[RESOLVED] very strange network issue with dns

[Lord Orwell]

I have numerous networked devices, some wired, some wireless.
i recently switched cable companies and before i did this, i had no problems at all.
after switching (and i use the same modem), dns is not detected.
all my computers think my router is the dns server and for some reason the tivos still have a dns listing.
More info: I ran ethernet to the entire apartment after this started and i think there may be a problem with the cable network. I can set my router into gateway mode and that fixed the dns for the wired devices but not the wireless (confused) but more confusing, everything is still getting ip addresses assigned when i do this.
So here's my network map as i have it currently set:
rca cable modem
asus rt-n10 router (normal dhcp settings)
4 win7 boxes, 2 tivos all wired
2 win7 laptops wireless
one wii
i've had to manually assign dns settings on everything when it's in router mode, and everything except the tivos when it's in access point mode, and i haven't had to mess with ip addresses in either mode.

Could it be a new problem with my router? I can't imagine where the dhcp server is i'm getting ip addresses from, either. The cable company claims they don't have one.

[stanav]

If your router provides dhcp service, why not letting it handle dns too? I'd use a public dns such as google dns (8.8.8.8) or opendns (208.67.222.222 or 208.67.220.220) instead of the isp's dns. As a matter of fact, my home router is set to use google as the primary dns and opendns as secondary.

[Lord Orwell]

i can't figure out how to configure the router to use google or opendns. There are settings in there but as far as i can determine, the opendns was for supporting me running a server, as it required me to set up an account with opendns.

I in fact have google listed as my primary and secondary dns, but i had to set it manually on all my devices. Google secondary is 8.8.8.4. I am going to research this a little harder and see if there is something i am overlooking in the router config. Perhaps something i have to run from the cd or whatever.

[Lord Orwell]

ok i solved the problem. I was running firmware 1.0.0.7 and a newer one mentioned in the fixes that it fixed issues some countries have with dns. The latest firmware was installed by me, and then i ran the setup wizard and now everything is working great.

[stanav]

What brand/model is your router? Is it dd-wrt or Tomato compatible? If it is, I highly recommend to flash it to dd-wrt or Tomato firmware. Not only these after market firmware provide more functionality, they are also a lot more stable/reliable than the OEM firmware.

[Lord Orwell]

it's partially ddwrt compatible (wireless doesn't work), but i seriously doubt it could have any more functionality. I can even set up more than one wireless signal with it. The functionality of this thing is insane. However some people have had better luck installing tomato. I can't imagine what that adds since i can even set times to block the internet, meter percentages of internet to specific devices, etc.