Edit - I'm on OpenDNS so shouldn't be.

Guessing it must be an out-dated DNS cache I'm using then.

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- the VM is unmanaged, the customer is responsible for all aspects of managing their VM server, including patching, installing and maintaining applications, firewalling and DNS.

But the thing is: he wasn't able to properly configure DNS (www went to old server, @ went to new server, filtered).

Doesn't mean you can't introduce alternatives. In fact, several alternative blockchains have already been introduced, with slightly different properties. Examples are namecoin (distributed DNS system)

Flush your DNS cache and you're set. (Image)

I have a VPS which I plan on using to host files for my website, I've registered the domain today.

A dns server with GeoIP support (edns-client-subnet is awesome for this), or a dns provider with support for geo maps/whatever

A dns server with GeoIP support (edns-client-subnet is awesome for this), or a dns provider with support for geo maps/whatever

Cannot be done using just DNS; it knows nothing about ports. You can either have a web redirect or a proxy to accomplish this, depending on your needs.

But to go a step further, you need two VPS in cluster (with mysql replication), DNS with low TTL and scripts to monitor and update automatically DNS. You can do that for $20/mo.

With the tools you have available, I don't see how 1) and 2) can't be combined. There are many tools out there including Puppet server management scripts (there should be a LowEndTalk thread about th

concern is that some web crawlers seem to cache dns ip's more than they are supposed to leading to crawlers accessing the wrong server (I noticed this when I switched servers a few months ago).

* If server 'A' goes offline, your DNS will automatically switch to server 'B' (Possible via Rage4.com)

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iirc poweradmin dns service offers this (the service not the open-source dns app)

Nginx reverse proxy is your best bet, using pure DNS is impossible.

Some DNS providers (I know ClouDNS does) let you set up "web redirect" records on a domain, but I'm not sure if CloudFlare does.

I don't think that is possible. But you could try creating an Apache virtual host or whatever to listen for that DNS hostname and redirect to your ip:port/directory