[SOLVED] Why am I having so many DNS problems with my new hardware?

Nov 12, 2020
1
0
10
Before I begin, I'll try to describe the layout of my home network. I have two separate rooms of ethernet devices, we'll just define them as Room 1 and Room 2 below:

Room 1 (All ethernet)

2x PC
1x MacBook Pro w/ dock
1x Network Switch (Netgear GS105E)
1x Powerline Adapter (Netgear PLP2000)
*One PC connects directly to port 1 of the powerline adapter, the other PC and the macbook connect to the switch which is connected to port 2 of the powerline adapter.

Room 2 (All ethernet)

1x Smart TV
4x Game Consoles
1x Network Switch (TP-Link TL-SG108)
1x Hue Light Hub
1x Powerline Adapter (Netgear PLP2000)
1x Router (D-Link DIR-1750)
1x Modem (Motorola MB7621)

Wireless
2x Smartphones
1x Laptop
3x IoT Devices (Google home, etc)

So I've got one modem/router combo for everything, with room 1 connecting to it over a powerline adapter. My issue is that the modem and router a new, I recently bought them to replace the Cisco DPC3941T Gateway my ISP provided since I was annoyed by it occasionally losing connection and needing to be reset, along with just liking to have my own hardware. I haven't yet had the network collapse for no reason like with the gateway, but I have been having CONSTANT DNS issues with this set up ever since I installed. It began with my wired and wireless devices frequently losing connection what was diagnosed as a DNS Name Resolution Failure on the PCs, an issued I'd never had on the Gateway. Since I didn't much like having to reset the router 1-2 times a day, I was able "fix" this by, annoyingly, setting up either Google DNS or OpenDNS (both when possible) as static name servers on every single device where I can do so.

This keeps connection dying, but I am still noting an overall poor quality of service in loading pages and images. Major sites like reddit, amazon, twitter, and others frequently take what feels like an excessively long time to load, and sometimes fail to load at all unless I spam the refresh button. I've also noticed strange behavior on apps and games connecting to the internet (My fiancee noted she kept having weird loading and connection issues when playing an MMO we both are on last night, while I had no issues with the connection from my PC).

I've tested my speed at various time and overall it seems adequate, so I'm not sure why my new equipment seems to be struggling with this. I'm guessing it's the router, but I don't rule out that could be the modem either. Is there anything I can do to further test either device? Should I just replace one of them, and are there any recommendations? Really appreciate any help, thanks!
 
Solution
Check the modem and see if you see any messages in the log that might help you. There are always some messages that mean little so you need to see if any correspond with your problems.

The DNS messages is almost worthless. It can mean that there is a DNS problem but many times it is because the whole internet connection is going down. This would be kinda like complaining that your monitor is black and has no lights when the power is off to your entire house.

From the symptoms you get I would suspect you are getting packet loss. You can test by leaving a constant ping run to 8.8.8.8
Return your bought equipment, install your isp provided equipment again and if you have issues, complain to your isp to get them to fix it. I seriously think this is an isp issue from the start, and now that you have your own equipment you've given them something to point their finger to as the cause and then not fix the root problem. Once you use their equipment again, they have to fix it because it's all 'theirs'.
 
it is likely the router, the DIR-1750 is a pretty old and not even the best when it came out.
check your WAN settings, you may have lease time set to something low like 3hrs .

Before I begin, I'll try to describe the layout of my home network. I have two separate rooms of ethernet devices, we'll just define them as Room 1 and Room 2 below:

Room 1 (All ethernet)

2x PC
1x MacBook Pro w/ dock
1x Network Switch (Netgear GS105E)
1x Powerline Adapter (Netgear PLP2000)
*One PC connects directly to port 1 of the powerline adapter, the other PC and the macbook connect to the switch which is connected to port 2 of the powerline adapter.

Room 2 (All ethernet)

1x Smart TV
4x Game Consoles
1x Network Switch (TP-Link TL-SG108)
1x Hue Light Hub
1x Powerline Adapter (Netgear PLP2000)
1x Router (D-Link DIR-1750)
1x Modem (Motorola MB7621)

Wireless
2x Smartphones
1x Laptop
3x IoT Devices (Google home, etc)

So I've got one modem/router combo for everything, with room 1 connecting to it over a powerline adapter. My issue is that the modem and router a new, I recently bought them to replace the Cisco DPC3941T Gateway my ISP provided since I was annoyed by it occasionally losing connection and needing to be reset, along with just liking to have my own hardware. I haven't yet had the network collapse for no reason like with the gateway, but I have been having CONSTANT DNS issues with this set up ever since I installed. It began with my wired and wireless devices frequently losing connection what was diagnosed as a DNS Name Resolution Failure on the PCs, an issued I'd never had on the Gateway. Since I didn't much like having to reset the router 1-2 times a day, I was able "fix" this by, annoyingly, setting up either Google DNS or OpenDNS (both when possible) as static name servers on every single device where I can do so.

This keeps connection dying, but I am still noting an overall poor quality of service in loading pages and images. Major sites like reddit, amazon, twitter, and others frequently take what feels like an excessively long time to load, and sometimes fail to load at all unless I spam the refresh button. I've also noticed strange behavior on apps and games connecting to the internet (My fiancee noted she kept having weird loading and connection issues when playing an MMO we both are on last night, while I had no issues with the connection from my PC).

I've tested my speed at various time and overall it seems adequate, so I'm not sure why my new equipment seems to be struggling with this. I'm guessing it's the router, but I don't rule out that could be the modem either. Is there anything I can do to further test either device? Should I just replace one of them, and are there any recommendations? Really appreciate any help, thanks!
 
Check the modem and see if you see any messages in the log that might help you. There are always some messages that mean little so you need to see if any correspond with your problems.

The DNS messages is almost worthless. It can mean that there is a DNS problem but many times it is because the whole internet connection is going down. This would be kinda like complaining that your monitor is black and has no lights when the power is off to your entire house.

From the symptoms you get I would suspect you are getting packet loss. You can test by leaving a constant ping run to 8.8.8.8
 
Solution