Re: Home Routers (Totally OT)

Jonathan Ryshpan <jonrysh@xxxxxxxxxxx> · Sat, 18 Aug 2018 02:25:50 -0700

The diagram is too long for the list in .eps format, so I'm resending it with the diagram in .dia format.  Let's hope it displays properly on your system.

On Sat, 2018-08-18 at 15:03 +0800, Ed Greshko wrote:
On 08/18/18 13:55, Jonathan Ryshpan wrote:
I have just replaced my old home router, which had stopped working, with a Trendnet
AC1900 Dual Band Wireless Router, model TEW-818DRU. I need to replace the Trendnet
router because I am totally unhappy with it. However, since the Trendnet router was
recommended by some sites which I usually trust, like Cnet, I'm reaching out to
people who may know something about networking. (I know very little.) Can anyone
recommend a router that actually works?
Let's start with the problems with the Trendnet router. Here is the table of
connected devices.
*Wired Connected Devices*
# 	IP Address 	MAC Address 	Host Name
1 	192.168.10.102 	C8:1F:66:0B:98:B4 	Oaklandweather
2 	192.168.10.101 	14:DD:A9:7E:4C:52 	amito
3 	192.168.10.103 	88:36:5F:F7:0C:95 	android-a81a750feb8c4486

The reason you are seeing the above is that when a device makes a DHCP request it
includes as part of the request its "hostname".  Your router, like most routers,
records this information in its list of "DHCP Clients".  That information is not
magically inserted into any DNS server.
If a device connects to my router using DHCP the router knows the device's name, which appears in the above table.  If the router has a DNS server it would make sense for this server to resolve the names of the devices attached to the router.  This appears to be the case for the 2-Wire router in the diagram but not for the Trendnet router.

I downloaded the User Manual for the router and there is no indication that it
actually runs a "DNS Server".  Like many routers, it simply acts as a "resolver" and
"cache" for DNS entries.  It actually passes the DNS queries to another server that
you've configured.  Typically, that would be the DNS server of your ISP.
This is surely correct and explains a number of things that I've noticed.
$ cat /etc/resolv.conf
# Generated by NetworkManager
search tew-818dru
nameserver 192.168.10.1
I suspect that the domain tew-818dru is maintained by Trendnet.  In any case changes that I've made to the router setup have no effect on it

 1. What is the device android-a81a750feb8c4486?  There are only two devices
    connected to the router by wires.  Very odd.

As already pointed out, that would be either an Android Phone or Android Tablet.
I thought so too.  But why an an Android Phone or Tablet shown in a table of Wired Connected Devices.  I don't use any such devices.

 2. The router has a DNS server in it.  The server doesn't know anything about any
    of these devices, so I will have to set up /etc/hosts in all of the computers
    in the local net manually.  Trendnet customer support has informed me that this
    is not a bug but a feature.

I use a Synology RT2600ac router which has an add-on DNS Server package.  It will
allow you to make local DNS entries. 

I actually don't use that package since I run a DNS server on my Fedora system.  I
then use the feature in my router, which yours has as well, to lock a MAC Address to
a DHCP supplied IP address.  And I make the appropriate entries in the DNS server. 
Then, depending on what I'm doing, the devices on my network will either query the
router's DNS or my Fedora DNS.   (A bit complex since I use proxy DNS services from
my VPN provider to easily access non-local video content)
This seems the best way to go.  Provided I can ignore any worries about what android-a81a750feb8c4486 is doing in the routing tables.

 3. There are issues with the way the router's DHCP sets up the attached computers
    so that searches aren't referred to higher level servers in my local net.  More
    devices have to be entered into /etc/hosts by hand.

As I said, I don't think your router runs a real DNS server.  See my comments above.
I think you have resolved the situation.

Does anyone know what's going on here? Can anyone recommend a router that handles
networking properly and that puts out a strong signal for my wireless hot spot?

I like my Synology Router.

Thanks for your long, prompt, and informative reply.

A diagram of my system is attached.

jon

Attachment:
Network.dia

Description: application/dia-diagram
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