Forum timeout?

[egparadigm]

Does anyone else spend large amounts of time trying to connect to the forum?

For several minutes I can just be sat around waiting for the forum to connect. I usually have to go and read a news article or check some other website whilst I wait and then come back and try to load the page again.

If no one else is experiencing this, then is there a port I can open on my router or something? I've had this trouble with other forums in the past.

I don't have a PC, I use linux, but I don't think it's a problem with the computer.

Thanks.

*Waits for forum to load*

[babs]

Nope, it's not a ports issue either?

If you go to your network settings in whichever distro/desktop environment you use, you should find a list of DNS servers. Check to see what's in there, it sounds like maybe it's trying to lookup via a dead/non-existent server, failing after timeout and then jumping to the next.

Is it just this site?

[egparadigm]

I've attached a picture of the DNS tab in network settings.

I've had this problem for some time across various different distributions of Ubuntu and on more than one forum (others include GamesRadar, possibly Ubuntu forums and HDTV arcade.)

I've just had enough of it now!

I don't know if "timeout" is the correct term. Basically it continues trying to connect for an absolute age and I resort to reloading the front page in a new tab to check whether I can finally, successfully submit a post, for example.

[Hohum]

That IP address is assigned via your router, the actual DNS entries used should be viewable in your router configuration page. I'd recommend OpenDNS myself, been using it for a while now and it's more reliable than most ISP specific servers.

http://www.opendns.com

[egparadigm]

OK, I'm trying the OpenDNS thing now. But what exactly is a DNS server? What does it do? I understand the whole name/numerical address idea, but apart from that.

EDIT: signed up now with the relevant router settings... Do I need to do something else? Will this service list the DNS access?

[Hohum]

Well you've got the idea about the website names and related IP addresses, so there's not much else to say. What can happen though is a DNS server doesn't have the IP address for the website address you entered, so you get bounced to other DNS servers until you come across one that does (which of course can cause a delay or failure to find anything). OpenDNS is somewhat better in that regard, as they keep a much larger cache of domains and related IPs compared to standard ISP DNS servers. If you read the info on their site you'll get an idea.

Edit: Not quite sure what you mean by your updated comment... all you need to do is set the two IPs listed on their website in your router's static dns fields. You don't need to create an account on their website unless you wanted to use some advanced features. If you've done it right, then their front page will have this in green text along the top: You're using OpenDNS. Thanks!

[egparadigm]

OK, I think I get the idea now. I'll just sit back and see if I get the problem again.

Thanks all.

[egparadigm]

Gawd... It's happened again.

Is there anything I can do? I am signed up with my own dashboard on OpenDNS if that's any help.

[egparadigm]

I've tried the CacheCheck on Open DNS when I couldn't load the forum and it worked fine.

Out of interest, I put in the IP address it gave for ntsc-uk.domino.org: "http://217.10.144.59/" and I got:

if you can see this then the site is down for maintenance

I get the same for ntsc-uk.com as opposed to www.ntsc-uk.com

[Hohum]

It must be either your ISP or your setup then. You say you're not using a PC... what are you using then?

[egparadigm]

Ubuntu-linux latest distro Gutsy Gibbon. I'm pretty sure it's not Ubuntu, but the router because I recall having this problem a couple years ago when I was away from my linux box and was using windows. Will try and verify that.

EDIT: Just had a timeout and grabbed a nearby mac and it loaded without issue whilst the other one was still refusing. I guess that means it's Ubuntu!

I suppose it would be best to ask over at the Ubuntuforums, then - if you have any suggestions, it'd be appreciated.

[Hohum]

My guess would either be some network setting or a duff ethernet driver (more likely a network setting if other sites work fine...). You could try getting the latest version of Ubuntu, 7.10 was only released recently. Also test another browser on the same install, or check your browser settings. Perhaps you're using firefox and tweaked the max simultaneous connections to a high value, and as a result the site is blocking you for too many connection attempts. All guesswork on my behalf though.

[egparadigm]

Right... I've now tried the forum with Konqueror (the KDE browser) and it's working, whilst firefox is still hanging. Therefore it must be firefox that's causing the problem.

Someone on Ubuntu Forums is suggesting it might be something to do with IPV6...

[egparadigm]

OK I've been using the forum fine for 2 or 3 days now, so I think I can reveal the solution to the problem.

As was suggested over at Ubuntu Forums, I turned off IPV6 support in firefox and everything's been fine since. Hopefully I will be browsing to my hearts content from now on.