I think that some routers provide an option of assigning itself (guessing that this is "router's provisioning of DNS services") or of assigning other (ISPs? manually defined?) DNS servers to its Dhcp clients. I guess if the option exists it would be in the Dhcp server subsection of the LAN section.
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Solved: DNS services
I have an inexpensive D-Link DIR-601 router that is capable of only 150Mbps, but has always worked flawlessly. The speed is plenty for my situation where I'm usually the only person in the house on the Web; wife gets on it occasionally. Comcast's download speed at the modem is ~90Mbps, well below the pass-thru capability of the router. However, I obviously want to maximize the router's performance. To that end, I have Steve Gibson's DNS Benchmark software. It almost always tells me that Comcast's server (75.75.75.75) is the fastest, so I have not set any fixed IP addresses in the network configuration. Fact is, I no longer know how to do that; could find that program easily in XP, can't find it in Win 7.
In any case, one of the things Gibson's software says is that "consumer" routers don't provision DNS services very well, per this quote from the program:
Unless you have some specific reason not to, you should give serious thought to disabling your router's provisioning of DNS services (which it is providing for all computers on your local network). After this is done, a fresh reboot of your computers will likely reveal the multiple DNS nameservers provided by your ISP. This is a superior configuration, without an under-powered router acting as a incompetent middleman and impeding all DNS access.
I've logged into my router but cannot find anything titled "DNS provisioning". Can anyone explain what "DNS provisioning" is and what I should look for in my router's configuration that would allow me to disable it?
In any case, one of the things Gibson's software says is that "consumer" routers don't provision DNS services very well, per this quote from the program:
Unless you have some specific reason not to, you should give serious thought to disabling your router's provisioning of DNS services (which it is providing for all computers on your local network). After this is done, a fresh reboot of your computers will likely reveal the multiple DNS nameservers provided by your ISP. This is a superior configuration, without an under-powered router acting as a incompetent middleman and impeding all DNS access.
I've logged into my router but cannot find anything titled "DNS provisioning". Can anyone explain what "DNS provisioning" is and what I should look for in my router's configuration that would allow me to disable it?
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The DHCP server settings are cryptic/completely beyond my ability to understand. I mean, the IP Address Range is from 192.168.0.100 to 192.168.0.199 and the "lease time" is 10,800 minutes (7.5 hours). "Always broadcast" is checked. Primary and Secondary WINS IP addresses are 0.0.0.0. I haven't the foggiest what any of this means. Do you?I think that some routers provide an option of assigning itself (guessing that this is "router's provisioning of DNS services") or of assigning other (ISPs? manually defined?) DNS servers to its Dhcp clients. I guess if the option exists it would be in the Dhcp server subsection of the LAN section.
I never understood WINS IP addresses or why/when one would use them. Best to let them alone.
When a client (computer, tablet, etc.) requests an IP configuration the IP assigned will be in the Dhcp server's IP Address Range. FWIW, I'm guessing that the router's LAN address is 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.0.254. You are free to assign static IPs outside the Dhcp server's address range.
The lease is the amount of time that a client "owns" the IP address it was assigned. If a client is connected (not Sleeping, hibernating, etc.) the Dhcp server will renew the lease at the half way point (after 3.75 hours in your case). If the lease ever expires then the client no longer has a right to the particular IP address and it may be assigned to another client that requests one. At home the lease time is not very important, and there is no practical difference between your 7.5 hours and the 2 days I'm currently using. At a place with clients coming and going (think of a free public hotspot) it's important to keep the lease times fairly short (say, 15 or 30 minutes) so that the router does not run out of assignable addresses.
I've never seen "Always broadcast" on one of my inexpensive routers and do not know what it means.
When a client (computer, tablet, etc.) requests an IP configuration the IP assigned will be in the Dhcp server's IP Address Range. FWIW, I'm guessing that the router's LAN address is 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.0.254. You are free to assign static IPs outside the Dhcp server's address range.
The lease is the amount of time that a client "owns" the IP address it was assigned. If a client is connected (not Sleeping, hibernating, etc.) the Dhcp server will renew the lease at the half way point (after 3.75 hours in your case). If the lease ever expires then the client no longer has a right to the particular IP address and it may be assigned to another client that requests one. At home the lease time is not very important, and there is no practical difference between your 7.5 hours and the 2 days I'm currently using. At a place with clients coming and going (think of a free public hotspot) it's important to keep the lease times fairly short (say, 15 or 30 minutes) so that the router does not run out of assignable addresses.
I've never seen "Always broadcast" on one of my inexpensive routers and do not know what it means.
What Steve Gibson is referring to is the router acting as a DNS proxy where it supplies its own internal IP as the DNS server for all attached LAN devices. While Steve may have a point, I find it really hard to believe for a typical home, the router would be a bottleneck with DNS resolution.
Anyways.
With respect to the question about "Always Broadcast", I think this refers to the router's internal DHCP server. If it is tied to the DHCP server, the Always Broadcast should really be labeled Enable.
On the question of WINS, this is a throwback to when Windows used WINS for it's name resolution service; hence the acronym WINS or Windows Internet Naming Service. Because Windows has now reverted to Active Directory which primarily uses DNS, WINS has been relegated to a historic relic of the past.
Back to original question, if you want to adjust the DHCP parameters to issue your ISP's DNS server versus using the router, you'll need to see if you can set that in the DHCP settings. You need to look for a field for DNS just like there is a scope or range you can enter for the addresses the DHCP server would issue. If there is no provision to do this, you might want to try going into the IPv4 properties of your PC and changing the DNS settings from get automatically to manual. The fields for DNS will not be grayed out anymore and you can enter the ISP's DNS there.
Anyways.
With respect to the question about "Always Broadcast", I think this refers to the router's internal DHCP server. If it is tied to the DHCP server, the Always Broadcast should really be labeled Enable.
On the question of WINS, this is a throwback to when Windows used WINS for it's name resolution service; hence the acronym WINS or Windows Internet Naming Service. Because Windows has now reverted to Active Directory which primarily uses DNS, WINS has been relegated to a historic relic of the past.
Back to original question, if you want to adjust the DHCP parameters to issue your ISP's DNS server versus using the router, you'll need to see if you can set that in the DHCP settings. You need to look for a field for DNS just like there is a scope or range you can enter for the addresses the DHCP server would issue. If there is no provision to do this, you might want to try going into the IPv4 properties of your PC and changing the DNS settings from get automatically to manual. The fields for DNS will not be grayed out anymore and you can enter the ISP's DNS there.
Again, I have only slight comprehension of what you're saying. I think at this point, I'm just going to leave well-enough alone. I've never had a problem with this router in the half-dozen years I've had it, and it has never been hacked. I'll mark the thread as 'solved'.What Steve Gibson is referring to is the router acting as a DNS proxy where it supplies its own internal IP as the DNS server for all attached LAN devices. While Steve may have a point, I find it really hard to believe for a typical home, the router would be a bottleneck with DNS resolution.
Anyways.
With respect to the question about "Always Broadcast", I think this refers to the router's internal DHCP server. If it is tied to the DHCP server, the Always Broadcast should really be labeled Enable.
On the question of WINS, this is a throwback to when Windows used WINS for it's name resolution service; hence the acronym WINS or Windows Internet Naming Service. Because Windows has now reverted to Active Directory which primarily uses DNS, WINS has been relegated to a historic relic of the past.
Back to original question, if you want to adjust the DHCP parameters to issue your ISP's DNS server versus using the router, you'll need to see if you can set that in the DHCP settings. You need to look for a field for DNS just like there is a scope or range you can enter for the addresses the DHCP server would issue. If there is no provision to do this, you might want to try going into the IPv4 properties of your PC and changing the DNS settings from get automatically to manual. The fields for DNS will not be grayed out anymore and you can enter the ISP's DNS there.
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