DNS Server Problems

Internet connection problems can really get annoying especially if you are in the middle of doing something or if you just opened up your computer finding out that your connection has gone haywire. There are quite a number of causes for internet connection problems it could be your network, your cables, your modem, your router, your wireless network adapter, viruses, spyware, browser problems but most importantly, problems with the internet providers themselves. It could result in total internet connection loss or being unable to browse the internet for websites.

The internet providers can have different problems on their own which can affect your internet connection. It could be that their system is down, or they’re really turning the service off for a short period of time for maintenance, there are physical problems with their lines, or it could be a DNS server problem.

On the internet, the URLs are identified through IP addresses. Let’s use yahoo.com as an example. If you do a ping test “ping www.yahoo.com” in the command prompt, it will show the address 98.137.149.56 (it’s what shows up at the time of writing and may change in the future). Instead of typing 98.137.149.56 on your web browser, it’s a lot easier to just type in www.yahoo.com right? Try it. It’s extremely impractical if you memorize the IP addresses of your favorite websites to visit them.

Here’s how the DNS (Domain Name System) servers work. When you type in the actual words www.yahoo.com, the DNS servers will locate the IP address equivalent of it so your browser can connect to it without you having to type the IP address itself.

If there’s a problem with the DNS server your internet provider connects you to, you won’t be able to visit websites easily or you probably won’t be able to browse at all. It is because whatever website you type onto your browser, your browser won’t be able to connect to the IP address of that site because of the DNS server’s availability.

The dilemma here is that this situation is out of your control. If there’s a problem with the DNS servers, you may still be able to connect to the internet but you just can’t browse. This is because logging in to your internet account goes directly to your internet provider and not the DNS server. It’s useless anyway since you can’t visit websites.

If you try to enter an IP address directly and it works, it’s a telltale sign that the DNS servers are not working properly (or at all). That’s when you type in 98.137.149.56 and it works but www.yahoo.com doesn’t. Call up your internet provider and ask if there’s a problem with your internet connection in general. Then bring up DNS and they’ll most likely give you a different DNS server to connect to and they should help you out in doing that.

Source:
Wikipedia – Domain Name System
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System