slow wireless only in linux, many dns queries

true_atlantis · 06-07-2006, 10:30 PM

for some reason my wireless internet is going extremly slow. when sniffing the traffic, i can see tons of "standard DNS requests" going from my machine to 192.168.1.1 (the wireless router). this does not happen in windows, or with a wired connection. i am using madwifi with an atheros wireless card. my /etc/resolv.conf is set to

nameserver 192.168.1.1

this is what it says

Code:

ath0      IEEE 802.11g  ESSID:"Scooter"  Nickname:"linux"
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.462 GHz  Access Point: 00:x:x:x:x:x
          Bit Rate:11 Mb/s   Tx-Power:16 dBm   Sensitivity=0/3
          Retry:off   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Encryption key:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=23/94  Signal level=-72 dBm  Noise level=-95 dBm
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

does anyone have any ideas?

rickh · 06-08-2006, 03:27 PM

I don't think your resolv.conf file should be set to your router. You say it doesn't happen with a wired connection. Check the resolv.conf file with the wired connection. Assuming you're using the same router for both, your wireless resolv.conf should be the same as it is when you're wired.

Cogar · 06-08-2006, 04:32 PM

This happens in SUSE 10.0 (and probably other distros as well). There is a write up describing the solution here:

http://www.hdxzone.com/linux_install-suse.htm

Scroll down to the section entitled, "Getting Internet connection to work if the wireless connection is configured correctly, but you cannot seem to connect to the Internet."

true_atlantis · 06-08-2006, 10:39 PM

i tried that little fix, and it doesnt seem to help. i changed my distro to fedora core 5 (x86_64)and i get the same problem, but now its a little different... when im downloading things using bittorrent, it does huge activity spikes... at one second, it will be downloading at 100k, then ill look 10 minutes later, and its stalled at 0k... any other ideas?

Cogar · 06-09-2006, 11:53 AM

If you are not having problems with wired connections, and you changed distros and are still having the same problem with wireless, it makes me wonder if there is something wrong with your driver or wireless configuration setup.

It is also possible you are getting a weak signal. Wireless can be flaky if the signal is "borderline." That is, my wife's machine, which is one room away from our wireless access point, has no problems getting a solid, consistent signal. However, the family room computer, which is across the house, tends to exhibit behavior like you describe--great for a few minutes and then slows to a standstill the next. I was able to eliminate about 90 or 95% of the problem by changing the wireless adapter in the family room computer from Netgear to D-Link (some brands or models are a lot better than others), but I think there is only so much I can do without replacing the antenna with some sort of high gain one.

true_atlantis · 06-10-2006, 04:07 AM

well, i have a sort of work around... i allowed DNS caching on my machine... for some reason the DNS was not being resolved all the time and was timing out a lot... i think that has something to do with my router, but i am not sure.