[SOLVED] Network connection issues - need to make connections twice

Question

I've a strange issue with my network connection that has recently started to appear where if I:
- Attempt to install a package with pacman.
- Visit a webpage in chromium.
- FTP a file using Thunar.
- SSH into a server.
Then I quite often have to attempt the connection twice i.e:
- Pacman will return "error: failed retrieving file" on a first attempt, but be fine on the second.
- Chromium (or any other browser) will partially load pages or will show a 'Server Not Found' message on the first attempt but be OK after a refresh.
- FTP will not resolve the server on the first attempt but will on the second.
- ssh will return  "Could not resolve hostname Name or service not known" on the first attempt then be fine on the second.
This issue just used to occur with pacman & ssh and I just put it down to 'one of those things I needed to fix when I had time'. Yet the issue has recently started occuring with chromium as well so is making browsing the web a real pain.
I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to track down the issue so would appreciate any tips!
I'm using netctl to connect over wifi & just as I tried to post this message an error appeared in Chromium which may give me some hints as to how to fix this:
The server at bbs.archlinux.org can't be found because the DNS look-up failed. DNS is the network service that translates a website's name to its Internet address. This error is most often caused by having no connection to the Internet or a misconfigured network. It can also be caused by an unresponsive DNS server or a firewall preventing Chromium from accessing the network.
I'm using netcl to connect over wifi.
I also recently installed dhcpd which I occasionally start and stop though the issue with pacman & ssh was occurring before this.
Thanks
Tom
Last edited by anthillsocial (2013-10-14 10:28:48)

Answer 1

Thanks for that Strike0. It prompted a thorough reading of a number of man pages, though while I 'think' I understand the general concept of how things should be working, I'm finding the configuration confusing!!
I created and added some nameserver settings to the following config file '/etc/resolv.conf.head'  (googles 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 also work):
$ vim /etc/resolv.conf.head
# OpenDNS servers
nameserver 208.67.222.222
nameserver 208.67.220.220
Then I reload  /etc/resolv.conf and view its new content:
$ resolvconf -u;cat /etc/resolv.conf
# Generated by resolvconf
# OpenDNS servers
nameserver 208.67.222.222
nameserver 208.67.220.220
domain home
nameserver 192.168.1.254
And this seems to make everything work, where network connection are being reached after the first attempt!!
Though I'm confused why 192.168.1.254 is being used? Am I right in understanding that 192.168.1.254 is a broadcast address so all network devices on 192.168.1.* are being queried for a DNS server? If I use the host command on 192.168.1.254 it seems to fail.  Does this fail mean that my home router is not working correctly or theres' an internal config issue?
$ host www.archlinux.org 192.168.1.254
Using domain server:
Name: 192.168.1.254
Address: 192.168.1.254#53
Aliases:
www.archlinux.org is an alias for gudrun.archlinux.org.
gudrun.archlinux.org has address 66.211.214.131
Host gudrun.archlinux.org.home not found: 2(SERVFAIL)
What does the "Host gudrun.archlinux.org.home not found: 2(SERVFAIL)" output mean? Where is it getting the .home name from?
As comparison
$ host www.archlinux.org 8.8.4.4
Using domain server:
Name: 8.8.4.4
Address: 8.8.4.4#53
Aliases:
www.archlinux.org is an alias for gudrun.archlinux.org.
gudrun.archlinux.org has address 66.211.214.131
In one of the man pages I saw that you can test an internal DNS with:
$ host www.archlinux.org 127.0.0.1
;; connection timed out; no servers could be reached
Though wouldn't a dhcpd4.service need to be running for that to work?
Lots of questions I know, but I would like to understand exactly what's happening so I can easily trouble shoot in the future.
Tom
Last edited by anthillsocial (2013-10-11 13:55:30)