DNS server's 404 screen

[Paul Rumelhart]

Jerry Lapham wrote:
> Sometimes when my ISP is "taking a break" (the bottom light on the DSL modem 
> marked "INTERNET" is dark or only on for occasional short bursts) I get a 404 
> screen from the DNS telling me the site I want is unavailable and suggesting 
> alternatives.  I've tried more than one DNS and they all do it.  That 
> wouldn't be so bad except that when I try again, the DNS doesn't look -- it 
> just shows the same screen even though the "INTERNET" light is now on steady.  
> I have to wait several minutes to actually connect to the site I want.
>
> I'd like to find either (1) a DNS that doesn't do that at all or (2) a way to 
> tell the DNS to actually look again.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> 	-Jerry
>   
I'm no expert on this, but I was having dns timeout errors which would 
render my internet usage null and void while it was happening and I 
eventually ended up setting up dnsmasq to do dns caching.  From my 
limited understanding of this, it basically sets yourself up as a dns 
server for yourself (and possibly your local net), caching the IP 
addresses of sites you visit.

I got around it in a less sophisticated manual way by doing an nslookup 
on my regular internet sites I visit and putting them in my .hosts file, 
before I went the dns caching route.

Occasionally, I've had to tell the dnsmasq service to restart when I 
start getting those errors, which took care of them right away.  
Usually, though, I don't even see them anymore.  I've also noticed a 
general performance increase while surfing the web.  I assume my ISP 
needs to invest in more robust DNS servers.

The dnsmasq package is part of Ubuntu.  You can find setup instructions 
on the web -  I don't remember what I did to set it up.  If I remember 
right, I had to install something extra to get it to launch at startup.

I'm on Hardy Heron, if that helps.  I'm assuming it's still around in 
less antiquated versions.

Paul