What is 4.2.2.2

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsnt.protocol.tcpip (More info?)

In article <uPcaVHssEHA.2196@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl>,
A.M <nospam2@news.postalias> wrote:
>What is the IP address 4.2.2.2 ?

http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/ptr.ch?ip=4.2.2.2
http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/whois.ch?ip=4.2.2.2

>Is it a free DNS server? Is it popular IP for troubleshooting?

Where did you find this IP address? What problem are you trying to
solve?

--
-- Rod --
rodd(at)polylogics(dot)com

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsnt.protocol.tcpip (More info?)

Thanks for reply.

Someone referred me to it as a free DNS server. The concept of free DNS
server is too good to be true.


"Rod Dorman" <rodd@panix.com> wrote in message
news:ckpljq$eji$1@reader1.panix.com...
> In article <uPcaVHssEHA.2196@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl>,
> A.M <nospam2@news.postalias> wrote:
> >What is the IP address 4.2.2.2 ?
>
> http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/ptr.ch?ip=4.2.2.2
> http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/whois.ch?ip=4.2.2.2
>
> >Is it a free DNS server? Is it popular IP for troubleshooting?
>
> Where did you find this IP address? What problem are you trying to
> solve?
>
> --
> -- Rod --
> rodd(at)polylogics(dot)com

From another forum:




It's not quite as detailed as the explanation I'd seen before, but I figured it was accurate and to-the-point.

Additional DNS Servers can be found here: http://www.dnsserverlist.org/
That site also includes a "top three calculated DNS servers for your IP" listing, which could prove very useful for speed demons out there!



Somebodyunfamous
http://winmillionsfree.com

I am going to take credit for 4.2.2.2 being used as a DNS server entry in your router... here's the story-

In 1998, I was managing a network operations center with a few support technicians. Early on in training these guys, I told them to ping 4.1.1.1 to see if the Internet was 'up', because 4.1.1.1 seemed like the "411" from phone calling... easy to remember when you were panicky (as they could become when our network had problems).

One day 4.1.1.1 stopped responding to pings, and we freaked out for a second- but only it was down. I immediately responded with, "Well, then what about 4.2.2.2?", just incrementing the 1's to 2's. It NEVER went down. It soon became our defacto test host to ping.

After a very short while, we were curious as to what this address was used for... and not being from the NE where it was originally used in the GTE network, we didn't already know it was a secondary caching-only resolver. But we soon found out... and also found that it was usable from outside GTE's network. So when we needed a quick DNS server to use ... we used 4.2.2.2.

I think it spread- not only as a DNS server to use, but also as a ping host test. I've definitely used it in my network administration career and told others to use it. But to hear it come back as a suggestion to me makes me smile.

Personally I think it's insecure that Level3 (which now controls it) allows it to continue to resolve for clients outside of it's network... but that doesn't stop me from using it  

Dan Farrell
dannosite.com

That's a fine story. Don't take this the wrong way, but I think you're taking credit where credit is not due...

I'd say that most of the credit for it goes to BBN Planet and specifically John Hawkinson for having the foresight to reserve the 4.2.2/24 network block, and Brett McCoy who set up the 4.2.2.2 systems and wanted an easy to remember and type IP address. FYI: They originally wanted to do 4.4.4.4, but it was already reserved.

I mean it's impossible to tell how it spread, but I'm just playing the odds here...

It could be that you told "a few" people and one of them told someone from Cisco tech support who then made it SOP to tell everyone who called to use 4.2.2.2 for testing...

But it seems more likely that one of the biggest oldest Internet players deliberately put DNS on 4.2.2.2, made it public, and since these IPs were their primary DNS servers they published it widely: all their customers were supposed to be using 4.2.2.1 through 4.2.2.3 as their DNS servers.

Again, playing the odds it seems more likely that BBN Planet themselves made 4.2.2.2 famous and thereby it ended up in the original posters router.

Sean

Necropost

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey