Bad DNS/internet in Airforce dorms

[MetroidZero]

My question: What are my options to get better and a more reliable connection in my dormitory through an Ethernet port when the connection drops a lot, And always throws up bad DNS Errors. Sometimes the problem comes up where we can only connect to Skype calls, But Nothing else.

I'm at Keesler Airforce base for technical training in cyber transport systems. I'm ordering a gaming laptop so I can game off duty, but apparently the internet we have here is horrible for $50/month.It's called CZee, there's a room with a box right down the hallway.

Each dorm has 2 Ethernet ports, one for each person. But even though my roommate is wired, the connection drops all of the time. Nobody has no idea why the connection sucks so bad, we're guessing it's the hardware. But it's always bad DNS errors. I have heard getting your own modem and connecting through that can get you a lot better connection and stop you from dropping, is this true? What are my options to get the best and most stable connection out of it? The WiFi signal drops just as much also. Thanks in advance.

 

[USAFRet]

Troubleshooting 101 - Find the problem first.

A modem won't help. The modem is what converts the signal coming down the coax cable line into something the router can understand, and then distribute to all the clients (ethernet ports in your rooms).
You have nothing to connect a new modem to.

If you guys are paying $50 to CZee for internet access, and is it dropping out continuously, it is on them to fix the problem. Period. You're paying for a service that they are not providing.

Keep a log of connection issues (you and anyone else in the building). See if you see a pattern. This room but not that room, time of day, etc, etc.
Call CZee and make them fix it.

PS - I was at Keesler long ago. Probably about the time you were being hatched.

 

[USAFRet]

Also, talk to the local Comm Sq. They can't fix it directly, but they can probably give some advice. They've probably heard of this before.

 

[MetroidZero]

Troubleshooting 101 - Find the problem first.

A modem won't help. The modem is what converts the signal coming down the coax cable line into something the router can understand, and then distribute to all the clients (ethernet ports in your rooms).
You have nothing to connect a new modem to.

If you guys are paying $50 to CZee for internet access, and is it dropping out continuously, it is on them to fix the problem. Period. You're paying for a service that they are not providing.

Keep a log of connection issues (you and anyone else in the building). See if you see a pattern. This room but not that room, time of day, etc, etc.
Call CZee and make them fix it.

PS - I was at Keesler long ago. Probably about the time you were being hatched.

Thanks for the reply. I guess I have a lot to Learn then more than I thought. It seems to us that since so many people buy it anyways, they don't really care. We've had our commander call and have them come out, they'll mess with the box for 15 minutes and say it's wiring issues.But nothing ever changes. The commander doesn't understand either on anything that's going on so she just puts it off on her non priority list.

I'll have people start getting logs.How should I go about doing this, just through event viewer?


I love the Airforce, it's awesome hearing from others that were in my shoes, thanks for taking the time to reply!

 

[USAFRet]

If they say it is a wiring issue, find out who is in charge of the wiring. It's either them (CZee) or the facility manager.
Yes, it sucks that you have to do their troubleshooting for them, but if it drops out a lot, something is not right.

For logs, just have each person note when it drops out and for how long. Where and when. And non-dropouts are important as well. Rooms 10-20 don't drop at all. Rooms upstairs drop all the time. Stuff like that.
Gather enough info, and you can make fancy graphs to take to CZee. "See...HERE is the problem"

And it is kind of low on the Commanders priority list. Dormitory issues tend to fall to the 1st Shirt.

But if you fix this, that may be a feather in your cap for when the BTZ board is looking around when you get to your real base.
"A1C Metroid successfully diagnosed and identified a network problem in the dormitory at Keesler. He then negotiated with the vendor for a permanent fix, increasing quality of life for 240 current users, and 1,000 dorm residents over the next year."

 

[MetroidZero]

If they say it is a wiring issue, find out who is in charge of the wiring. It's either them (CZee) or the facility manager.
Yes, it sucks that you have to do their troubleshooting for them, but if it drops out a lot, something is not right.

For logs, just have each person note when it drops out and for how long. Where and when. And non-dropouts are important as well. Rooms 10-20 don't drop at all. Rooms upstairs drop all the time. Stuff like that.
Gather enough info, and you can make fancy graphs to take to CZee. "See...HERE is the problem"

And it is kind of low on the Commanders priority list. Dormitory issues tend to fall to the 1st Shirt.

But if you fix this, that may be a feather in your cap for when the BTZ board is looking around when you get to your real base.
"A1C Metroid successfully diagnosed and identified a network problem in the dormitory at Keesler. He then negotiated with the vendor for a permanent fix, increasing quality of life for 240 current users, and 1,000 dorm residents over the next year."

I gave them a call and it worked good, took the time too complain to them and told them hour many people were having problems since it was everyone on the floor. They came out and fixed the dropping issue, at least so far. The connection is still too slow to be paying $50/ month for 1 device at 1mb/s but you can only take one thing at a time. Thaks for the help

 

[USAFRet]

Good deal!