Slippy DNS
February 26, 2006 10:04 PM Subscribe
Periodic DNS dropouts on my cable modem?
I've got my PC laptop hooked up to my (NYC) local cable broadband. Been using the same router and the same computer for a few years.
Lately my DNS resolution is "slippy." Mostly, websites resolve fine, but every few minutes or so, I can't get any HTTP to resolve. Happens with FFox and IE.
This will last for about a minute, and then everything comes back, just as mysteriously. It's frequent, but not regular.
But it's not like I'm losing connectivity -- I can still chat, skype, play an MMO...
I used to have the modem running through a wireless router, but went back to wireline, thinking that would solve the problem (it didn't).
Any ideas?
I've got my PC laptop hooked up to my (NYC) local cable broadband. Been using the same router and the same computer for a few years.
Lately my DNS resolution is "slippy." Mostly, websites resolve fine, but every few minutes or so, I can't get any HTTP to resolve. Happens with FFox and IE.
This will last for about a minute, and then everything comes back, just as mysteriously. It's frequent, but not regular.
But it's not like I'm losing connectivity -- I can still chat, skype, play an MMO...
I used to have the modem running through a wireless router, but went back to wireline, thinking that would solve the problem (it didn't).
Any ideas?
You may want to check out http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/27417 for a similar situation. Actually, I had the same situation with an intermittent internet connection that seemed to defy logic; it went away when I installed IBM's Access Connections. True, I have an IBM (now Lenovo) Thinkpad for which Access Connections is designed for. Nonethless it solved a frustrating problem I had that seemed very similar to that described by you. Good luck.
posted by vac2003 at 12:04 AM on February 27, 2006
posted by vac2003 at 12:04 AM on February 27, 2006
Comcast has had historical problems with the DNS. Throw your resolver at 4.2.2.1, or self-host DNS, to compensate.
posted by effugas at 1:01 AM on February 27, 2006
posted by effugas at 1:01 AM on February 27, 2006
Wow...seems that it's not just you. I am also in NYC, on a laptop, wireless, Roadrunner cable, that up till last weekend never had a problem. Now I have the exact same problem! So needless to say I will be keeping a close eye on this thread!
posted by Captain_Science at 3:43 AM on February 27, 2006
posted by Captain_Science at 3:43 AM on February 27, 2006
Did we establish this is Comcast, effugas? I'm on Comcast as well, and they sent out an email recently stating that they're changing up their DNS servers. OP might still be on the old (and presumably flawed or "more flawed") DNS servers.
posted by hincandenza at 4:04 AM on February 27, 2006
posted by hincandenza at 4:04 AM on February 27, 2006
DNS is pretty easy to run locally, if you have any kind of a server machine... preferably running a Unixy-type OS, so you can run BIND.
If you have a Linksys WRT54 access point... I believe the stock firmware can do DNS natively. If it can't, the replacement firmwares definitely could.
I don't like relying on anyone else for DNS resolution.... by doing it myself, as long as my link is up, it works.
posted by Malor at 4:25 AM on February 27, 2006
If you have a Linksys WRT54 access point... I believe the stock firmware can do DNS natively. If it can't, the replacement firmwares definitely could.
I don't like relying on anyone else for DNS resolution.... by doing it myself, as long as my link is up, it works.
posted by Malor at 4:25 AM on February 27, 2006
I had similar problems starting last week, and I think there were a lot of us. I don't know what they did, but cable modem and router restart (with 30-sec. "timeout") seems to have fixed it for me. You probably have tried that already, but if not, it doesn't hurt. I didn't expect it to work but whatever, Comcast!
posted by theredpen at 5:17 AM on February 27, 2006
posted by theredpen at 5:17 AM on February 27, 2006
(DNS is one of my research areas)
Comcast is particularly well known to have issues. The problem with DNS servers is that they have a nonlinear failure curve, i.e. they work fine until there's a certain number of sockets they're managing on behalf of "stub resolvers" (what's in your PC), and then they just _fail_. Comcast has so many users on so few servers that they've had a number of problems scaling. (They had a really high profile failure a few years back...on April 14th.)
The solution is not to use Comcast's resolvers.
posted by effugas at 9:19 AM on February 27, 2006
Comcast is particularly well known to have issues. The problem with DNS servers is that they have a nonlinear failure curve, i.e. they work fine until there's a certain number of sockets they're managing on behalf of "stub resolvers" (what's in your PC), and then they just _fail_. Comcast has so many users on so few servers that they've had a number of problems scaling. (They had a really high profile failure a few years back...on April 14th.)
The solution is not to use Comcast's resolvers.
posted by effugas at 9:19 AM on February 27, 2006
Wow! I'm on RR on TWCNYC too. And I have the same problem.
posted by riffola at 9:52 AM on February 27, 2006
posted by riffola at 9:52 AM on February 27, 2006
preferably running a Unixy-type OS, so you can run BIND.
BIND9 runs fine as a recursive caching resolver on windows too.
posted by Rhomboid at 1:09 PM on February 27, 2006
BIND9 runs fine as a recursive caching resolver on windows too.
posted by Rhomboid at 1:09 PM on February 27, 2006
I had a similar situation but the solution actually had nothing to do with DNS. Open your EventLog (Control Panel > Administrative Tools) and look for any events with the Event ID 4226.
Microsoft, in all of their genius, decided to to prevent machines taken over by spyware from sending mass email by limiting the number of connections your machine can make a second. If you're running a P2P program, like downloading many things through bittorrent, then it's quite likely your computer has reached the max 10 connections per second and can't open any new connections to query the DNS server.
Read more about it on speedguide or download the patch
posted by lockle at 5:37 AM on March 2, 2006
Microsoft, in all of their genius, decided to to prevent machines taken over by spyware from sending mass email by limiting the number of connections your machine can make a second. If you're running a P2P program, like downloading many things through bittorrent, then it's quite likely your computer has reached the max 10 connections per second and can't open any new connections to query the DNS server.
Read more about it on speedguide or download the patch
posted by lockle at 5:37 AM on March 2, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by fvox13 at 10:32 PM on February 26, 2006