My Base station says 'Unable to resolve DNS' what does this mean?

My Base station says 'Unable to resolve DNS' what does this mean?

Lets start by understanding what DNS means...


Domain Names System (DNS)?

Basically, the purpose of DNS is to make human life in Internet easier... Computers on the Internet are finding each other using IP (Internet Protocol) addresses. It is a dotted number in form (e.g.: 11.22.33.44). The numbers are decimal values of one byte (0-255). It is very hard for us, as human beings, to use these addresses every time we want to reach a server on the Internet. Thats why some wise guy invented a system which converts these numbers into names and called it 'DNS'. It is important to remember that the main task of a DNS is not only to convert words to numbers, but also for finding hosts and services on the Internet in general.

Closer to home, 'unable to resolve DNS' simply means the Base station cannot find 'www.scadar.net' which is the name server the Base station is searching for on the internet.  Observe that www.scadar.net never knows where any Base station is in the world, instead Base stations are factory configured to find www.scadar.net...

When you see the 'Unable to resolve DNS' message on a Base station this can mean one of three things (with probability percentage)...

  1. Your Base station has no connection to the internet (greater than 95% probability)
  2. Your Base station cannot find www.scadar.net on the world wide web (less than 5% probability)
  3. Your Base station has developed a hardware problem (less than 1% probability)

To troubleshoot item 1:

Use a patch cable to connect your Base station to an internet socket.  Power up the Base station.  Once fully powered up, use your Base station keypad and navigate to the 'settings' page.  Navigate to  the 'Ethernet' page.  You should find the DHCP 'enabled' (common state.  See below for an explanation about the 'disabled' state) and active IP, Subnet, Gateway and DNS settings.  If the DHCP reads 'acquiring' or the other settings seem wrong (e.g. the I.P. reads 0.0.0.0) then there's a problem with the connection between the Base station and your network DHCP server.

What is a DHCP server?

The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a standardized network protocol used on Internet Protocol (IP) networks for dynamically distributing network configuration parameters, such as IP addresses etc. With DHCP, devices such as the Base station request IP addresses and networking parameters automatically from a DHCP server, reducing the need for a network administrator or a user to configure these settings manually.  The DHCP server will reside on the network where the Base station is being used!

Follow these steps...

  • Power cycle the Base station and re-check settings
  • Check the patch cable being used to connect the Base station with the internet socket (RJ45 plug)
  • Ensure the cable you are using is not a 'cross-over' patch cable
  • Configure DHCP to 'enabled'.  Then power cycle the Base station and re-check settings
  • Try a different patch cable
  • Check the internet socket (RJ45 plug) is active (try another device that requires an internet connection using the socket etc)
  • Contact your IT network administrator for support
  • Your IT network administrator will be able to check the integrity of the IP settings given to the Base station by the network DHCP server
  • Your IT network administrator will also be able to check and resolve any network security settings that may prevent the Base station from acquiring an IP address dynamically (more common in larger organizations / networks)
  • Visit support.scadar.eu and submit a new support ticket.

If DHCP is disabled the Base station is configured for manual IP configuration (Note: this is rarely used.  Think carefully before disabling DHCP and making use of manual IP configuration!).  In this configuration you will require support from your IT network administrator to establish an appropriate IP, Subnet, Gateway and DNS setting.  Check the integrity of these settings thoroughly.

To troubleshoot 2:

  • Using a PC and internet browser (Google Chrome, Internet Explorer etc) try to reach www.scadar.net
  • If the page does not load, wait 10 minutes and try again
  • If the page loads then www.scadar.net is reachable and the problem is closer to home...  Check that your Base station has a connection to the internet (see above)!
  • If the symptom persists then visit support.scadar.eu and create a new support ticket.

To troubleshoot 3:

  • Follow trouble shooting 1
  • Follow trouble shooting 2
  • Visit support.scadar.eu and create a new support ticket

If you choose to create a new support ticket then please provide as much information as possible.  Include the contents of the Base station ID page which can be found on the settings page of your Base station.  Where possible include screen shots and video footage to demonstrate the problem.