Forums > Specific Focus > Technical Mexico

Jerry@Ajijic

May 13, 2004, 7:09 PM

Post #1 of 13 (1127 views)

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Telmex

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Has anyone heard if Telmex is trying to upgrade their DSL service equipment? I have heard that they signed up many more people than their equipment would carry.
What I have heard is that they need 10 more fiber optic lines????? Jerry

johanson / Moderator

May 14, 2004, 9:10 AM

Post #2 of 13 (1091 views)

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Re: [Jerry@Ajijic] Telmex

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I'm up North, but heard on the plane from a Prodigy ADSL client who lives in Guadalajara, that he too was having problems, that he and his neighbors were getting timed out but that if they tried 3 to 6 times they could usually get the URL they wanted. He felt that the problem was Domain Name System (DNS) server related.

esperanza

May 14, 2004, 9:22 AM

Post #3 of 13 (1088 views)

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Re: [johanson] Telmex

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I don't think it's just a DSL problem with Prodigy. The same thing is happening with me on dialup. The service seems to be fair early in the morning and worse as the day wears on. By night, it's difficult to get to any URL without several attempts. Whatever it is, they will resolve it fairly soon--that's how they are.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

Rolly

May 14, 2004, 9:41 AM

Post #4 of 13 (1085 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Telmex

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This DSN problem is driving me up the wall!! It's been going on here in the Torreón area for the past couple of weeks. Like Esperanza, things are OK in the off hours, but the afternoons and evenings are really bad.

Rolly Pirate

sfmacaws

May 14, 2004, 9:58 AM

Post #5 of 13 (1085 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Telmex

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There are free DSL servers out there. I don't have a URL but a search should turn them up. You can use any DSL server you want plus it would help to figure out if that really is the problem.

Jonna - Mérida, Yucatán

johanson / Moderator

May 14, 2004, 12:47 PM

Post #6 of 13 (1077 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Telmex

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I am no expert in this area, but this is what I have been told. When you type in an address like www.yahoo.com this address goes to a DNS server whether you are using a dial-up account or ADSL. The server determines the numeric address which would be something like 123.184.12.255. With that number you would work your way to the desired web site. Now if too many people are using that or those DNS servers, some of you are going to be timed out and are going to get error or some type message so stating.

According to folks in the ISP business, prodigy's DNS servers don't have the capacity to respond to all of the users during periods of heavy activity. They further suggested that if Prodigy continues as it has in the past, nothing will happen until there is a loud outcry from the public, and but that when they make the repair, they will over-react, or put in more capacity than would be immediately called for.

Again, this is all hearsay from the folks in the business, who sometimes have been known to exaggerate.

esperanza

May 14, 2004, 1:52 PM

Post #7 of 13 (1067 views)

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Re: [johanson] Telmex

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Pete, that all sounds logical--but this is Mexico, where there is sometimes little logic. This DNS problem has been going on, as Rolly said, just for a couple of weeks. I doubt Prodigy has experienced a huge spike in usage in the last two weeks. My money is on some glitch--like maybe part of their system being down--and that it will be fixed soon. I've seen other weird things happen briefly on Prodigy in the past.

If it goes on much longer, I'll give them a call and report on what they tell me.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

sfmacaws

May 14, 2004, 2:08 PM

Post #8 of 13 (1068 views)

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Re: [johanson] Telmex

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Here is a site that explains DNS service and gives some options if your ISP is not providing good DNS service

http://ask-leo.com/archives/000020.html

and another answer re Are there alternate DNS servers I can use

http://www.broadbandreports.com/faq/7472

what Johanson said is basically correct. You can point your browser to any DNS server that is not protected and use it to resolve the address. I rarely use the DNS servers that come with whatever ISP I am connected through, preferring to use the ones provided by my domain host. If you have another ISP, for instance for use when in the US or because you wanted to keep the email address, you can use the DNS server supplied by them. Same thing if you have a domain hosted by a server company, they usually provide DNS service and you can use their servers from any ISP.

there are also DNS servers that are free and open to the public for use. They are listed in the second link above.

Another option is to run a free DNS cache program on your PC. It will 'remember' the IP address of web sites you visit and your browser will look to it first for the address. That should speed up your access to previously requested sites but you would still be looking to prodigy for new ones. The above link also has info on one of the free DNS cache programs.

Jonna - Mérida, Yucatán

Rolly

May 14, 2004, 7:42 PM

Post #9 of 13 (1047 views)

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Re: [sfmacaws] Telmex

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Thanks Jonna, for the very interesting and useful websites.

I downloaded and installed the Fast Cache program. If it performs as advertized, it should solve nearly all my problems with Prodigy's DNS server. I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

Rolly Pirate

Rolly

May 16, 2004, 2:23 PM

Post #10 of 13 (1007 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Telmex

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I have now been using the Fast Cache program for two days, and my DNS problems are almost completely gone. There are still a couple of my regular sites that don't always work right from the cache, but still it is a big improvement.

The download of the cache program is quick, and the instructions for setup are clear and easy to follow.

Rolly Pirate

Marlene

May 16, 2004, 2:38 PM

Post #11 of 13 (1001 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Telmex

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Rolly, thanks for the positive feedback. I am going to try it too, as Telmex is seriously annoying me in the past month. My parrot is learning new words as I try to navigate on the computer. Thanks again.

sfmacaws

May 16, 2004, 8:06 PM

Post #12 of 13 (982 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Telmex

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That's great Rolly, I'm glad the info helped.

Jonna - Mérida, Yucatán

johnv

May 18, 2004, 10:08 AM

Post #13 of 13 (937 views)

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Re: [sfmacaws] Telmex

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I downloaded FastCache two days ago and have had an incredible improvement. Now, today, I downloaded CookieCop 3.0.0. The CookyCop program said something about if you are running another proxy(?) ,something or other, it may conflict or do something. I do not really understand what FastCache is, only that it has improved my situation. I havn't had time to get into CookyCop yet, but this is my question: Does anyone know if there will be some kind of conflict between FastCache and CookieCop 3.0.0? Do they both perform any shared functions?