cURL "couldn't connect to host"

AndyKay

Hi,
I'm pretty sure I've tried everything possible, but I just can't get my cURL to work.

I have lots of working cURL functions, but this particular site I'm trying to cURL to doesnt want to let me connect:

I can type the URL (http and https version) into the address bar, and it gives me the information I want, but to make it useful, I need to use it in a PHP function.

No matter what I try:
cURL
file_get_contents
readfile
fopen

none of them let me see this information which I can see which I can see when I type that URL into the address bar.

(I can't really give out the link on a public forum)

Anybody any ideas?

bradgrafelman

Can you show us the code you tried when you tried to use file_get_contents(), and can you show us the exact error message PHP emits when you run that code?

EDIT: Also, welcome to PHPBuilder!

AndyKay

ini_set('display_errors', 'On');

$file = file_get_contents('http://www.somethinghere.com/default.mvno');

echo $file;

Doesnt show error message, just blank (even though I'm asking it to display errors!)

Thanks for the welcome!

bradgrafelman

Try also setting error_reporting to the constant (not the string!) E_ALL e.g. using [man]error_reporting/man before calling file_get_contents().

Also, any chance you can give us the exact URL you're trying?

AndyKay

OK I tried putting: error_reporting(E_ALL); just before file_get_contents, but still just showing blank.

I can show the URL, but I'll have to take it down after a while - also I wont put in any correct info in there (hopefully we can get it to say incorrect user/pass etc - at least we'll know its connecting)
URL:
http://123.456.789.123:555/something

bradgrafelman

Where are you executing the PHP code at? On your local computer or on a remote server?

If you're on shared hosting (or even if you're on a box you manage yourself), firewall settings are most likely blocking the connection on the non-standard port number '555'.

EDIT: As a perfect example, I myself can't access that URL due to corporate firewalls in place.

AndyKay

btw, I can get file_get_contents to work on ANY other URL with the host I'm using

AndyKay

I have another URL for the same API but using https:

https://123.456.789.123:444/something

bradgrafelman

AndyKay;10985171 wrote:
btw, I can get file_get_contents to work on ANY other URL with the host I'm using

Do those other working URLs attempt to connect on port 555?

bradgrafelman

AndyKay;10985172 wrote:
I have another URL for the same API but using https:

https://123.456.789.123:444/something

Again, same problem; the use of a non-standard port is likely going to get blocked by the server's firewall.

AndyKay

No other working URLs attempt to connect via a specific port.

So you think its the port number which is causing the problems then? I'll try get the company to change ports. What number do you suggest?

bradgrafelman

AndyKay;10985176 wrote:
What number do you suggest?

Unless they have valid reasons to choose otherwise (and they may very well have such reasons), I would think the standard ports for HTTP or HTTPS would be more reasonable for a public-facing interface.

AndyKay

bradgrafelman;10985174 wrote:
Again, same problem; the use of a non-standard port is likely going to get blocked by the server's firewall.

When you mention "blocked by the server's firewall" - do you mean my host server or the server I'm trying to connect to?

(I have minimal experience of ports) :queasy:

bradgrafelman

AndyKay;10985178 wrote:
When you mention "blocked by the server's firewall" - do you mean my host server or the server I'm trying to connect to?

The remote server you're connecting to obviously isn't blocking all incoming connections on that port if you yourself can access it from your own PC.

It's the server where your PHP code is running on that I was referring to above. In that case, the server's firewall might not allow the outgoing connection your PHP script is attempting to make on a non-standard port. Hence why I asked if you were executing this PHP code locally on your own PC or remotely on some other server.

AndyKay

Well thanks for your help with being able to narrow it down to the port number.
Its very weird that even if you specify which port to use (CURLOPT_PORT) it still doesnt work.

I'll email them and hopefully they'll reconfigure to not specify a port to use

P.S. how do I edit the above posts to remove the URL?

AndyKay

bradgrafelman;10985179 wrote:
The remote server you're connecting to obviously isn't blocking all incoming connections on that port if you yourself can access it from your own PC.

It's the server where your PHP code is running on that I was referring to above. In that case, the server's firewall might not allow the outgoing connection your PHP script is attempting to make on a non-standard port. Hence why I asked if you were executing this PHP code locally on your own PC or remotely on some other server.

Ah. OK. Thanks for that 🙂

I'm testing it on a couple of hosts - 1and1 and JustHost

bradgrafelman

AndyKay;10985181 wrote:
P.S. how do I edit the above posts to remove the URL?

The edit feature is disabled for newly-registered users, but I've edited the previous posts for you.

AndyKay;10985182 wrote:
I'm testing it on a couple of hosts - 1and1 and JustHost

Yes, a large majority of shared hosts are extremely likely to block connections on non-standard ports. More than likely their support would just tell you to purchase a VPS or whatnot as your needs have grown beyond the vanilla shared hosting scenario (translation: "We would like more of your money, please and thank you.").