Airlink EDGE/GPRS - Manual (Page 25)

PinPoint-E EDGE/GPRS - User Guide, version 2.32 19
IP Manager and DNS
DNS: Using Names Instead of IP addresses
The PinPoint-E has the ability to query DNS servers in order to translate domain names into IP
addresses. This allows you to use domain names in place of IP addresses for most of the configu-
ration options requiring IP addresses. This is important if your PinPoint-E will need to contact
another modem or other device that has a domain name but an unknown or dynamic IP address
(such as another remote PinPoint-E using IP Manager).
Configuring DNS
Generally, when your PinPoint-E receives its IP address from Your Wireless Service Provider, it
will also receive Your Wireless Service Provider’s DNS servers to use for resolving (or translating)
names to IP addresses which it will automatically configure in the modem settings. Unless your
PinPoint-E will be used on a network with other modems or devices which have names internal to
the local network or frequently changing IP addresses, the DNS servers provided by Your Wireless
Service Provider should be all you need.
If the PinPoint-E will be communicating with a device that has a domain name but changes its IP
address frequently (such as another AirLink modem using IP Manager) or is on a network where
devices are accessed by names rather than IP addresses, you will want to put in an alternate DNS
(*DNSUSER) where that domain is updated, such as the IP Manager server the remote modem is
using or the listing of IP addresses to names is kept.
FIGURE 2. Wireless Ace: DNS
*DNS1 and *DNS2 - The primary and secondary DNS servers set by Your Wireless Service
Provider when your PinPoint-E gets its IP address.
*DNSUSER - Set this, if desired, to an additional DNS server to query first before the primary
or secondary (just as a hosts file is queried first on a computer). If *DNSUSER is set to 0.0.0.0,
it will be ignored.
*DNSUPDATE - This command sets how often you want DNS Updates to be requested. Oth-
erwise the PinPoint-E will only send updates when it is reset, powered up, or the IP address is
granted by network changes.
Note: The IP Manager service from AirLink is currently not a guaranteed service
though every effort is made to keep it operational 24/7.
When using AirLink’s IP Manager servers, since there are many AirLink modems
using the service, it is even more imperative to have a unique name for your
modem.