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RE: Sleepy server causes workstation dns error

To: "'djbdns List'" <dns@list.cr.yp.to>
Subject: RE: Sleepy server causes workstation dns error
From: "Graham Miller" <graham@webenhanced.com.au>
Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 10:00:51 +1100
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Cap Casady wrote:
> I disabled the dns client on my windows XP machines and found that dns worked
> much better after that.

And off list: Pat collins wrote:
> Did you turn of the windows xp dns caching?  I've never seen this problem
> with my dnscaches and windows dns cache is truly brain dead.

This might also help Emelio (thanks for your off list reply).

I have discovered that windows dns client (confusingly named dnscache) easily 
lowers the
priority of a dns server as soon as it gives a slower answer than another one. 
So while my dns
server is asking the world for an answer, the ISP caches are probably 
responding from cache.

Windows gives priority to dns servers on the same local subnet but I think the 
above over-rides
it. This causes the search order of dns servers (in windoze dns client) to 
change and probably
is causing our drama.

So I just disabled the windoze dns client last night, made sure the local 
dnscache instance was
first in the dns servers dished up by the dhcp server, and all is working 
correctly this
morning. Yeeha!

After plowing through the micro$oft documents on the dns client, I think there 
may be a way of
tuning it to work properly, but hey!, why bother when dnscache does a beaut job 
for all the PCs.
For those interested, search for "xp dns client" on the windoze site should get 
your answers if
you have a hour or two to waste scouring through large documents for the needle 
your are after.
The best one is "IP Implementation details windows server 2003"

Thanks for the pointer guys! Much appreciated.

cheers
Graham


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