Safari Cant Find Server

Question

Problem

I am currently working/developing a Drupal CMS Site and I am trying to work on doing development in my local environment. I used to be able to access the local environment but now I am unable to. I think what had happened was when I was installing Acquia's DevDesktop I remember it prompting me with a System Preference Dialog Box for something along the lines of SQL connections or MySQL? I can't 100% remember correctly. I was moving to fast and believe that is what accidentally set this whole thing off.

Error Message

Failed to open page. Safari can't open the page _blank_ because 
Safari can't find the server _blank_

Observations/Attempts to Resolve

• I have checked the System Preferences>Network>Proxies and unchecked everything and nothing worked.
• I have added the DNS servers for 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4, still nothing changed
• I have cleared the cache and all website data by going to Safari Preferences>Privacy>Manage Website Data and deleting it all.
• I have also checked firewall settings and I have everything allowing incoming connections except for a certain app. I also have it checked to use built-in software to automatically handle the connections.

Important Side Note: Everything works fine in Mozilla, Chrome.

Configuration/Settings: macOS Version: Catalina 10.15.4

Answer 1

The error message tells you what's wrong - Safari can't find the web page - so we need to focus there.

• Changing your DNS to Google's DNS servers won't do anything as Google's (DNS) servers are completely unaware of your private network.

• MySQL/SQL connections don't impact HTTP(S) connections - it's two completely different protocols used over two totally different ports. If you did manage to "break" your database connection, Drupal would generate an error message and the site would break. However, Safari would still be able to find it.

• Because Mozilla and Chrome can both reach the website, it's not necessarily a firewall issue. This tells you that the service is up and running and accepting connections. You mentioned that you have it set for "allowing all incoming except for a certain app." You could be blocking Safari.

• Under the Firewall Options, it doesn't handle "all" the incoming connections, but only the connections for built-in software. If you're using an AMP stack outside of what Apple provides, it's not handling it. Disable the firewall completely to see if this is the case.

Now, the error message "can't find the server" is a naming issue not a connection issue. If it were, say, the firewall blocking, you would get a "connection refused" message.

• ensure you're using the correct address. Use the command line to be certain - `open -a Safari "apple.stackexchange.com"
• flush your DNS cache - sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder;
• set your router as the primary DNS server (i.e 192.168.1.1 or whatever your router's IP is) as it will be be more familiar with your network
• try http://localhost instead of the name - that will make sure it's going directly to your machine and not looking up anything.