Avoiding Rogers DNS breakage

[Lennart Sorensen]

On Sun, Dec 13, 2009 at 08:40:50PM -0500, D. Hugh Redelmeier wrote:
> | From: Lennart Sorensen <lsorense-1wCw9BSqJbv44Nm34jS7GywD8/FfD2ys at public.gmane.org>
> 
> | Easily fixed too.
> | 
> | whatever dns it gives you by dhcp resolves to dns.*.rogers.com
> | 
> | Lookup altdns.*.rogers.com and use that instead.  Perfectly sane normal
> | DNS server.
> 
> This requires manual intervention whenever they change DNS server IP
> addresses.  I don't think that happens often -- perhaps a couple of
> times in 10 years.  But still annoying.

Not as annoying as their helpful DNS server, and no more annoying that
using any other random alternate DNS server.  Changing DNS servers IP
is not something anyone likes to do, so they tend not to change.

> I think that if you are going to have to manually do anything, just
> run your own nameserver, one that resolves stuff itself.  I find that
> it just works.  OK, so root servers change a once in a blue moon but
> your distro will probably update the list for you.

I know some ISPs have interceptered the DNS lookup failure packets
and inserted their own 'helpful search DNS' answer, although I don't
think rogers does that.  Using the ISPs alternate DNS should certainly
stay working.

> When an ISP's convenience services are inconvenient, just don't use
> them.  I don't use Roger's "portal", their mail server, their DNS
> (except for things for which they are authoritative).  I used their
> usenet news server until they decided to improved that service (i.e.
> dropped it).  I'm not even aware of any other services that they might
> offer.

I certainly don't use those things either.  I could setup my own internal
DNS server, but I just haven't been bothered enough to do so.

> ISP's subtract value when they "add value".  They want to become
> indispensible to you (eg. owning your email address).  Wise consumers
> won't let that happen.

Hmm, I guess I might have an @rogers address somewhere.  I wonder what
it is. :)

-- 
Len Sorensen
--
The Toronto Linux Users Group.      Meetings: http://gtalug.org/
TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns
How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://gtalug.org/wiki/Mailing_lists