Are you getting DNS errors when trying to load a website? Not all the time, just randomly. It usually happens when everyone is at home and trying to access the internet. You don’t see this error at work with an enterprise-level network.
If you do a Google search for ‘random DNS errors’, you will find many forum posts that talk about what is happening, well kind of.
There are several possible causes for this error. In the simplest terms, your computer is asking for the IP address so you can access a URL, i.e., ‘worstauthor.com’. That request usually goes to your router. The router will reply if it has the information or asks another DNS server for help. That request is a network connection.
If the router can’t get a response from the next-level DNS server, it reports a connection error to your computer.
Online help
The forum fixes tell you several options starting with rebooting your router. That will clear all connections, so everything looks good for a short while. Another solution is to use a faster DNS server. Keeping your router firmware up to date is always a good idea. The router manufacturer can make improvements to the network stack in the router. Another option is to contact your ISP and ask for help. All of these can address your issue.
What if you do all those things and still get random errors? Now, what do you do?
Errors accessing the internet may be an overloaded router
Your home router has limited capacity for some functions. In this case, there is a maximum number of simultaneous connections to the internet. Every DNS request is a connection. Asking for a web page, a picture, or a CSS file are all connections. Some are temporary, like DNS and some are constant.
If you reach the limit of your router’s capacity an error will occur, but the router has no way to tell you the real problem is it has reached maximum connection capacity. You will see a DNS error. DNS is always the start of a server connection.
My story
I had the exact description of random DNS errors. Being an engineer and anal about my network working correctly I started investigating. I searched online and read all those forums. I looked at specifications for networks, DNS, etc. I looked at different search options and keywords. Basically, I didn't find much that I could test and prove was the problem or the associated fix.
I found the cause after I started looking at open-source router firmware, the router configuration options, and logs. To test a solution, I took a router and changed the firmware to a different open-source version with a higher connection limit. I changed my router and over the next week, the problem was gone. When I put the original router firmware back the problem came back.
In my case, we are talking about an old router to start with. My situation was several years ago, and I still don't see posts about what is really happening. Even then my house was full of devices accessing the internet. Every person had a phone and a computer. Plus, we had other devices like home automation, the entertainment system, etc. They all wanted connections.
It wasn't until later that I found what made it worse. I will talk about that in more detail below. Let's get into why this is a problem.
Connections and DNS - the background
For your device to connect to a server and give you a web page it must do several things. All these process steps involve your router, which is the key component for this discussion.
DNS
When the computer wants the page from worstauthor.com it doesn't know the IP address. It sends a DNS request to the router, asking for the IP address for worstauthor.com.
Your request to access worstauthor.com involves DNS. Domain Name Service is what turns 'worstauthor.com' into an IP address your computer needs. An IP address for the site can change, but with the name and DNS, you will get the page you have requested.
The router will cache the IP address for a few minutes. If several requests for the same domain happen it is great, the router will simply reply with the answer. If the router has not received the information, it will perform a DNS request to the server it is configured to check. There is a series of servers in a pyramid that provide DNS lookups on the internet.
The router gets the information and sends it back to your computer. All is good and your computer does the next step to getting you the page.
Connections
When I type “Amazon.com” into my browser and let the page load. I then look at the source for the page. I then search for ".com" on the page and it shows there are 708 URLs with ".com". That is at least 708 connections your router needs to make. That is the requirement for ONE page. Remember each DNS request is a connection to get the IP address then all those new connections will happen.
Your computer is not just loading that one web page. You have many other things going on in the background. Each requires a connection. Some are for a short time, and some persist. All those fancy pages that auto-update every few seconds. They all have constant connections.
Today I have a gaming router and many more devices connected to the internet. My house has multiple streaming boxes, home automation, phones, computers, printers, and others. The new router does not show how many simultaneous connections it is handling. I am not seeing this issue even with more devices because of my router and network setup.
The limits of your router
What is the limit for my router? It depends on your router and its age, technology, and what the programmers set as the maximum. I don’t have a table of maximum connections by router by firmware revision. My router does not report on the total connections.
What makes it worse?
Making this problem worse today, more than the number of devices is the number of tabs you have open in your browser. Each tab loads a page and many of those tabs keep the connections open to complete background updates.
Here is a simple math example. If you have five people in your house, each with a computer and a phone. The phone is a small computer. They are accessing different sites and doing their thing. If each one has one tab with Amazon.com that will be five times 708 connections through your router. Once the router figures out Amazon.com it remembers for a few minutes. You and your kids accessing Amazon.com at the same time will save on DNS requests, but not on the page requests.
Now, what happens if everyone has ten tabs open to various other sites? Ten, times five, times hundreds of connections per page, you get to big numbers quickly. Using the Amazon example that would be over 35,000 connections. Don't forget about all the other devices. Speakers, appliances, light bulbs, and the work computer you need to get back to before the conference call. Also, remember that some connections happen, the data is provided and then they close. The example of 10 tabs, on five computers would be 35,000 connections if they were all started at the same time. Your router would at minimum slow down to process all those connections at the same time.
How do I know if my router is reaching this maximum compacity? I can’t tell you for sure. My router does not tell me how many connections are active.
I have friends who have had the random DNS error issue. They tried everything they found in the forums, and continued to see the problem. When they upgraded their router the problem was fixed.
What can I do?
The quick short-term fix
- Change the DNS setting in your router to use a faster DNS server. There are many suggestions online. A fast google server to use is 8.8.8.8. In general, a DNS server that is physically closer should be faster.
- Tell everyone in the house to not leave tabs open on the browsers.
- Put computers not in use into suspend or hibernate mode. Save power and connections.
- Make sure your router firmware is the latest version. The vendor may improve the capacity and performance of the router.
The long-term fix
- Upgrade your router. This is the overall best option, but it will cost money and time. You should consider a 'gaming' router. They are designed for speed and lots of connections. You don't need to figure out all the fancy bells and whistles. You just need a router that can handle lots of devices on your network at the same time. This is my Amazon affiliate link where you can support me. Amazon Wi-Fi 6 Gaming Routers
- Fallback would be a normal (non-gaming) Wi-Fi 6 router. Amazon Wi-Fi 6 Routers
There are too many options for setting up a new router. Every manufacturer has setup guides to help. If you want non-standard settings for your router, I recommend doing a Google search for your specific requirements.
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