UPDATE 1:
Basically, from a computer outside the network, I can access the website by typing into the browser address bar, either of the following, which is how it should be:
http://www.companyname.com
http://companyname.com
However, from within the company network, we can only access the external website by typing in
http://www.companyname.com
It will not work if I type
http://companyname.com
ORIGINAL QUESITON:
Our internal network has the same domain name as our external website, lets say it's companyname.com for both the website and for our internal network.
This is causing problems because I am unable to access the companyname.com website from within the network. I have to use a computer from outside the network to see the website.
Is there a way around this issue, ideally without having to change the internal or external domain names?
Best Answer
You need a split DNS
http://www.isaserver.org/tutorials/You_Need_to_Create_a_Split_DNS.html
A hacky way to fix it would be to put an A record in your DNS that points to the IP of the website. (So www.yourcompanyname.com resolves to the website address)
The best way to fix it would be a split DNS. And that about sums up my knowledge of it. You might get lucky and have someone else expound further on it.
What you're seeing is (based on my experience) *.yourcompanyname.com resolving to the SOA in DNS, which is why you're not able to get to the website internally. Put in an explicit A record for www and that should fix it.