Logs are in Grafana. I'll export the WHOIS panel snapshot and PM you the link. Timestamp resolution is 1s, source IP logged, response code logged. The 281 gap is between my 248 and their 529. Clean as a whistle on my end.
Their API returns x-query-count. Mine returns actual packets sent. The delta is not retry logic—my scripts bail on any non-200 and alert me. I would know.
Member
Following this thread closely. Uma if you publish those logs I'll mirror them on my end, got 8 domains with InterServer and a similar itch that something's off. Never bothered to automate the audit though. Lazy tax.
Member
Vultr no take XMR gan. Only card or PayPal. I check already.
But their cloud compute no have WHOIS fee. Flat $5/month. I move my blog there tonight maybe. Just scared of migration downtime.
Member
Expected. Most fiat rails only. I use XMR for Njalla and a few niche hosts, not the big clouds.
Self-hosting DNS is the real answer. Unbound + NSD, €5/month Hetzner CX11 in Falkenstein, done. No registrar query fees because I control the recursor. Downside: you actually have to learn DNSSEC.
Member
Saya pakai Vultr untuk beberapa klien reseller. Bandwidth to Jakarta decent, about 150ms. Their Singapore DC better for ID traffic though. No hidden WHOIS charges, billing is flat. I used https://www.vultr.com/pricing/ to check.
But gan, your problem is registrar billing, not hosting. Vultr no sell domains. You still need registrar for the domain itself.
Member
Most annual domain renewals include zero WHOIS queries. The surcharge only hits if you (or tools you run) actively query WHOIS data through their API. If you don't know what it is, you almost certainly aren't doing it.
Check anyway. InterServer's line-item billing makes errors visible; most registrars bury everything in one fee. Visibility cuts both ways.
Thank you! I check my bill now. I see "Domain Renewal" for $15.88 and nothing else. No WHOIS line. So I am safe? I feel silly for not looking before.
Eu tenho 12 domínios e a fatura veio com WHOIS WHOIS WHOIS mas eu não uso nenhuma ferramenta automática!!!
Agora eu conto: 12 domínios × 2 queries/dia × 30 dias = 720 queries. Mas InterServer cobra 1.847 queries. Impossível.
Eu vou mudar tudo para Porkbun. Lá é flat rate, não tem este stress.
Porkbun good for .com but their .pt support is weak. For Lisbon-based projects I use Amen.pt or keep it on Cloudflare Registrar if I don't need the TLD they block.
InterServer's Secaucus datacenter is the one handling WHOIS, yes? Not Los Angeles? https://www.interserver.net
I'm in London and I just checked my InterServer account. Zero WHOIS charges across 6 domains. But I also have zero automated monitoring. The pattern seems clear: the more you query, the more they invent. Those of us not hitting their API aren't seeing the padding because there's nothing to pad.
This is classic breakage at the metering layer. Seen it with AWS data transfer, seeing it here.
