I'm running Debian Etch connecting to the internet via Qwest DSL with an Actiontec modem / router. After weeks of internet research and chatting with friends I believe that I'm having a DNS issue. Websites are hot and cold, by that I mean that sometimes they load at expected rates and other times (most frequently) they do not load completely. They hang. I also experience this problem when trying to connect to the Debian Archives via apt-get and have to cancel and retry until they connect and stay connected long enough to get the program or whatever I need. I've edited and locked my resolv.conf file to the Qwest DNS servers 201.171.3.65 and 201.171.2.65 and set my router/ modem to static DNS servers with the same addresses in the same order. I'm stumped. What am I missing? Perhaps this isn't a DNS issue. Any help will be very appreciated. Thanks.

here are my outputs for resolv.conf and ifconfig

Do other computers on the network have such a problem?

If you feel it is a DNS issue, why not try opendns servers
208.67.220.220
208.67.222.222

I am not sure of the servers, just check'em up.

I would also try watching a few continous pings running tyo known good sources while pages are timing out. sounds like it could just as easily be an intermittent connection problem. What sort of DSL connection do you have? I used to specialize in DSL and T1, and DSL can very often cause these exact symptoms you are describing due to physical circuit trouble. Have you tried reaching out to your ISP? It can be a lengthy and painful process, but in the end you could wind up with a connection that works the way its supposed to.

yes, I have checked the other computers on the network, not in a while though, and they did exhibit the same symptoms. I will check later this afternoon more intently. Also, we do have a few windows computers on our network and I haven't heard any complaints from their users, but I haven't asked either. It seem right now to be only effecting those running Linux, and we are all running the same distro.

"intermittent connection problem" - This is a new term for me and I'll have to look into that.

Going to my ISP will be my last resort. Last time I called them they hadn't even heard of Linux. It's a Qwest account, that's all I can say from here (I'm at school right now). I tried using OpenDNS and I didn't notice any difference. My hunch is that It's not the Qwest DNS servers themselves but rather how my computer is connecting to them, if that makes sense. When I go home this afternoon I'll examine all the other computers on our network and get back to you all. If there is any other information that will be useful let me know.

"Slow" DNS is very rarely a problem. If sites load slow, it isn't because they aren't resolving, it is that you have the aforementioned connection issues.

As a test, even when you can't reach a site, try to ping that site. If you get a message like this, then the DNS portion of the equation is done. My computer now knows that google.com is at 72.14.207.99. If you don't get an IP, try to ping your DNS servers. If you don't get an answer, you probably won't be able to ping them either.

Peace,
JimBass

Yes, I did get an IP address when I tried to ping the sites that I have the most trouble with. That means it's not a DNS issue, right? The names were resolved, right?

I chatted with the other users of our network, my housemates, and have found that even the windows users are experiencing the same issues.

So I should call my ISP, huh? Is there any other advice you all can give me?

Yes you should call your ISP. But if I were you don't bother mentioning anything about DNS. Its probably not the problem and will just confuse the issue with them.

What you need to do is exclude physical connection problems from this equation. Perhaps you have a faulty wire somewhere. Since it seems all PCs on the network is effected, this narrows down the problem to somewhere between your hub, your router, and qwest.

So do what we call working your way up to the demarc. Test, check, possibly replace cabling all the way to the walljack.

If that don't work, then try some using traceroute and ping to narrow it down further.

First do a traceroute to say www.microsoft.com. Look at the output and note the address of the router that is your next network hop. Traceroute may also very well indicate where the problem is also. As it does at least 3 pings to determine latency.

Next setup ping to continuously ping that router. And note down any sudden high spikes in latency, or dropped packets. That will probably represent your intermittent connection issues. If you see no issues after say letting it run 5 or 10 minutes, then try the next router, and so on and so forth until you see the problem.

By doing this, it will indicate for you where exactly your encountering the issue. And will give you more ammo when you talk to Qwest, assuming you talk to someone with a brain.

Now lets assume you do all this, and at no point in your path to microsoft.com do you see any dropped packets or out of whack latency. Then maybe then, you will have some confidence in blaming the DNS server but just barely.

If you do find the problem and can pinpoint it, call Qwest, ask for a level 2 tech so that you can relay your info to him. If you try explaning this to a level 1 they will just have you reboot crap. If he gives you any shit start talking to them about traceroutes, in they're ignorance you'll get to level 2.

Then again maybe this is only valid strategy with charter.net

In addition to this, we are talking Qwest here it would not surprise me at all if they have oversold your DSL service. What I mean by that is they have a system that can handle say 100 people, but instead they sign up 200.

There is really a myriad of things that can go wrong with a DSL connection. Thats what I'd like to point out here. And that really should be your very first avenue of investigation until exhaustion. DNS even setup by idiots, if it works it tends to be rock solid. Kinda hard to screw up from an admin perspective assuming it works at all. And it would affect so many people I'd be terribly surprised they had not resolved it.

But ignoring all the people on your block with a crappy DSL connection is much easier to do.