Help with WRT54GL and DD-WRT

[Special K]

I recently installed DD-WRT on my WRT54GL and now my connection is randomly dropping out completely. I am unable to connect to websites or ping IP addresses. One odd thing I noticed is that whenever this problem occurs, my computer is using the router as its primary DNS server.

When I go to a command prompt and type "ipconfig /all", the first DNS server listed is the router's LAN IP address, and the next 3 entries are the 3 DNS servers I specified in the "Static DNS 1", "Static DNS 2", and "Static DNS 3" entries in the router's setup page.

I thought I disabled anything related to DNS in the router's settings, so I am not sure why this is occuring. My connection was always rock solid before I changed firmware, so I am almost positive that DD-WRT is somehow responsible.

 

[kalster]

what version of dd-wrt are you using, i tried the latest stable version v24 on my buffalo WHR-G54 and had a lot of issues (slow connection/certain sites didnt work), v23 sp2 worked fine , i finally got rid of dd-wrt and put tomato, less features but much more stable for me

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: kalster
what version of dd-wrt are you using, i tried the latest stable version v24 on my buffalo WHR-G54 and had a lot of issues (slow connection/certain sites didnt work), v23 sp2 worked fine , i finally got rid of dd-wrt and put tomato, less features but much more stable for me

I am using v24, which I thought was a stable release. At least, that's what they were advertising it as.

Does anyone know why my computer is using the router as its DNS server, and if that could be contributing to the problem? When I was using the default Linksys firmware, my computer never used the router as its DNS server.

 

[Motorheader]

Hmmm....

Why are you hard coding DNS servers in the Router?? Does it not get the DNS settings from a modem of some type?

When the problem happpens, if you type in the IP address of a site as opposed to the name of the site, will that site come up?

I recently setup 2 Linksys WRT54G Ver. 8.2 using DD-WRT v24 mini. Super stable on both wired and wireless sides.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: Motorheader
Hmmm....

Why are you hard coding DNS servers in the Router?? Does it not get the DNS settings from a modem of some type?

When the problem happpens, if you type in the IP address of a site as opposed to the name of the site, will that site come up?

I recently setup 2 Linksys WRT54G Ver. 8.2 using DD-WRT v24 mini. Super stable on both wired and wireless sides.

I deleted the static DNS server entries from the router, but my primary DNS server still comes up as the router itself. My 2nd and 3rd DNS servers are my ISPs DNS servers, the ones I had hard coded in the router's config page for Static DNS Servers 1 and 2. My entry for static DNS Server 3 was a DNS server that was not my ISP's DNS server. I had saved it awhile back to use in case my ISPs DNS servers went down, which did happen on occasion back when I had comcast.

 

[backroger]

Originally posted by: Special K

Originally posted by: kalster
what version of dd-wrt are you using, i tried the latest stable version v24 on my buffalo WHR-G54 and had a lot of issues (slow connection/certain sites didnt work), v23 sp2 worked fine , i finally got rid of dd-wrt and put tomato, less features but much more stable for me

I am using v24, which I thought was a stable release. At least, that's what they were advertising it as.

Does anyone know why my computer is using the router as its DNS server, and if that could be contributing to the problem? When I was using the default Linksys firmware, my computer never used the router as its DNS server.

See DNS Masquerade.....

I'm using DDWRT v24 build 9517 on 2 WRT54G v2.2 & 11 WRT54GL v1.1 scattered all over the Uni....No problem so far.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: backroger

See DNS Masquerade.....

Could you be more specific with this comment? What is DNS masquerade? Is it something I need to set on the router or the PC?

 

[Motorheader]

You shouldn't have to hard-code any DNS settings - most of the time. The modem will hand that information to the router. Hence your router IP is your DNS IP. That's pretty standard fare.

 

[backroger]

Originally posted by: Special K

Could you be more specific with this comment? What is DNS masquerade? Is it something I need to set on the router or the PC?

If you want more info here is the link...

DNS Masquerade

You said the that you're getting the gateway or Routers IP Address as your DNS?

Probably because you have set your computer to Dynamic instead of the Static. DDWRT masquerade your DNS Settings since it is enabled on the router "Setup". Below the "Setup" there is a 3 Radio Botton which can be uncheck if you don't want to use DNS Masquerading feature of DDWRT.

I saw you post in DDWRT forum....have you tried the guy who responded to your query? Before I upgrade to Linksys Firmware router I always do this...

Pre Linksys Firwmare:

1) Do a reset on WRT54GL (small button at the back)
2) Upgrade via WEB GUI of DDWRT. Wait until you got a message of successfull upgrade.
3) Look at your WRT54GL Unit. Don't reset of unplug until the power stops blinking & the light on WLAN have established. Now look at your computer it will stay a black web page but you did see a sucessfull upgrade.

4) Now, close your browser. Get your WRT54GL and do a hard reset 30/30/30 holding the reset button for 10 seconds then uplug the power/adaptor then plug again the power/adaptor while holding the reset button. Now, while holding the reset button...release it then uplug the power/adaptor then plug it again then wait.

5) Now open your browser and access it via 192.168.1.1

Note: I'm using the Build 9517 which was released on 05/20/08.

 

[Special K]

I just thought I'd post a quick update. As it turned out, my problem had nothing to do with DD-WRT or my router. The coax cable running from my surge protector's output to the cable modem's input had apparently gone bad, causing a 4 dB signal loss. This loss was enough to cause intermittent connectivity problems. As my luck would have it, I started noticing this problem right after upgrading to DD-WRT.

Because the cable modem was buried under my desk, I never bothered to check it at first. If I had, I would have noticed that the "Ready" light, which is normally lit solid to indicate a stable connection, was blinking. Once I finally noticed this, I called Time Warner to schedule a service visit. The tech took some measurements to confirm the power loss in the coax cable, and ended up crimping me a new coax cable. The new cable resolved all of my connectivity problems. If only I had bothered to check the cable modem at first, I would have noticed the blinking "Ready" light.

I'm now running the latest version of DD-WRT without any issues.