timeouts

[Jeff Stevens]

On 10/11/2004 3:07 PM, Jeff Stevens wrote:

> I have a question about how long timeouts take for queries...if I test a DNS 
> server with a first attempt via nslookup to resolve an address, it times out 
> after 2 seconds (which is the default).  If I were to use dig, the default 
> timeout is 5 seconds.  How long does it take the named server to time out?
> 
> I have a customer that is confused why his DNS server doesn't always resolve 
> addresses (it works "the majority" of the time) the first time but does on 
> subsequent calls (non-authoritative responses, usually) and I suspect it's 
> related to the number of hops his query is making (e.g. from Britian for a 
> US address).  He says HTTP protocol has no problem resolving with timeouts 
> compared to nslookup.
> 
> I'm trying to understand the reasoning for that...as he complains his DNS 
> consistently times out when doing queries overseas.

One example I was given of the timeout:

C:\>nslookup bacusrep.com ns3.cmnaisp.net
Server:  NS3.CMNAISP.NET
Address:  63.251.25.5

DNS request timed out.
     timeout was 2 seconds.
DNS request timed out.
     timeout was 2 seconds.
*** Request to NS3.CMNAISP.NET timed-out

-- 
Jeffrey Stevens