A large part of the problems we've been having this year are related to one of our Domain Name servers. Today I set up an additional server to take the load off the old DNS server & that should give us a more consistent experience on campus.  
 
The instructions to use this server are slightly different depending on what version of the operating system you are running on your computer. Most of you are running 10.4.x (Tiger), some of you are still running 10.3.x (Panther), and a very few of you are running 10.5.x (Leopard). To find out what version you are using click on the Apple Menu (upper left corner of your screen) and select About this Mac. The screen that comes up displays some basic information about your computer, including the version of OS X you are running. 
 
Rather than replacing the DNS server information we are going to add the newer server before the old server. The network settings allow you to specify several DNS servers & will use them in the order entered, so the old server is going to be a fall back if the new server is down. 
 
If you feel comfortable doing this kind of thing & don't really want to read a whole lot of instructions the IP address for the new server is 192.168.3.3. Put that number above the old IP address in your network settings & you'll be good to go. Just make sure and do it in any FCS locations you use, both Ethernet & Airport. For N.E. teachers just change the FCS Airport location, you don't have to make any changes to your N.E. settings. 
 
If you would like help with making these changes please let George Freeman or me know & we'll get you set up.  
 
If you're running Tiger or Panther follow the steps below - 

 

1. Open System Preferences from the Apple Menu
 

2. In System Preferences click on Network
 

3. Look at the lock icon in the bottom left hand corner. If it displays as unlocked skip to step 4. If it displays as locked click on the lock icon. This will bring up a dialogue to enter your username and password. Enter your password and hit return.
 

4. Click the configure button
 

5. If necessary select the TCP/IP tab
 

6. Put your cursor in the DNS Servers field before the old ip address. Hit the return key to put in a line return. Move your cursor back up to the new line you just created. Type in the new IP address (192.168.3.3). Verify your window looks similar to the image at the left.
 

7. Click the Apply button.
 

8. If you have other locations to change switch the Location pop up and repeat steps 4-7 for each location.
 

 

1. Open System Preferences from the Apple Menu
 

2. In System Preferences click on Network
 

3. Look at the lock icon in the bottom left hand corner. If it displays as unlocked skip to step 4. If it displays as locked click on the lock icon. This will bring up a dialogue to enter your username and password. Enter your password and hit return.
 

4. Select the Location you want to edit from the Location pop up menu. Note: if you have multiple FCS locations (i.e. airport & ethernet) you will need to repeat the steps below for each location.
 

5. Click the Advanced button at the bottom right of the window.
 

6. Click the DNS tab in the Advanced configuration area.
 

7. Select the old DNS ip address and click the minus sign
 

8. Click the plus button and enter 192.168.3.3. Click the plus button again and enter 192.168.3.2. Click OK. 
   
9. Click the Apply button.
 

10. If you have other locations to change switch the Location pop up and repeat steps 4-9 for each location.