Another wireless printer "offline" situation
I've found a few other topics addressing wireless LAN printers that appear offline after setting DNS servers to the OpenDNS addresses at the router. I have a Linksys e4200 router so as far as I can tell I don't have an option to set the DNS addresses WAN-side, only LAN-side. So the advice I've found in other threads is to make a VPN exception for the printer name (e.g. the name that would appear in the Dashboard's Stats>Domain log). The problem is my printer is not showing up in the domain log, even though it has successfully connected to my network via DHCP, assumed the two OpenDNS addresses for its DNS server values, and I can access the printer's config page at its IP address from another wireless computer's web browser. Any tips on figuring out what the printer's domain name is? It's a Brother printer if anyone can advise how a Brother domain name would appear.
Thanks.
-
"The problem is my printer is not showing up in the domain log, even though it has successfully connected to my network via DHCP, assumed the two OpenDNS addresses for its DNS server values, and I can access the printer's config page at its IP address from another wireless computer's web browser."
Oops, this sounds confusing.
Your printer connecting to your network via DHCP is not something the OpenDNS stats would show, because this action is not associated with DNS lookups. And yes, it most likely would use the OpenDNS resolver addresses. But as a printer does not tend to connect to any other device for communication, the DNS configuration on the printer is minor relevant.
It's the other way around, that devices may want to connect to the printer using its name, and this will fail, because OpenDNS cannot resolve this internal name, and therefore you must add the printer's name to your VPN exceptions. You said: "I can access the printer's config page at its IP address", but this is supposed to work anyway. You must become abe to access it by its name too.
If this is not the problem, then it is unrelated to DNS, and you must look for other root causes why the printer doesn't work.
"Any tips on figuring out what the printer's domain name is? It's a Brother printer if anyone can advise how a Brother domain name would appear."
The problem is that Brother doesn't produce just one printer, but many. And often the model name is part of the network name with any printers. So a tip would be to look into the printer's user manual where such information should be found.
-
Yes the model number/name hasn't been showing up in any form in the domain log, nor any other "name" I can find for it in the manual, router local network log, etc. And since you say the printer does not tend to connect to any other device for communication, how could it ever even show in my domain log anyway; yet looking for it there to setup the exception is the "solution." So, back to square one... Use a VPN exception for the name that is... somewhere in the ether I guess. -
"how could it ever even show in my domain log anyway"
Because other devices are to look up the printer, of course. The printers's name does not appear in the stats when the printer connects to somewhere else.
Your problem with the offline printer is apparently not DNS related then. And because we don't know what printer this is, and you didn't post a link to a manual, we can't know what else it could be.
-
Deleting the OpenDNS addresses in my router and resuming using my ISP's gets me back to the printer appearing online to my computer. With the OpenDNS addresses active, I couldn't seem to take any action from the computer that would create a domain log entry so I could then make a VPN exception using the correct name. The printer model is MFC-7840W. -
Not quite? But you said: "so I could then make a VPN exception using the correct name", and I understood this was the solution. But apparently you meant it as intention only.
Ok, back to your printer name. Try to find out the printers network name after you connected from a Windows computer to it. At least one of the following commands should reveal its name:
net view /all
nbtstat -c
nbtstat -rThen see with "ipconfig /all" if you have a DNS suffix defined for your active connection and build the printer's name out of this, like MFC-7840W.DNS_suffix. Then add this name as VPN exception.
In addition you may add an entry to your local hosts file like this:
192.168.1.77 MFC-7840W
where 192.168.1.77 is the IP address of the printer, and MFC-7840W is the printers name as derived from the commands without DNS suffix.
Everything above are examples only, not the real names to be used by you.If I find more time, I may search for a user manual for your printer model to see if I find something useful else.
-
Thank you for the specificity.
nbstat -c confirms the printer name, and the DNS suffix info from ipconfig is a string that ends in ...comcast.net and my OpenDNS domain log had an entry, *.comcast.net, with a count of tens of thousands, so maybe the * is masking occurrences of [printer].[string].comcast.net. I'll have to wait until this evening to retest, but this sounds promising.
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
10 comments