How to display DNS cache in Ubuntu 9.04 running Firefox?

Question

How to display DNS cache in Ubuntu 9.04 running Firefox?

Answer 1

First, Ubuntu doesn't cache dns by default, but there is a dns caching deamon available (nscd). If you have that installed you can try running the command below to flush it:

sudo /etc/init.d/nscd restart

Second, if you don't have nscd installed, you can try restarting your router. Some routers will cache dns entries.

Third, there are steps you can take to disable dns in Firefox, but I'm not sure how to clear it other than switching to offline mode and then back to online. You can do that by choosing File -> Work Offline.

Answer 2

Firefox maintains its own DNS cache, to reduce load on DNS servers and to speed up response time.

There is a DNS Cache add-on you can use to manage it. I haven't tried it so I can't speak to how well it works. It sets and adjusts the two values shown below, although it may have other tricks. It is also possible to optimize or disable it by hand.

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Optimizing and disabling the cache both use the about:config interface. Type "about:config" into your address bar and hit enter. If you haven't done this before, you'll be presented with a warning. Click "I'll be careful, I promise".

In the filter bar, type "network.dns".

We'll create two entries by right-clicking on the page and selecting New > Integer. Do this once for each of:

• network.dnsCacheExpiration (unconfirmed default: 60sec) After this amount of time, Firefox will re-query the DNS the next time the site is loaded.
• network.dnsCacheEntries (unconfirmed default: 20) Number of entries cached.

Now you have a choice. Optimize, or disable?

• To disable, set both new entries to 0. That's it.

• To optimize, set network.dnsCacheExpiration to a larger value (eg 1800 or 3600 for 30 minutes or 1 hour), and set network.dnsCacheEntries to a larger value (100, or 1000). All done.

Be sure to read the linked page above to understand potential side effects of optimizing the cache.

Answer 3

Apparently, there is no (simple) way to do this, no neat UI. It could be possible debugging Firefox.