DNS Check ....... namebench

[Ex Nihilo]

I tried this and my DNS lookup is now a whopping 10 milliseconds faster! WHEW. Looks like I won't have to upgrade my broadband connection after all! 

[gseaman]

Go into PCC or "More Applications -> Configuration -> Configure Your Computer -> Network & Internet -> Network Center -> Wired (or Wireless) -> Configure -> Uncheck 'Get DNS Services from DHCP' -> Type in new values for DNS Server 1 and DNS Server 2"

This should work. I have cable and 3g and it works.

Galen

[Xenaflux]

This should work

But it never did for the last 2 years

[gseaman]

This should work

But it never did for the last 2 years

Ok, I haven't changed this recently. So, I'll give it a try and see if it still works.

Galen

[djohnston]

It works. I used to toggle back and forth between OpenDNS and Google's DNS service every couple of days or so. Just ran namebench on a wifi-connected desktop today, and it said the local router was quicker than any of them. So, I set first DNS lookup to 192.168.1.0 and second one to 208.67.222.222. Works just fine.

[KernelKarter]

I tried this and it reports that 204.186.0.203 (dns3.ptd.net) is 132.6% faster than my current server 216.144.187.37 (dns.sth.ptd.net).  Can someone please explain how I make the change to use the recommended configuration.  Any details greatly appreciated.  

Is it best to make the change in router setup - currently set to get DNS automatically from ISP.  Should I change to "Use these DNS servers" and enter primary and secondary IP addresses there?  How would you test to see results improvement?  Speedtest.net shows download speed at advertised rate  - is there another way to see speed differences from changing DNS?  Will it find or resolve the address faster?

Edit: While waiting for advice I think I answered my own questions (probably incorrectly).  Changed the router setting as suggested by the first test and subsequent tests show a few interesting things;

The primary doesn't change.
The ones listed as backup all have PTD in the name - so far I have seen 3 of them.
The results are inconsistent.

I use cable for internet and maybe have no control over this.  Still have a lot to learn and any insights welcome.

Did you reboot the router after making the changes.

- Eddie

[gseaman]

I just tried it, and thought shoot, it doesn't work. Then, I rebooted and everything is great. The speed is noticeable for me. It is worth the effort.

Galen

[MtnMan]

I tried this and it reports that 204.186.0.203 (dns3.ptd.net) is 132.6% faster than my current server 216.144.187.37 (dns.sth.ptd.net).  Can someone please explain how I make the change to use the recommended configuration.  Any details greatly appreciated.  

Is it best to make the change in router setup - currently set to get DNS automatically from ISP.  Should I change to "Use these DNS servers" and enter primary and secondary IP addresses there?  How would you test to see results improvement?  Speedtest.net shows download speed at advertised rate  - is there another way to see speed differences from changing DNS?  Will it find or resolve the address faster?

Edit: While waiting for advice I think I answered my own questions (probably incorrectly).  Changed the router setting as suggested by the first test and subsequent tests show a few interesting things;

The primary doesn't change.
The ones listed as backup all have PTD in the name - so far I have seen 3 of them.
The results are inconsistent.

I use cable for internet and maybe have no control over this.  Still have a lot to learn and any insights welcome.

Did you reboot the router after making the changes.

- Eddie

Good Point.  That worked.  It would seem that if it is worth doing, having several computers each with several installs,  the router change would be best.

I hesitate to make the change based on one run because of the inconsistency - one run shows something else to be 132.6% faster than my current server and then 2 runs later (without changes) it claims my current server is the fastest.  Then after changing Query Data Source from Chromium to Firefox there are other providers that start appearing on the list.  I think that after running at random times over a 1 or 2 day period, I can see if there is a single provider that consistently shows in the top 5 from all the results stored in the temp folder.

It works. I used to toggle back and forth between OpenDNS and Google's DNS service every couple of days or so. Just ran namebench on a wifi-connected desktop today, and it said the local router was quicker than any of them. So, I set first DNS lookup to 192.168.1.0 and second one to 208.67.222.222. Works just fine.

In the notes section in one of my providers it says "Replica of Internal 192-0-1 [192.168.0.1]".  Wouldn't it make sense to use that one as the primary - if my assumption
is correct, previously visited sites would be stored and resolved locally much quicker.  Not sure - just guessing.  Or (OMG) does this mean that my ISP has a copy of all my visits at SYS-204.186.0.203 " backup DNS server for this system".?

[hal8000]

I tried this and it reports that 204.186.0.203 (dns3.ptd.net) is 132.6% faster than my current server 216.144.187.37 (dns.sth.ptd.net).  Can someone please explain how I make the change to use the recommended configuration.  Any details greatly appreciated.  

Is it best to make the change in router setup - currently set to get DNS automatically from ISP.  Should I change to "Use these DNS servers" and enter primary and secondary IP addresses there?  How would you test to see results improvement?  Speedtest.net shows download speed at advertised rate  - is there another way to see speed differences from changing DNS?  Will it find or resolve the address faster?

Edit: While waiting for advice I think I answered my own questions (probably incorrectly).  Changed the router setting as suggested by the first test and subsequent tests show a few interesting things;

The primary doesn't change.
The ones listed as backup all have PTD in the name - so far I have seen 3 of them.
The results are inconsistent.

I use cable for internet and maybe have no control over this.  Still have a lot to learn and any insights welcome.

You are probably using a cable modem, but to use the fixed DNS go to PCLCC network and set up your interface.
If its cable modem, the only detail you change is the line for DNS server address and set it to 8.8.8.8 or whatever address
was fastest.
If however you have a cable modem then you have a choice you can either leave the DNS address set in the router or
change the DNS address to the fastest server.

In my case I have a ADSL/router but turn off DHCP and use static addressing. Instead of using my router DNS I set the
nameserver to 8.8.4.4 which is fastest for me and linux reads this from /etc/resolv.conf

Changing DNS wont alter the speed of your connection, what it does is affect the speed of which domain name
e.g. google.com are converted into IP addresses  e.g. (209.85.143.104)

If you visit an internet page that serves many different adverts then this page may apparently load faster as the time
taken to lookup each individual address is reduced.

[hal8000]

Thanks for posting this, very useful tool, google 8.8.4.4. is fastest lookup for me as well.

I cant remember the site but there was an Internet speed test site that used to do two tests,
a throughput test, but the second test was a "web test" and consisted of a page full of about 100
individual graphics all from different locations around the world.

My connection speed was good, but the second test "web test" was always mediocre and relied
heavily on DNS to resolve all the banners.

I cant remember the site name, but if anyone knows of a similar testing site it would be good to post here.

[MtnMan]

>You are probably using a cable modem, but to use the fixed DNS go to PCLCC network and set up your interface.
If its cable modem, the only detail you change is the line for DNS server address and set it to 8.8.8.8 or whatever address
was fastest.
If however you have a cable modem then you have a choice you can either leave the DNS address set in the router or
change the DNS address to the fastest server.

I have a cable modem and get the feeling my ISP has more control of my stuff than I do.  I will try changes in PCC for now instead of the router - maybe better for making comparisons anyway.

>I cant remember the site but there was an Internet speed test site that used to do two tests,
a throughput test, but the second test was a "web test" and consisted of a page full of about 100
individual graphics all from different locations around the world.

I remember it well - tried finding it with google but no luck.  Maybe it doesn't exist anymore.

[The Chief]

If you set the DNS in the router, you need to set all the connected computers to 'Get DNS from DHCP server' or whatever it says to that effect.  Once you do that, changes in the router settings will affect all computers on the network.

[djohnston]

I just tried it, and thought shoot, it doesn't work. Then, I rebooted and everything is great. The speed is noticeable for me. It is worth the effort.

Galen

Or, you can open a terminal, su to root, then do service network restart.

[DarkBlueKoala]

Ran it and it can't be too biased towards google, since their DNS ended in 6th for me.  The top was an OpenDNS server that is 8.9% faster than my cable internet provider's DNS.  Not a huge ddifference, but I set the two up and we will see how it works.

[djohnston]

In the notes section in one of my providers it says "Replica of Internal 192-0-1 [192.168.0.1]".  Wouldn't it make sense to use that one as the primary - if my assumption is correct, previously visited sites would be stored and resolved locally much quicker.  Not sure - just guessing.  Or (OMG) does this mean that my ISP has a copy of all my visits at SYS-204.186.0.203 " backup DNS server for this system".?

You may be right. My reasoning was if I visit a new website, the router wouldn't have the lookup cached, but OpenDNS would. In other words, it may be faster than depending solely on my ISP's lookup name cache. And, of course, the second address always depends on the first one being available. May be overkill, may not.