Does a Primary and Secondary DNS have different numbers?

Question

That might sound like a dumb question.. but I am tyring to connect my Nintendo DS to wifi and it will only do it manually because of my internet connection. To do this.. it asks me to enter my Primary DNS number and then my Secondary DSN number. Where it tells me to find this information only shows DNS Servers and then lists one number... any ideas?

Answer 1

Typically, your internet service provider will have more than one DNS server.  If one server is down (say for maintainence), the other one(s) can take over the load.

Some ISPs, however, have some sort of "high availablity" setup.  For example, there are two computers, and they both have their own IP addresses, but whichever one is "active", has a 3rd address.  If the server with that 3rd address goes down, the other server starts answering to the 3rd address.

So in this HA type scenario, you only have one address (that "3rd address" that "floats" between the two computers) for a DNS server - but that one address should have multiple servers behind it to keep in operation.

It's equally possible that your ISP has more than one DNS server, but you only know about the one.

Answer 2

Some internet service providers only supply a primary dns address.  the secondary is merely for redundancy in the scenario that the primary server fails.  Just enter the primary and, provided the server is running properly, it will work.

Good Luck

Answer 3

Very simple to access you IP information click start/run/type in cmd/ when the cmd pops up type in ipconfig/all you will get the information you need right there.

Answer 4

The best DNS addresses are located here:

Primary 4.2.2.1

Secondary: 4.2.2.2

These DNS addresses are some of the fastest on the internet and open to everyone

Use them and be happy

Or use Open DNS.org which is also usually faster than your providers.