Postalmate error Unable to load WSDL File

Created On
byraymondmimick
You are here:
< Back

Overview

When starting a new transaction, Cashmate shows “An error occurred: Unable to load WSDL File/Location: https://gateway.bfc-usa.com/API/GatewayAPI.asmx?WSDL. Error [Error sending data: (12007) The server name or address could not be resolved]”. While this could be caused if BFC’s servers are offline in a very rare and unexpected event, this can be caused by Internet connection issues or DNS (Domain Name Service) lookup issues. This article looks at how to debug DNS issues with the assumption a tech support person has connected to the merchant’s computer to provide assistance.

The solution is to get the DNS system to work correctly. This could be from restarting network equipment or configuring this computer to use a different DNS server setting than what they have currently defaulted to.

Problem

When starting a new transaction, the credit card entry form does not display and this error is shown:

WSDL error message

Steps to Debug/Solution

  1. Can you connect to the Internet – if you don’t have Internet connectivity, this will be a problem
  2. Try to access via web browser https://gateway.bfc-usa.com/api – if that succeeds, restart Cashmate to see if it will reload the page correctly.
  3. Try to use “ping” from a command prompt or PowerShell
C:\Users\{user name}>ping gateway.bfc-usa.com

Pinging gateway.bfc-usa.com [216.145.118.208] with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 216.145.118.208:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),
C:\Users\{user name}>

If you see a value in brackets, [216.145.118.208] or otherwise, that means your DNS is resolving correctly and it is possible BFC has the web site down. If instead you do not see a value in brackets: 

C:\Users\{user name}>ping gateway.bfc-usa.com
Ping request could not find host gateway.bfc-usa.com.  Please check the name and try again.

This means the DNS system could not find the host value. Let’s check to see if the next step up the line has a valid answer by using the tool “nslookup”. From a command prompt or PowerShell, type “nslookup” and press enter. The first line will tell you where this computer is asking the DNS questions. We’ll assume for now that this is the on-site router/firewall for the business. Type gateway.bfc-usa.com and check to see if it returns a value or not: 

C:\Users\{user name}>nslookup
Default Server:  {domain controller}.bfc-usa.com
Address:  172.27.106.2

> gateway.bfc-usa.com
Server:  {domain controller}.bfc-usa.com
Address:  172.27.106.2

Non-authoritative answer:
Name:    gateway.bfc-usa.com
Address:  216.145.118.208

>

A “non-authoritative answer” means that this value is “cached” on the device. If it stated it could not find an answer, it may mean the system is not connected to the Internet. An Authoritative Answer would come from that system directly accessing the BFC DNS servers. If we believe this device is working ok and got a good answer, we can clear the DNS cache of the local computer and try the ping event again to see if it will lookup correctly. From a command prompt (type exit from the nslookup prompt if you wish), type: 

> ipconfig /flushdns

This will clear any saved DNS lookups and start fresh. You can now restart each of the tests previously done – Browser, Ping, NsLookup. If this computer does not receive the right answer, we can next try to eliminate the next step on the DNS path by using Google DNS servers 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. This could tell us a parental control, firewall, anti-virus or VPN product is blocking our outbound requests for gateway.bfc-usa.com.

Click on the Start menu and type “network” and select “View network Connections”

Network connections

Right-Click on the network card that you are using (in this picture, it is the one labeled “Ethernet”) and select “Properties.”

Properties

From this list, find the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)

Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)
What you will see as a default – Obtain DNS server address automatically

Change the radio button from automatic to manual for the DNS Server setting and put 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 in these values. This will now tell your computer to look to Google for the answer to these queries. If this is not desired, you can lookup your ISP provider’s DNS value and place them into these fields.

Changing DNS to Google DNS servers

Press the OK button and it will save the settings. Retest the browser and ping options and verify the page loads (https://gateway.bfc-usa.com/).