DNS DSL pulling my hair out

wdfifteen · wdfifteen's Garage

Every time the power grid goes down out here the DSL line goes dead. Our connection to the outside world (weather information etc) is broken when we need it most.
I contacted Frontier - the company that provides our DSL service and they spent the first 30 minutes blaming my modem. Then they said that the modem was connected to the wrong DNS and switching to a different DNS should fix it.

I'm skeptical.

I caught a technician working on the line out here a few days ago and he said the problem was there is no battery backup at the "transfer station" (I'm not sure that's the exact term he used) where the optical cable is connect to the copper. But the guy on phone says switching to a different DNS would fix it.

What does the PPOT brain trust have to say about this?

Scott Douglas · Scott Douglas's Garage

We have Frontier also and I get the DNS server not found or responding all the time, and our power hasn't gone out in quite a while either. We aren't on DSL either if that helps too.

I remember a couple months ago I got a message, not sure if it was from Firefox or Frontier, about changing the DNS server we were hooked up to. I, ignorant of what was really going on, agreed to the change. It didn't/hasn't helped IMO.

masraum · 10-01-2020, 07:54 AM

Power goes out, your line goes down and that's due to a DNS problem? That sounds odd.

DNS is the mechanism by witch names are converted to addresses. The way that everything on the Internet communicates is by IP address. People aren't good at remembering IP addresses, so instead, most things on the Internet are given names, and the names are associated to IP addresses. DNS servers are responsible for giving you the IP address for something.

WDFifteen "I want to go to google.com"
WDF's computer to DNS server "what's the address of google.com"
DNS server response "10.10.10.10"

It's possible that the modem might need to talk to a DNS server for the link to be up, but that seems weird. If you have access to the modem, then you may be able to configure a bunch of DNS servers around the Internet, but the modem may need a very specific server (something internal to Frontier).

It seems odd to me that DNS would take a line down. I do work in networking, but I've never worked on DSL setups.

KFC911 · 10-01-2020, 08:11 AM

DNS will never have anything whatsoever to do with your physical connection as Steve said. But if your DSL is hosed you certainly can't reach a DNS via it.

With multiple DNS entries, if the first one is available (but hosed), the others might not be attempted. A dead DNS is better than a sick one

.

Try using 8.8.8.8 or 9.9.9.9 as the first DNS in the list to test in this situation, but I would only do that as a test, not as a permanent change.

Oh yeah... get thee a smart phone (with data) as a backup for DSL outages if it's chronic. How else are ya gonna ask PPOT for help

?

wdfifteen · wdfifteen's Garage

How do I find out where the DNS server is?
Whenever a web site (Home Depot etc) recommends a store near me it's way up by Cleveland - 200 miles away. I'm assuming HD is getting what it thinks is my location from the location of the DNS server.

We use a smart phone and iPad to connect to the internet when the power goes out. Other people I know who have Frontier DSL don't have the DSL go down in a power outage. I'd like to get what I'm paying for out of Frontier.

KFC911 · 10-01-2020, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

How do I find out where the DNS server is?
Whenever a web site (Home Depot etc) recommends a store near me it's way up by Cleveland - 200 miles away. I'm assuming HD is getting what it thinks is my location from the location of the DNS server.

Not your DNS ... they are basing it on your IP address. I keep all location services, etc. disabled ... on my cell phone .... they usually think I'm in Charlotte, but it could be anywhere the cell towers take it.

masraum · 10-01-2020, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

How do I find out where the DNS server is?
Whenever a web site (Home Depot etc) recommends a store near me it's way up by Cleveland - 200 miles away. I'm assuming HD is getting what it thinks is my location from the location of the DNS server.

We use a smart phone and iPad to connect to the internet when the power goes out. Other people I know who have Frontier DSL don't have the DSL go down in a power outage. I'd like to get what I'm paying for out of Frontier.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC911

Not your DNS ... they are basing it on your IP address. I keep all location services, etc. disabled ... on my cell phone .... they usually think I'm in Charlotte, but it could be anywhere the cell towers take it.

Right, they base it on your IP and that is not a good way to determine location. That'll usually get you in the right metropolitan area, but if you're in the country, it may not even be that close.

It is probably something like this.
Frontier has a big building in Cleveland, and they have a bunch of IP addresses associated with that building. Then that building connects to smaller buildings in every direction for 200 miles. And each of those buildings may have a small group of the IP addresses being used, but Frontier only advertises the big group out of their building in Cleveland.

The stuff that you see int he spy movies where they can tie a single ip address back to a room in a hotel or a specific house is not realistic, at least, not in most of the world or not without very special access to the ISP networks.

DNS servers are likely no where near you and aren't used to locate you.

KFC911 · 10-01-2020, 09:01 AM

A lot of location info is carried via the HTTP layers.

While correct about the vagueness of an IP (given the subnet mask), a few devices on those subnets (that are known locations) and some cross mapping can get you close....

But no cigar