Some domains won't resolve after setting up static IP

Joe_Papa

I have fiber internet and just this week set up a static IP. Since then some domains have become extremely slow to resolve and my Nintendo Switch won't connect to the internet. I'm not sure what would cause that.

For additional information in am using OpenDNS as a filter for the home network.

Any clues or tips that I should check to track down this issue?

Gertjan

@joe_papa

The fact that you WAN IP is the same for 'ages' (from a purely network functionality perspective) and then changes to another IP,
or :
It stays the same for even longer, or even indefinitely.
has no influence on DNS operations.

What needs to be tested :
Look at the DNS logs, can you see any serfail or NXDomain messages ?
Your "Nintendo Switch" is using pfSense as the DNS ?
What did OpenDNS receive from you as DNS requests ? Did it 'refuse' any ?

Joe_Papa

@gertjan For the sake of others who might have a similar problem I thought I would write out my experience solving this issue.

I spent hours and hours messing with settings in pfSense to try to solve this problem and nothing worked... Finally on the advice of a kind soul on reddit I was able to solve the problem.

The solution ended up being a factory reset of my pfSense install. I created a full backup of all my settings first, then did the factory reset. Then rebooted the VM. Then restored pfSense from an automatic backup through the direct UI on the VM. This got me back to a basic configuration with DHCP so I could use the web interface. Then I logged into the web UI and restored pfSense from the full backup I had created earlier. Everything works perfectly after that.

My guess is that something was messed up in FreeBSD or in the guts of pfSense... and a factory reset fixed it.

Gertjan

@joe_papa said in Some domains won't resolve after setting up static IP:

The solution ended up being a factory reset

You mean this one :

4) Reset to factory defaults

That option 'resets' just one file :
The /cf/conf/config.xml file - this is the file used to init all pfSense parameters.
It does not reset or reload any other file on the system, only a 'firmware' or OS re install can do that.
You have to re assign interfaces afterwards, etc.

When you reload a saved config file, you're back at square one, as you would have the same system as before.

Patch

@gertjan said in Some domains won't resolve after setting up static IP:

you're back at square one, as you would have the same system as before

Excellent logic.
Except I think it over looks the fact

The original system didn’t work
The restored backup did work.

I suspect the difference is the restore initialises all variables but the original edited version just updates those variables that are assumed to be effected.

Or at least that’s what happened last time I was seting to work full cone port forward. The fix was to go into the NAT outbound rule, change nothing other than save it (pfsense v2.5.2)

Gertjan

@patch said in Some domains won't resolve after setting up static IP:

Except I think it over looks the fact

I think with you, as I tend to agree with your observation.

pfSense should behave the same as before, that is, after a factory reset + import backed up config.
Because, if not, it means that there are settings that do not depend on what is found in the config file.
Or, your issue was resolved doing just that : goto factory, import config ....
and situation as not the same, the issue was solved.

This shouldn't happen, as it implies something isn't right.

There are reasons to explain the behaviour :
Modify the config file manually with conflictual settings.
Doing an initial interface assignment slightly different as the previous interface assignment.
And probably others.

Btw : there are (must be) very few differences between :
A simple reboot,
and a reboot + interface assignment + import config.