[DM-MUG] Networking and Slower than Molassas

[Bill Davis]

"Make sure the virus software is not running constantly"?   That's a silly
suggestion from Mediacom.  If you're using antivirus software, it BETTER be
running constantly or what's the point?   I don't bother on the Mac at this
point, though I do in Parallels.

It was most likely the second suggestion that did the trick  -- if you had
DNS server addresses in the DNS Server field in Network prefs, that
DEFINITELY can cause network slowdowns if the servers don't exist.  More
specifically, if the first one doesn't exist, it then tries the second one
and the third and so on...until if finds one.  This repeated searching will
slow you down, which is what you experienced.   You used to have to type
those in, now I think it gets them via DHCP or from the cable modem or
something (I am not a network guru) rather than that field....but it may be
using the ones in the field first or instead (in case you have your own DNS
server or something, I guess - necessary if you are running web sites or
other Internet servers) and if those are old/outdated they could slow you
waaaaaay down.

A DNS server, for those that don't know, is a Domain Name System server.  It
lets your web browser take an Internet URL such as www.apple.com or
ftp.apple.com  for example and look up with the numeric Internet Protocol
(IP as in TCP/IP) address for the server that it needs to actually
communicate with Apple's servers.  It's sort of the phone book for the 'Net
- with a phone book you look up "Haddock" and get "515-225-1264".    You
could save the number, but if they ever change it, you'd have to look it up
again from the DNS, so it's just better to let the computer ALWAYS look it
up.  Also, www.apple.com is not really just one web server...it's probably
dozens of them or more that you get routed to randomly to spread the load
around so the server responds promptly when things get busy.   Sort of like
a business having multiple phone lines but you still always just call the
"main" one.  The phone system can route you to a different number if the
"real" one is busy, transparently to you.

 - Bill


On 7/31/08, Victoria L. Herring <vlh at herringlaw.com> wrote:
>
> I did call Mediacom and the woman there suggested two things that were very
> helpful - (1) make sure the virus software is not running constantly [it
> was, not what I normally set] and (2) DNS Server space in the Network prefs.
> is not supposed to have numbers in it== I removed them -- not sure what the
> actual solution was but it seems to have worked.
> --
> Victoria L. Herring, Attorney in Des Moines, Iowa -  Civil rights,
> Discrimination & Employment Law, http://www.herringlaw.com.  Ph.
> 515/255-4475;  iChat AV:  victoriaherring at mac.com;  Skype:  vlherring.
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-- 
Bill Davis
5214 Meredith Dr.
Des Moines, IA 50310-2956 USA
(515) 270-6729 home
(515) 360-0445 mobile
(515) 281-7302 work
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