Eircom DSL - DNS Lookups Slow

Sully · 07-07-2009 11:19am

You can stick with OpenDNS (sign up for an account for the additional features if you like) on any ISP (Eircom, BT, UTV) - it doesnt matter who you use for DNS (though some simply wont allow you use theirs) once you use someone

As for the silence from Eircom - very unusual but I would assume they wont openily admit to being hacked (if they were at all) and its probably going to take a while from the chain of command to reach customer service. The suggested type of DNS hack, while only minor in this instance, should be rare for such a big company.

ven0m · 07-07-2009 11:49am

Sully wrote: »

As for the silence from Eircom - very unusual but I would assume they wont openily admit to being hacked (if they were at all) and its probably going to take a while from the chain of command to reach customer service. The suggested type of DNS hack, while only minor in this instance, should be rare for such a big company.

If you just signed a €2m euro deal for data centre services with the HSE for secure holding of data, applications, digital documents relating to patients etc - would you be announcing you had your DNS services compromised?

Bummer · 07-07-2009 11:50am

Just if you havn't seen it yet >> DNS outage

aidanodr · 07-07-2009 12:12pm

Just do a quick search for EIRCOM at google news:

http://news.google.ie/news?pz=1&ned=en_ie&hl=en&q=eircom

As of 1pm 07/07/09 the top two headlines are:

Eircom confirms DNS outage at Siliconrepublic.com

AND

Eircom sets up National Health Data Centre at Telecompaper

Just as Ven0m said, doesnt that inspire confidence?

Two links:

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/article/13367/cio/eircom-confirms-dns-outage
http://www.telecompaper.com/news/article.aspx?cid=679962

Aidan

BothBarsOn · 07-07-2009 12:53pm

Just wanted to add my thanks for the opendns tip. Bit of a life-saver.

Yay opendns!
Boo eircom!

Sully · 07-07-2009 12:57pm

Love the excuse..

Customers may have recently experienced delays in web browsing and may have been unable to access the Internet. In some cases, customers may have been redirected to incorrect websites.

This issue has been caused by an unusual and irregular volume of internet traffic being directed onto our network, and this impacted the systems and servers that provide access to the Internet for our customers.

eircom is working continuously to minimise the impact for customers and has taken a number of steps, including software updates and hardware interventions, to fully restore internet service.

Source: http://eircom.ie/cgi-bin/bvsm/bveircom/bladerunner/displayNews.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1638619066.1246971412@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccciadehjldhfegcefeceiedffndffj.0&site=Res&chanId=0&newsItemId=Internet%20Service%20Announcement

Hank Scorpio · 07-07-2009 1:06pm

My net was down all yesterday evening and night, only came back on a few hours ago, Kilkenny area.

Using OpenDNS DNS servers too. Hopefully its sorted now.. :rolleyes:

me-skywalker · 07-07-2009 1:09pm

will us regular ericom users have to change the settings themselves cause ild be wary of messing around with my settings or will it automatically be updated

also they better take this into accoutn when making next months bill!! i wont be payin for useless service!

could this be an advertising hack by these OpenDns server ppl! thats all im hearing about!! ild rather a practical solution or a fix to this problem rather than chagne to some otr server!

Hank Scorpio · 07-07-2009 1:21pm

me-skywalker wrote: »

will us regular ericom users have to change the settings themselves cause ild be wary of messing around with my settings or will it automatically be updated

You mean the DNS settings? They`ll probably stay the same as the original eircom DNS servers, you should just change to open dns, instructions on how to do so a few pages back in this thread.

also they better take this into accoutn when making next months bill!! i wont be payin for useless service!

Good luck with that :rolleyes:

could this be an advertising hack by these OpenDns server ppl! thats all im hearing about!! ild rather a practical solution or a fix to this problem rather than chagne to some otr server!

Nope

Sully · 07-07-2009 2:03pm

me-skywalker wrote: »

will us regular ericom users have to change the settings themselves cause ild be wary of messing around with my settings or will it automatically be updated

also they better take this into accoutn when making next months bill!! i wont be payin for useless service!

could this be an advertising hack by these OpenDns server ppl! thats all im hearing about!! ild rather a practical solution or a fix to this problem rather than chagne to some otr server!

A lot of this has been said already but I will re-cap as its a big enough thread to read through.

Nearly (if not all) Internet Service Provider and major organisation will have their own Domain Name Servers (DNS) which allow applications such as Web Browsers and Email Applications preform Name Server (NS) lookups. This is required because without, we would be unable to visit websites unless we remembered each websites IP address (which is a set of numbers like 192.168.1.2). So a name server will store information on which IP to visit for any given domain name (eg www.example.com). Thats the short and simple version.

There are loads of nameservers out there - nearly every college, university, corporate company, internet provider etc. has their own. If someone was to gain unauthorised access and modify what IP a domain name belongs to - then you would be redirected to that website.

In this case, it looks like someone has done that with Eircoms so that a lot of popular websites Eircom users would visit instead went to advertising portals. The goal? Whoever did the hack would make a lot of advertising revenue as thousands of people would be redirected to these advertisement portals, thinking they are going to the likes of RTE, Facebook or even Twitter. Are you lucky? If Eircom was hacked, the hacker could have done much worse by pointing common domain names to websites which would download viruses/malware on your computer. Instead, they choose to just make money by sending people to advertising portals.

The solution? You can use whatever nameservers you like as long as they are trusted and you have permission. OpenDNS is a free, widely respected and trusted alternative DNS provider which allows people to use their service which they claim to be more reliable and safe. You can switch back and forth as much as you like - from Eircom to OpenDNS, OpenDNS back to Eircom. There is no harm and you will not loose anything by changing these simple settings.

So, now that you know how crucial name servers are and if you are having difficulties (regardless of your ISP) accessing many websites like Eircom customers have been - then use OpenDNS which is the safe and free alternative. https://www.opendns.com/start

Germag · 07-07-2009 2:10pm

I had little or no trouble playing poker on various poker sites last night, on both my iMac and a Dell PC but could not get e-mail on Mail ( Mac ) or outlook (PC). Could not connect to Safari, Firefox or Explorer on either Mac or PC. everything seams to be OK now. If I change to Opendns will I have to change settings on my internet radio (Reciva)?

MunsterCycling · 07-07-2009 2:38pm

Not if you change the DNS settings on the router, all depends how you setup the internet radio.

MC

Duff Man Jr. · 07-07-2009 2:40pm

Dont know if this is related but when I go to eircom.ie it brings me to google.ie.
Eircom.net look fine however certain links(products & my bill) redirect me to google.ie. The address for thrse is http://clk.tradedoubler.com/............

I switched to opendns servers, Is the fault on eircoms side?

frank123 · 07-07-2009 2:46pm

eircom email reply to query this morning
In regards to your query, we are currently experiencing a system wide
outage. This is an intermittent issue and normal service shall resume
ASAP. Apologies for any inconvenience caused. Thank you.

Germag · 07-07-2009 2:51pm

MunsterCycling wrote: »

Not if you change the DNS settings on the router, all depends how you setup the internet radio.

MC

When I switch on the radio it scans until it finds Eircom 3105, then connects to whatever station is requested, so it would appear that I would have to change the settings if I went Open, would this be correct?

amacachi · 07-07-2009 2:53pm

Sully wrote: »

Love the excuse..

Well I'm sure the irregular nature of traffic in certain parts of the network were to blame, so it's not like they're out and out lying. :P

Othello · 07-07-2009 3:14pm

There is a message on http://support.eircom.net

INTERNET SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Customers may have recently experienced delays in web browsing and may have been unable to access the Internet. In some cases, customers may have been redirected to incorrect websites.
This issue has been caused by an unusual and irregular volume of internet traffic being directed onto our network, and this impacted the systems and servers that provide access to the Internet for our customers.
eircom is working continuously to minimise the impact for customers and has taken a number of steps, including software updates and hardware interventions, to fully restore internet service.

measurement · 07-07-2009 3:50pm

aidanodr wrote: »

Hey measurement,

Yip this is an issue with Eircom Email address POP and SMTP settings when setting up the account in outlook. That is even if you have another non eircom addy you have to set the smtp server to mail1.eircom.net or mail.eircom.net.

Re the abroad thing - I switched to GMAIL a while back. In GMAIL you can add up to 5 other email addresses you use to its settings. GMAIL then collects mail centrally for all these addresses.

I find it interesting you can only recieve and not send. You may need to further tweak the OUTLOOK settings. In outlook settings you generally have MORE SETTINGS, then a tab OUTGOING SERVER, tick "My outgoing server ( smtp ) requires authentication" and either select the "use same settings as incoming" OR type in your account username / pword again. I think their is something similar in Outlook express.

I use both MOZILLA Thunderbird and Eudora as email clients here with Eircom addresses AND using OPEN DNS IP's with no difficulty. I dont think changing DNS IP addresses is your problem here? Again Its just my opinion, others may disagree ..

Aidan

Thanks Aidan,
As I understand it (and confirmed by the warning on the Eircom.net site, where the settings are) they actively prevent anyone who is on another ISP - e.g. a hotel wireless service from using mail1.eircom.net on the SMTP. This is why they say, so cryptically, that you have to use webmail in this case, i.e. go to the eircom.net site to pick up your mail. Occasionally something slips through (one of the servers hasn't been updated to block 'foreign' material).

I imagine this blocking will kick in if I change the DNS, and since I have hundreds of regular correspondents that I have finally persuaded to use my current email address, I don't want to start all over again with a new general email account.

I actually use GMAIL and pick it up on Outlook, though I generally use it for purchases and registrations on the internet, so that spam isn't a problem. I also have other companys' email addresses, as I provide services to several organisations, and they like to have the mail sent from their accounts. Really messy, I know. When I'm abroad, I sometimes start sending from GMAIL, but then have to untangle the chaos that causes afterwards, when the responses come to the wrong addresses.

So, while I will, if the problem arises again, find my wireless router pwd, the Netopia (way before wireless) pwd, and change the DNS, I'll be expecting to then have the other email problem.
Thanks again,
M

lostexpectation · 07-07-2009 7:58pm

Othello wrote: »

There is a message on http://support.eircom.net

INTERNET SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

"an unusual and irregular volume of internet traffic being directed onto our network"

and what does that mean

kleefarr · 07-07-2009 8:07pm

Haven't had to reset my modem so far, but speed is terrible.

ISP - Postgem???

Sully · 07-07-2009 8:21pm

measurement wrote: »

I imagine this blocking will kick in if I change the DNS, and since I have hundreds of regular correspondents that I have finally persuaded to use my current email address, I don't want to start all over again with a new general email account.

This is not based on your DNS servers, it is based on your IP. That is, if you switch to another ISP you will not be granted access to use their server for mail. Changing the DNS Server ONLY effects applications looking to translate a domain (www.example.com) into an IP (192.168.1.2). You can continue to use Eircom for your mail and OpenDNS for the DNS.

lostexpectation wrote: »

"an unusual and irregular volume of internet traffic being directed onto our network"

and what does that mean

Well, it doesnt explain things but in general it means that the amount of people using their DNS servers increased beyond what they consider normal. Also, some of those using the DNS servers did so incorrectly such to say that possibly a light reference to someone misusing their servers to point domain names elsewhere, which is what happened.

Possibly the servers went offline - blaming high traffic. The rest of the complaints - irregular (not normal) traffic/use/behaviour.

lostexpectation · 07-07-2009 8:35pm

Sully wrote: »

This is not based on your DNS servers, it is based on your IP. That is, if you switch to another ISP you will not be granted access to use their server for mail. Changing the DNS Server ONLY effects applications looking to translate a domain (www.example.com) into an IP (192.168.1.2). You can continue to use Eircom for your mail and OpenDNS for the DNS.

Well, it doesnt explain things but in general it means that the amount of people using their DNS servers increased beyond what they consider normal. Also, some of those using the DNS servers did so incorrectly such to say that possibly a light reference to someone misusing their servers to point domain names elsewhere, which is what happened.

Possibly the servers went offline - blaming high traffic. The rest of the complaints - irregular (not normal) traffic/use/behaviour.

so they deliberately didn't tackle the issue, why not mention the fix of using opendns?

Sully · 07-07-2009 8:48pm

lostexpectation wrote: »

so they deliberately didn't tackle the issue, why not mention the fix of using opendns?

If you read the rest of the press release, it says they did tackle the issue.

eircom is working continuously to minimise the impact for customers and has taken a number of steps, including software updates and hardware interventions, to fully restore internet service.

There never going to recommend another service. There supposed to provide working DNS servers as an ISP, and fix any issues that arrise. Thats like saying "Move to EsatBT while your internet is down with us"!

aidanodr · 07-07-2009 8:50pm

Sully wrote: »

This is not based on your DNS servers, it is based on your IP. That is, if you switch to another ISP you will not be granted access to use their server for mail. Changing the DNS Server ONLY effects applications looking to translate a domain (www.example.com) into an IP (192.168.1.2). You can continue to use Eircom for your mail and OpenDNS for the DNS.

Hey Sully,

An interesting phenomonen arises around all this, particularly for companies using Eircom BBand.

ABC ltd has a website / hosted space with domain name www.abc.com and setup pop email addys with this domain address. Difficulties can arise where one sets the SMTP ( Outgoing mail ) to mail.abc.com, in alot of cases where the POP ( incoming mail ) is set to mail.abc.com the SMTP needs to be set to mail1.eircom.net while using Eircom BBand. This to perform properly!

measurement wrote: »

I imagine this blocking will kick in if I change the DNS, and since I have hundreds of regular correspondents that I have finally persuaded to use my current email address, I don't want to start all over again with a new general email account.

As Sully said - your issue is the public IP ( dynamic ) assigned to you and your router NOT The DNS. As I have said many times I have been using OPEN DNS for two years or more WITH Eircom addys setup in my email client. All works fine. DNS servers are for domain name to IP addy translation services. Pop / Smtp / Mapi servers along with things like MX Records and so on handle the mail side. ( All kept simple ish again ).

My reference to GMAIL was you can add your Eircom account to the settings in GMAIL. Hence forth the Gmail "Client" in your browser will centrally collect mail for your gmail account AND your Eircom Account. You then benefit from the Gmail Spam filtering features with both addresses. You can setup up to 4 extra mail addys inside Gmail.

With respect to composing / sending mail in a Gmail setup like above - You can choose which addy to send from at the time of composing the mail. Either the Gmail or the Eircom account.

Aidan

lostexpectation · 07-07-2009 8:51pm

if they being attacked they didn't say so, they deliberately didn't say so, eircom have stalled and stalled of accepting theres a problem, you may say we'll fix as soon as we can, but you put something else in place in the mean time. rather then pretend there's no problem. even putting the google ip workaround in their statement would help the overloaded phone system.

Sully · 07-07-2009 9:18pm

aidanodr wrote: »

Hey Sully,

An interesting phenomonen arises around all this, particularly for companies using Eircom BBand.

ABC ltd has a website / hosted space with domain name www.abc.com and setup pop email addys with this domain address. Difficulties can arise where one sets the SMTP ( Outgoing mail ) to mail.abc.com, in alot of cases where the POP ( incoming mail ) is set to mail.abc.com the SMTP needs to be set to mail1.eircom.net while using Eircom BBand. This to perform properly!

Lots of email providers/ISPs have different servers for dealing with incoming/outgoing mail though. Some use the same, but others do use different ones. Like many hosts have several servers for DNS and the main website.

lostexpectation wrote: »

if they being attacked they didn't say so, they deliberately didn't say so, eircom have stalled and stalled of accepting theres a problem, you may say we'll fix as soon as we can, but you put something else in place in the mean time. rather then pretend there's no problem. even putting the google ip workaround in their statement would help the overloaded phone system.

Most companys will never directly admit to being the source of an attack, and besides, its pretty much speculation as we never got a direct admition. All we have are the symptoms and in the press releases there seems to be a hint ("an unusual and irregular volume of internet traffic being directed onto our network") but its never directly admitted.

The statement was released after the problems were fixed. Since most people could not access the Eircom website when the problems were there, it would have been pointless. There was a phone announcement before you reached any customer care agent advising they are aware and working on the issue. It would be to awkward and confusing to explain over the phone to everyone to switch - even on Boards a lot of people are still confused even when its in black and white! I don't see the problem with them not taking time to go into specifics and also explain an alternative system, which I explained in my earlier reply to you.

amacachi · 07-07-2009 9:22pm

Looks like it's happening a-bloody-gain.

tinkerbell · 07-07-2009 9:24pm

*sigh* It's happening again. Only boards.ie seems to be working properly.

AAARGH EIRCOM, GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER, THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!!!!! :mad:

jonski · 07-07-2009 9:24pm

I changed to opendns last night and all was good .... until about 5 minutes ago .. completely borked here in Limerick.... surfing is grand but teamspeak is unusable and game playing is a no no .

amacachi · 07-07-2009 9:27pm

Boards, google and Xbox Live only things working, can't even get onto Open DNS.

Sully · 07-07-2009 9:27pm

jonski wrote: »

I changed to opendns last night and all was good .... until about 5 minutes ago .. completely borked here in Limerick.... surfing is grand but teamspeak is unusable and game playing is a no no .

Were those services working since you moved to OpenDNS? If you have not tried, you may need to update those applications settings. If it has worked, then I am unsure.

highlydebased · 07-07-2009 9:27pm

jonski wrote: »

I changed to opendns last night and all was good .... until about 5 minutes ago .. completely borked here in Limerick.... surfing is grand but teamspeak is unusable and game playing is a no no .

Exact same here

sideshowsue · 07-07-2009 9:30pm

I changed to OpenDNS a few days ago and all was great...until about an hour ago. Pages are consistently timing out right now.

Sar! · 07-07-2009 9:30pm

On OpenDNS here as well and all of sudden in past 10mins its almost ground to a halt....

hopalong85 · 07-07-2009 9:31pm

Same as all the above, changed to opendns last night, all was fine up to about 15 mins ago. can only use boards and facebook now. wtf. :mad:

BeatFreak · 07-07-2009 9:32pm

Problems started again about 10 minutes ago. Boards is about the only thing working atm. Using opendns servers. Wicklow town.

shoegirl · 07-07-2009 9:32pm

DNS servers sometimes do other things, especially if they are running on the back of a server or device thats doing something else (for example a server thats providing other services, or a cisco router thats configured to listen for DNS queries and look them up from its own host table), its quite likely they've been hounded as a first point of attack, very convenient way to divert traffic to a virus or scam site if the attacked is an ISP.

Sully · 07-07-2009 9:33pm

OpenDNS -- The Settings

Since it seems the problem has occured again with Eircom, with some unable to access OpenDNS - I have attached a PDF with instructions on how to change your DNS away from Eircom.

In brief;
Name servers: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220
Firefox: Tools -> Options -> Advanced -> Network -> Settings.

For the rest, see attached PDF.

As your computer/browser has its own cache, if OpenDNS has failed.. try clearing your cache.

Start -> Run -> cmd -> ipconfig /flushdns

aidanodr · 07-07-2009 9:35pm

Guys,

Is BROWSING working with OpenDns? Also clear out your browser caches?

I see teamspeak mentioned, Im wondering are other services outside of DNS being affected now?

Teamspeak is a VOIP app? May not use DNS, actually probably does not. Will also use different ports. Is Skype working?

Aidan

aidan_dunne · 07-07-2009 9:36pm

Yep, same here. It was grand all day up until about 15 minutes ago when it started acting up again. Boards is one of the few sites still working reasonably for me, everything else is crawling along at sub dial-up speeds or not working at all. OpenDNS settings don't seem to be working now either.

jonski · 07-07-2009 9:36pm

Sully wrote: »

Were those services working since you moved to OpenDNS? If you have not tried, you may need to update those applications settings. If it has worked, then I am unsure.

yeah , I was using teamspeak and company of heroes last night after I changed to opendns and all was good ... something has changed in the last 30 minutes or so .

Rebel021 · 07-07-2009 9:37pm

Skype is unusable

jonski · 07-07-2009 9:37pm

just to add

>tracert 193.93.44.93

Tracing route to teamspeak.rackage.com [193.93.44.93]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms 192.168.1.254
2 * * * Request timed out.
3 8 ms 7 ms 9 ms 86.43.244.253
4 * 243 ms 243 ms ge1-1.corea.the.london.eircom.net [159.134.192.1
66]
5 * * * Request timed out.
6 * * 244 ms linx2.rackage.com [195.66.227.8]
7 244 ms 244 ms * teamspeak.rackage.com [193.93.44.93]
8 248 ms * * teamspeak.rackage.com [193.93.44.93]
9 227 ms 229 ms * teamspeak.rackage.com [193.93.44.93]
10 227 ms * * teamspeak.rackage.com [193.93.44.93]
11 228 ms * * teamspeak.rackage.com [193.93.44.93]
12 * 232 ms 228 ms teamspeak.rackage.com [193.93.44.93]

Trace complete.

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>

Jammyc · 07-07-2009 9:37pm

So does it appear to be more than a DNS problem now then?

romdjoll · 07-07-2009 9:38pm

Open DNS seems to be having its own troubles this evening.
Constant d/c from WoW servers, won't hold connection long enough to log in properly - and the server I play on ain't down.
Logged in earlier this evening and now it's all gone horribly horrible wrong ; )

Pages are taking aeons to load too, boards is fine, but anywhere else is crawling.

Anyone know what's up with open DNS?

sunzz · 07-07-2009 9:39pm

same here, was perfect up until about 15 mins ago.

Gods · 07-07-2009 9:41pm

in waterford here lads..
boards and google brousing bearly working only happened in last 20 min or so.. yet again exact same last nite.. im on eircom dns.. i switched to open but same issue.. eircom seem to be rebooting alot of something.

this problem is out of control.
they wanna admit defeat and co on ..

zoom! · 07-07-2009 9:41pm

wow torrents at 1 kb/s....... I'm officially bored yet again...

Sully · 07-07-2009 9:41pm

All systems online for OpenDNS:
http://system.opendns.com/

Always first point of call is checking your browser - are you able to visit common websites like the BBC, Eircom, RTE and Facebook?

Try clearing your cache;
Start -> Run -> cmd -> ipconfig /flushdns

Champ · 07-07-2009 9:41pm

Alright I can confirm there appears to be some issues in Limerick as I type this.
I'm using OpenDNS and browsing is fine.
Simple ping tests are turning up fine as well.
Gaming is completely unplayable however.

I'm going to run a packet trace via the Limerick BRAS, see if that turns up anything interesting. Though if I recall for Limerick anyway and certain parts of Dublin there was an ongoing issue for months in that certain Eircom BRASs were loosing packets and that Eircom didn't have any short term plans to fix this particular problem which is outside of DNS issues.

Eircom DSL - DNS Lookups Slow

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