Google Apps Configuration?

Hello All,

I am trying to set up a Google Apps account but I'm struggling with the subdomains. I am using Dreamhost as my domain registrar and my main www host.

I set up the custom MX record for email, that was no problem. Email to mydomain.com is working fine through Gmail now.

But the subdomains are giving me all sorts of problems. I am trying to add 3 Google Apps subdomains-- home.mydomain.com (for the start page), mail.mydomain.com (for logging into gmail), and events.mydomain.com (for the calendar). All 3 are giving me problems.

First I added them all as subdomain redirects in the Manage Domains panel-- oops, realized this was wrong. I have now deleted these.

Then I went into the DNS of mydomain.com, and added a CNAME record for home.mydomain.com resolving to ghs.google.com. So far so good. Then I log in to Google Apps and try to change the URL for my start page, and get this message: "Server error, We are unable to process your request at this time, please try again later."

For mail.mydomain.com, I try to add the CNAME record and get this error in Dreamhost: "You already have a record for this name.. you can't have a CNAME and any other record on the same name." Is this reserved? I guess I have to use a different subdomain, such as email.mydomain.com ??

For events.mydomain.com, I tried to add the CNAME record but Dreamhost gives the same error as the email-- I guess there is some DNS records left over from when I attempted to add this as a subdomain redirect? How can I "clear out" the unused DNS records? (I have deleted this subdomain redirect from the Manage Domains panel.)

A step-by-step guide to setting up Dreamhost and Google Apps would be a welcome addition to the wiki. Thanks for any help!!

dylan

should the right way to create subdomain in DH be DH panel --> Domains --> Manage Domains --> Add New Domain/Sub-Domain

I had the same problem with mail.mydomain.com.

All others are working properly. It sounds like you are in the right area now.

In reply to:
Is this reserved?

Yes, an A-Record is automatically created for 'mail' if you have mailboxes active for the domain. Other reserved sub-domains are...

ftp
mail
mailboxes
www.mailboxes
webmail
www.webmail
www

In reply to:
I guess there is some DNS records left over from when I attempted to add this as a subdomain redirect? How can I "clear out" the unused DNS records?

Sometimes the DNS records associated with a sub-domain remain, even after the sub-domain has been removed via the panel. The only way I know of to remove these records is to contact support and have them run a manual DNS update for the domain in question.

Mark

In reply to:
should the right way to create subdomain in DH be DH panel --> Domains --> Manage Domains --> Add New Domain/Sub-Domain

Yes, that's the correct method if you wish to host the sub-domain at DreamHost. However, the original poster does *not* wish to host the sub-domains here at DreamHost.

Mark

Thanks Raz, Dreamhost cleared out my records and this solved my problem for these. Thank you!

In reply to:
Dreamhost cleared out my records and this solved my problem for these.

Excellent, I am glad that resolved the problem. I have had to contact support for the same reason a couple of times now. I have no idea why the DNS records get 'stuck' occasionally, but they do.

In reply to:
Thank you!

You are welcome. smile

Mark

Oops, I spoke too soon on this one.

My DNS was cleared out, and I have added the appropriate CNAME records (email, events, and home) for my subdomains.

But still when I go into Google and try to set up these subdomains, I get this message:

"Server error

We are unable to process your request at this time, please try again later."

I have set up these domains successfully on a different project, with a different host and registrar, so I'm perplexed now.

I guess Google Apps Standard customers don't get tech support, so Dreamhost is my best hope for now...

thanks for any suggestions!

The DH server is temporarily down. Check http://www.dreamhoststatus.com/

So some people can't access the server. Bad luck eh.. The server will be back soon.

In reply to:
We are unable to process your request at this time, please try again later."

Have you confirmed that your CNAME records are working and the sub-domains are now resolving to the correct (Google) IP addresses?

You can use nslookup or ping on the command line to confirm this...

nslookup email.yourdomain.com

Mark