🚀 go-pugleaf

Jeff wrote:
> I found a better solution (and the reason why we need a solution at
> all) regarding the recent DNS problems. As it turns out, AT&T *is*
> actually serving up DNS!! Problem is, they're changing which server is
> doing this *very* often - much more often than Windows 2000 or XP
> expects it.

ROFLO!  Re-read what you just wrote. When you say "much more often than
Windows 2000 or XP expects it", do you mean more often than once every 4
days? My lease is for 4 days. Are you saying that they change DNS servers
more often than that? Then explain why it wouldn't affect other OS's?

> Seems that these latest flavors of Windows have a little
> service running known as "DNS caching". It's supposed to lock onto a
> DNS server (dynamically assigned, in AT&T's case) and use that server
> for the next 300 seconds (the default setting - hackable in the
> registry). The idea is, if your machine doesn't have to sense which
> DNS server is being assigned to it each time you click a link, your
> online experience should be marginally faster. Problem is, AT&T is
> probably switching between DNS servers faster than the expected 300
> seconds and this explains why I can only get to about 7 sites at a
> time. If I leave it alone for a few minutes, I can grab another few
> pages - or I can force this process by refreshing my connection.

Okay. Let's try a better explaination:

AT&T is sending along up to 4 server addresses for DNS servers when you get
your lease. Only the first two work. When Windows 9x/ME/NT come to the ones
that don't work, they cycle through to the ones that do work. Windows
2000/XP stay "stuck" on the bad server for 5 minutes.

There are at least four ways we can overcome this problem until AT&T fixes
it.

1. Hack the Registry, to reduce the caching time to near zero, effectively
turning off DNS caching. (Will you remember to undo this hack when the time
comes?)

2. Go into Services and disable DNS caching. (Setting it to manual simply
stops it from loading at boot, but it will load when an application asks for
it to load.)

3. Specify only the two working DNS servers in the connection settings.

4. Specify the router (if you're using one) as your only DNS server in the
connection settings. (The router doesn't get "stuck" on the bad server.)


Each method has it's pro's and con's. If you're looking to save every
micro-milli-nano second you can, option 3 has a slight edge. If you're
concerned that the real DNS servers will change soon, option number 4 would
be the best. If you want to just forget about using DNS caching, then
options 1 and 2 will do that, but option 2 is probably better than option 1
because it actually turns the feature off rather than just crippling it.

My personal choice would be 3 or 4, depending upon whether you have a
router, and if that router will actually handle DNS resolution.

--
Warren H.

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Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my employer, my
friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife. Any resemblance to the views
of anybody living or dead is coincidental. No animals were hurt in the
writing of this response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants to
go outside now.