DNS Issues..

[[AK]Hylander]

This is just a continuation / additional info for those I was discussing my recent ISP DNS Issues with last night on Ventrilo.

OpenDNS - That's the service I was referring to when I asked if anyone had used it. I've had several people tell me it's been great for them.

Anyways, the 'issue' is that over the last few weeks, sometimes I have to "refresh" 3 or 4 times to get a page to come up. It's sporadic, and not a huge thing. But I read on Broadbandreports.com COVAD forum that alot of people were experiencing the same thing. This was happening to all 4 of my PC hooked up to my home network. I have the DNS settings on each PC set, although my router has them set as well. Anyways, over the last 2 or 3 days I've been unable to reach my e-commerce shop at all. (Big problem since it's Christmas season and I process all my orders in the evening at home). I asked a bunch of people on IM and they could get there no problem. If I used a proxy server, it came up no problem. So it wasn't a site issue with the site.

So I went to COVAD.net and got their DNS server listings. I changed my DNS from the 2 Philly ones to the Washington DC ones. That solved the problem.. for about 24 hours and then it returned. Then last night, I switch the primary to the Atlanta primary and the Boston primary to my secondary and that solved the problem. As of this morning, it was still working. Again, this problem was affecting each device in my house. 2 XP Pro boxes, an XP Pro laptop, and my Ubuntu Box. All had the DNS settings set locally on the PC except Ubuntu, which was using the Router DNS settings which I had changed accordingly, rebooted, etc. I've been with COVAD for probably 8 or 9 years now and their service has been fantastic - so this is a rare problem I've encountered just recently.

Doing some research is how I came across OpenDNS which I'm going to try if the issues continue. I'm sorry, but I just can't handle one more Indian Tech Support person reading off the script or I'll lose it. No, I'm NOT having line connection issues - I'm have YOUR DNS ISSUES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[[AK]Bribo]

Whey aren't you using the DNS your ISP provides?

[[AK]Hylander]

I 'was' using the DNS the ISP provided (COVAD) - which is the problem. They don't work. The two they provide me with are the 2 Philly DNS. I then went to their website and they have a list of DNS servers - you are suppose to use the ones closest to you, which is why the 2 Philly ones were given to me. NY City is the same, just the primary and secondary are switched. So I then tried their Washington DNS servers and they worked for about 24 hours.. then the problem returned. I'm now using their Atlanta and Boston ones, which seem to be working - for now anyways.

[[AK]Bribo]

Ahh OK. I was confused. Thought you were having the problem with OpenDNS.
Did not realize Covad was your ISP.

[[AK]Brorlis]

I've never used the "ISP provided" DNS addresses. I've always used other DNS servers as their usually more reliable. The ones that I have found to be the best over the years are

4.2.2.1 , 4.2.2.2 , and 4.2.2.3

Give those a try. No open DNS, no ISP junk, hopefully it'll work for ya!

[[AK]Hylander]

I've never used the "ISP provided" DNS addresses. I've always used other DNS servers as their usually more reliable. The ones that I have found to be the best over the years are

4.2.2.1 , 4.2.2.2 , and 4.2.2.3

Give those a try. No open DNS, no ISP junk, hopefully it'll work for ya!

Thanks.. I'll add them to "the list" I now have sitting on my desk at home.

Interesting, I was doing some Googling and came upon this posting. Seems as if I have alot of options if necessary.

I have been a fan of my COVAD 3.0/768 service for years. I believe I've been with them since about 1998 give or take a year. Yes, I pay $79.95 a month for it - but I do have a Business SLA (Service Level Agreement) which means I can pretty much do whatever I want with my connection without the fear of the ISP limits of how many PCs you can have connected or "no servers". I ran into that with Verizon and ProLog (Penteledata) in the past. I'd like to have faster service, but I hate cable companies so that limits my options. I'm waiting for FIOS and then I'll check out what's available to me and the cost of having a business level connection with Verizon.

[[AK]Hylander]

LOL

How many of you have had this type of conversation with a relative? I know I have!

The Frustration of Tech


I'm actually using OpenDNS now - it's a pretty nifty setup. I opened an account and set up some tweaks.