Plesk server hosting the staging subdomain that might be preventing incoming traffic.

If you've verified these points and still encounter issues, you can try the following:

1. Use a DNS propagation checker tool to verify if the A record for the subdomain has propagated correctly. You can use online tools like "https://www.whatsmydns.net/" to check the propagation status.
2. Test the connection to the subdomain's IP address directly: Try accessing the subdomain using its IP address (http://50.221.77.68) to see if the issue is related to DNS resolution or the server configuration.
3. Review the server logs: Check the server logs for any errors or warnings related to the subdomain, such as issues with the server configuration, web server software, or application code.

Otherwise, Plesk support might be the next thing to try?