Website + Server Change = DNS update lag?

[Destiny Smasher]

OK.

So I'm an editor at this site called The Hylia, right?

Well, the site was experiencing server crashes because it's been expanding and the server couldn't take it. So, TSA got a new one, right? He takes the site down for a day and a half or so, and uploads everything to a new server.

Bam. Good as new.
Except...not for me.
Or anyone here at my college, it seems...

Ya see, when I visit the site, it displays the following message:

Status Update: January 18th, 2007 1:41pm PDT - If you are still seeing this, your DNS hasn't udpated. The site is already live...please be patient and keep checking back.

Now, the site has been up and running just fine since then, but not here--I've tried different computers, too.
I can still visit the site using the IP address (I think that's the name for it) but unless I want tosend out this address to everyone I know, no one else at the college can check the site and see what I write.

Furthermore, it just really irks me that it isn't working properly.
What's the deal? I don't know what DNS is...

My guess is that our internet...thing...here at my college doesn't yet recognize the new server under the old address, even though it should. Why is that?
Could someone please explain this to me so I can at least make sense of it?

Am I supposed to just sit and wait for my college's...whatever...to update its DNS, or what?

I'mjust really perplexed and want to figure out what the heck is wrong...

I coulda sworn that this morning I visited the site's normal address and it worked, but then later it went back to that...but now I have no idea.

Any help woud be appreciated.

 

[Kirby King]

It's just something you have to wait for. Basically DNS is what translates domain names to IP addresses... your college's DNS servers need to update themselves to reflect the new IP address of this site. This is normally a process that takes between 24-48 hours, depending on when exactly the domain name's updated where. (If it's cached along the way, it might take longer than it would if it weren't.)

It is a little strange that it still hasn't updated if this happened a few days ago, but I don't think there's much you can do to fix your college's DNS problems. If you want to access the site I suggest you either use the IP address or look into using your own DNS servers.

 

[Destiny Smasher]

All right, that's basically the conclusion we came to. I guess I'll just keep using the IP address and wait for my college's DNS server to update. Thanks, Peabody.