Switches and DNS Settings Question

[Boomwebsearch]

Hi LinusTechTips community,

 

I have recently purchased a Linksys EA6400 Smart Router and apparently there is an issue on these Linksys smart internet routers where they will ignore any DNS settings that you have set, and I would like to use OpenDNS. I have an old D-Link DIR-615 and Netgear WNDR3400v1 router which I could first connect to directly to the modem via ethernet and then to the EA6400 since all data going through would need to go through the old router which has an OpenDNS configuration. The problem is that I have 200 MBPS download and 10 MBPS upload speeds and that would not be able to go through the ethernet ports on any of these older routers that I have since they both max out at 100 MBPS. 

 

Could I use a gigabit network switch and have it set to use OpenDNS, and would this one work or will I need a managed switch?:

 

https://www.newegg.com/tp-link-ls1008g-8-x-rj45/p/0XP-001U-003M0?item=0XP-001U-003M0&source=region&nm_mc=knc-googleadwords-pc&cm_mmc=knc-googleadwords-pc-_-pla-_-network+-+switches-_-0XP-001U-003M0&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhoG0w7Cx6gIVg5yzCh0M1wrKEAQYASABEgKHcvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

 

Thank you in advance for any help/suggestions,

 

@Boomwebsearch

[WereCatf]

5 minutes ago, Boomwebsearch said:

Could I use a gigabit network switch and have it set to use OpenDNS

Switches don't do DNS, that's not what their purpose is.

[Electronics Wizardy]

so that is a unmanaged switch, it can't have any settings changed or do anything to dns at all..

 

 

Did you test it to see if you can change it? Do that first.

 

If that doesn't work, id setup my own dhcp server and then set a custom dns on there

[Boomwebsearch]

1 minute ago, WereCatf said:

Switches don't do DNS, that's not what their purpose is.

1 minute ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

so that is a unmanaged switch, it can't have any settings changed or do anything to dns at all..

What settings could be changed on a managed switch, could a managed switch route requests going through their ports to a certain DNS provider's IP address such as OpenDNS (208.67. 222.222 and 208.67. 220.220)?

 

2 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Did you test it to see if you can change it? Do that first.

I have already tried changing it last night and it would not work, many other users are having the same issue:

 

https://community.linksys.com/t5/Wireless-Routers/Linksys-Smart-Wifi-ignores-static-DNS-settings-EA6400/td-p/906181

 

https://community.linksys.com/t5/Wireless-Routers/When-will-Linksys-Fix-the-stupid-Static-DNS-setting-in-DHCP/td-p/1059280

 

https://community.linksys.com/t5/Wireless-Routers/When-will-Linksys-Fix-the-Dumb-Static-DNS-setting-in-DHCP/td-p/1399583

 

5 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

If that doesn't work, id setup my own dhcp server and then set a custom dns on there

I am planning to buy this gigabit managed switch to router DNS requests to OpenDNS, would this work and if not could you please elaborate on the necessary hardware required to setup a DHCP server?

 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/tp-link-5-port-10-100-1000-mbps-gigabit-smart-ethernet-metal-switch-gray/2080346.pskuId=2080346&ref=212&loc=1&ref=212&loc=1&ds_rl=1268652&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlJ6vj7Sx6gIVEpSzCh2P3ADEEAQYAyABEgIjavD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just now, Boomwebsearch said:

What settings could be changed on a managed switch, could a managed switch route requests going through their ports to a certain DNS provider's IP address such as OpenDNS (208.67. 222.222 and 208.67. 220.220)?

 

I have already tried changing it last night and it would not work, many other users are having the same issue:

 

https://community.linksys.com/t5/Wireless-Routers/Linksys-Smart-Wifi-ignores-static-DNS-settings-EA6400/td-p/906181

 

https://community.linksys.com/t5/Wireless-Routers/When-will-Linksys-Fix-the-stupid-Static-DNS-setting-in-DHCP/td-p/1059280

 

https://community.linksys.com/t5/Wireless-Routers/When-will-Linksys-Fix-the-Dumb-Static-DNS-setting-in-DHCP/td-p/1399583

 

I am planning to buy this gigabit managed switch to router DNS requests to OpenDNS, would this work and if not could you please elaborate on the necessary hardware required to setup a DHCP server?

 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/tp-link-5-port-10-100-1000-mbps-gigabit-smart-ethernet-metal-switch-gray/2080346.pskuId=2080346&ref=212&loc=1&ref=212&loc=1&ds_rl=1268652&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlJ6vj7Sx6gIVEpSzCh2P3ADEEAQYAyABEgIjavD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Most managed switches like that one are l2 only, so it won't touch any ip addresses at all, or any DNS settings

 

Some l3 switches can do this, but a l3 switch is basically a router. If this is a big issue, just get a good router in the first place instead, that would be a much better solution

 

 

[WereCatf]

Just now, Boomwebsearch said:

What settings could be changed on a managed switch, could a managed switch route requests going through their ports to a certain DNS provider's IP address such as OpenDNS (208.67. 222.222 and 208.67. 220.220)?

 

1 minute ago, Boomwebsearch said:

I am planning to buy this gigabit managed switch to router DNS requests to OpenDNS, would this work and if not could you please elaborate on the necessary hardware required to setup a DHCP server?

You are trying to use a switch for a task it's not meant for. It's not going to work. You need to either replace your router with something that isn't shit or you need to use e.g. a Raspberry Pi or something as your DHCP-server and disable DHCP on your shitty router.

[Boomwebsearch]

14 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Some l3 switches can do this, but a l3 switch is basically a router. If this is a big issue, just get a good router in the first place instead, that would be a much better solution

 

I was thinking that a switch would be a cheaper solution for using OpenDNS than having to replace the WI-FI router completely, what would be the cheapest I3 switch that could do this (I am in the United States)?

[WereCatf]

Just now, Boomwebsearch said:

I was thinking that a switch would be a cheaper solution for using OpenDNS than having to replace the router completely, what would be the cheapest I3 switch that could do this (I am in United States)?

A router will be cheaper than an L3-switch. L3-switches are generally aimed for business-use, which is why they also tend to cost a lot more.

[Electronics Wizardy]

3 minutes ago, Boomwebsearch said:

 

I was thinking that a switch would be a cheaper solution for using OpenDNS than having to replace the WI-FI router completely, what would be the cheapest I3 switch that could do this (I am in the United States)?

Depends on what exact features your looking at, but probably 200+. Used can be cheaper

 

Also they aren't super easy to use(normally cli only), so really, get a seprate dhcp server or a different router.

[Boomwebsearch]

4 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

A router will be cheaper than an L3-switch. L3-switches are generally aimed for business-use, which is why they also tend to cost a lot more.

1 minute ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Depends on what exact features your looking at, but probably 200+. Used can be cheaper

 

Also they aren't super easy to use(normally cli only), so really, get a seprate dhcp server or a different router.

23 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

e.g. a Raspberry Pi or something as your DHCP-server

 

Okay, could you recommend a good budget-friendly (preferably under $50 USD) DHCP server, wouldn't

a Raspberry only have one ethernet port connection?

[WereCatf]

Just now, Boomwebsearch said:

Okay, could you recommend a good budget-friendly (preferably under $50 USD) DHCP server, wouldn't

a Raspberry only have one ethernet port connection?

You don't need more than a single Ethernet-port to run a DHCP-server. A DHCP-server doesn't route traffic, it only answers DHCP-requests. All the actual Internet-traffic would still go through your router. Alas, it seems you have very little understanding of networking, so I am still going to stick with my recommendation of just replacing the router with a non-shitty one, since that'd be far easier to set up. If you went with e.g. an RPi, you'd have to learn how to use Linux and configure a DHCP-server from the command-line and all that stuff.

[Boomwebsearch]

4 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

You don't need more than a single Ethernet-port to run a DHCP-server. A DHCP-server doesn't route traffic, it only answers DHCP-requests. All the actual Internet-traffic would still go through your router. Alas, it seems you have very little understanding of networking, so I am still going to stick with my recommendation of just replacing the router with a non-shitty one, since that'd be far easier to set up. If you went with e.g. an RPi, you'd have to learn how to use Linux and configure a DHCP-server from the command-line and all that stuff.

 

I am still learning and would be interested in getting a Raspberry Pi one day for experimenting, although I want a more definite solution for my network at the moment. Linksys recently had their smart internet system hacked which allowed for attackers to modify DNS settings forwarding users to install malware and I don't really see much benefit for me to use their smart internet system at the expense of security and quite basic functionalities not working. Planning to upgrade to a Motorola MR1700 ($60 USD) or maybe the Motorola MR2600 ($100 USD), would this be a good idea or should I get something different?

 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/motorola-ac1750-dual-band-wi-fi-router-with-4-port-gigabit-ethernet-switch-black/6258084.p?skuId=6258084

 

https://www.amazon.com/MOTOROLA-AC2600-Gigabit-Extended-MR2600/dp/B07CDQNHRX

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 minute ago, Boomwebsearch said:

 

I am still learning and would be interested in getting a Raspberry Pi one day for experimenting, although I want a more definite solution for my network at the moment. Linksys recently had their smart internet system hacked which allowed for attackers to modify DNS settings forwarding users to install malware and I don't really see much benefit for me to use their smart internet system at the expense of security and quite basic functionalities not working. Planning to upgrade to a Motorola MR1700 ($60 USD) or maybe the Motorola MR2600 ($100 USD), would this be a good idea or should I get something different?

 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/motorola-ac1750-dual-band-wi-fi-router-with-4-port-gigabit-ethernet-switch-black/6258084.p?skuId=6258084

 

https://www.amazon.com/MOTOROLA-AC2600-Gigabit-Extended-MR2600/dp/B07CDQNHRX

those should work fine here, but I havne't heard of motorolla in the wifi router space much.

 

tplink is normally reccomended for budget router

[WereCatf]

11 minutes ago, Boomwebsearch said:

Motorola

I have zero experience with Motorola's stuff, so I can't comment there.

[Boomwebsearch]

1 hour ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

those should work fine here, but I havne't heard of motorolla in the wifi router space much.

 

tplink is normally reccomended for budget router

1 hour ago, WereCatf said:

I have zero experience with Motorola's stuff, so I can't comment there.

 

I would rather have more range than higher speeds, some routers are rated for really high speeds although their range is terrible and will either disconnect or run extremely slow (around 1 or 2 MBPS) at longer distances. I have heard that the Motorola routers get good range, are there any other routers that offer good range at $100 USD or lower?

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 minute ago, Boomwebsearch said:

 

I would rather have more range than higher speeds, some routers are rated for really high speeds although their range is terrible and will either disconnect or run extremely slow (around 1 or 2 MBPS) at longer distances. I have heard that the Motorola routers get good range, are there any other routers that offer good range at $100 USD or lower?

where did you hear this about motorolla and range?

 

Most wifi access points have simmilar range as power is limited by the fcc. If you want better range get multiple access points, with something like a mesh system.

[Boomwebsearch]

2 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

where did you hear this about motorolla and range?

 

I read through the reviews on the product page and it seems that others were getting good signal in their buildings and these are the only two models (MR1700 and MR2600) I was able to find that specifically mention that they were designed for greater range.

 

8 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Most wifi access points have simmilar range as power is limited by the fcc. If you want better range get multiple access points, with something like a mesh system.

 

Why is the power limited by the FCC, I could put a few repeaters around, although I think that each repeater added to the network would cause lower bandwidth + speeds which I want to avoid if possible, plan on watching HD content via Roku on my TVs?

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just now, Boomwebsearch said:

Why is the power limited by the FCC, I could put a few repeaters around, although I think that each repeater added to the network would cause lower bandwidth + speeds which I want to avoid if possible, plan on watching HD content via Roku on my TVs?

FCC doesn't want your wifi to be readable by the people accross town, also they don't want your wifi access point to work as a microwave.

 

You want a mesh system, they are much better than normal repeaters, and will make it faster. Do you have wires in your home now?

[Boomwebsearch]

15 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

FCC doesn't want your wifi to be readable by the people accross town, also they don't want your wifi access point to work as a microwave.

 

WI-FI signals are usually protected by encryption which I think would prevent others from being able to access data sent through the network (ex. WEP, WPA, WPA2 in order from least to most secure)?

 

Also, WI-FI routers emit non-ionizing radiations only which can't really cause damage to DNA and cells, cellular radiation is so much stronger than WI-FI and it's allowed?

 

 

15 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

You want a mesh system, they are much better than normal repeaters, and will make it faster. Do you have wires in your home now?

Thank you for the advice on a mesh system, unfortunately my building is a bit older and only has phone lines running through the walls (no ethernet).

[Lurick]

WiFi causes interference with other equipment such as air traffic controllers and whatnot. Additionally they don't want some asshole blasting super strong wifi and messing up everyone else's signal.

 

Mesh doesn't' require ethernet, it uses wireless backhaul to transmit data from node to node.

[Electronics Wizardy]

13 minutes ago, Boomwebsearch said:

WI-FI signals are usually protected by encryption which I think would prevent others from being able to access data sent through the network (ex. WEP, WPA, WPA2 in order from least to most secure)?

security isn't the issue, its that only one person can talk at a time on a band. If wifi covered a whole city, the wifi bandwidth would be awful, as there are only 3 2.4g bands that don't overlap, so only 3 devices in the city could talk of 2.4g, thats partitally why fcc limits it.

 

15 minutes ago, Boomwebsearch said:

Also, WI-FI routers emit non-ionizing radiations only which can't really cause damage to DNA and cells, cellular radiation is so much stronger than WI-FI and it's allowed?

 

Well microwavs are also the same bands, while non harmful(to a point), you don't want it burning things due to the power.

 

15 minutes ago, Boomwebsearch said:

Thank you for the advice on a mesh system, unfortunately my building is a bit older and only has phone lines running through the walls (no ethernet).

mesh systems are normally wireless, look at things like orbi, google wifi, tplink deco and others