Sometimes it takes forever for a login to appear on your screen or for a print job to start printing. This is typically caused by how the network is setup on your UNIX server. A drop in your Internet service, slow or down DNS servers (nameservers) or a misconfigured network can all cause your system to slow down.
To diagnose a slow network, we typically examine first the values in /etc/resolv.conf. Below is an example of a typical file we see.
hostresorder local bind
nameserver 4.2.2.2
nameserver 8.8.8.8
The top line tells the system how to find or validate devices the server is allowing to connect or sending data to. The hostresorder will first look at entries in the /etc/hosts file called local and then at the DNS servers (nameservers) are referenced by bind. Delays in logins and print jobs occur due to timeouts because the system cannot find the device in the /etc/hosts file or there are problems with the chosen nameservers. The delays in the nameserver could be because the DNS server is no longer valid, is slow to respond, a long way (many hops) away from your network or the Internet is currently down.
To speed up lookups, Aperion typically suggests listing all local devices for terminals, printers and router in the /etc/hosts file. Name servers need to be valid and close to your network. The ISP providing your Internet service can typically provide access to their nameservers that are within a few network hops from your network thus speeding up the response. The two name servers listed above are from Verizon and Google which are typically valid but can be many hops away from the system.
