DNSBench "stable" released

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Test your DNS servers and choose the fastest

[]'s GRC's DNS Benchmark performs a detailed analysis and comparison of the operational performance and reliability of any set of up to 200 DNS nameservers (sometimes also called resolvers) at once. When the Benchmark is started in its default configuration, it identifies all DNS nameservers the user's system is currently configured to use and adds them to its built-in list of publicly available ?alternative? nameservers. Each DNS nameserver in the benchmark list is carefully ?characterized? to determine its suitability ? to you ? for your use as a DNS resolver. This characterization includes testing each nameserver for its ?redirection? behavior: whether it returns an error for a bad domain request, or redirects a user's web browser to a commercial marketing-oriented page. While such behavior may be acceptable to some users, others may find this objectionable.
Reply to
Shadow
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It is a good tool, proving my ISP's DNS servers have superior response ( especially for cached results ) to any other free DNS services.

Reply to
poutnik

...and the other DNS benchmarking program:

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Also of note is that it does not install. You simply run the downloaded .exe file rather than have to "install" it into Windows. So download and run. Since it is self-contained, it's portable, too.

What it doesn't do is show statistical measurements for many measurements made over a long time. It'll show which DNS server is faster than another but that is just for that particular test. The next test might show a different DNS server is faster. Also, some of the "Conclusions" it lists are misleading or wrong. For example, it'll complain if you point your host's TCP settings at your router because you've listed only 1 DNS server (the router's) whereas the router probably can have 2 or 3 DNS servers listed for it. The router really doesn't have a DNS server but instead will immediately fail the lookup and pass the request to its configured upstream DNS servers.

Oddly, the benchmark for my router (configured to use OpenDNS' DNS servers) is faster than going direct to OpenDNS' DNS servers. My ISP's DNS servers are faster than OpenDNS. So I configure my TCP settings to use my ISP's best DNS server, my router's DNS server (which then goes to OpenDNS), and my ISP's 2nd best DNS server as those are what the benchmarks return for performance. If my ISP's DNS servers are down then my TCP settings have me use the router's DNS server which goes to OpenDNS. I used to have DynDNS' DNS servers included in the mix in my TCP settings for DNS servers list but gave up because they miscategorize too many sites as spyware sites which results in getting blocked to those sites (if you happen to end up using their DNS server). They even had Verisign miscategorized.

Reply to
VanguardLH

I have also realized accessing my ISP DNS servers directly gives better results than accessing them indirectly through my router, set to act as DNS proxy.

It was also adviced against using router DNS proxy abilities, as far as it was said to have inferior quality of DNS operations.

But I am not expert in DNS.

Reply to
poutnik

And yet their own benchmarks showed that using my Linksys router's DNS server was faster than directly using the same DNS servers specified for my router to use. So it probably depends on what router you use. Maybe some have a small amount of caching. Just using their benchmarks showed router+DNS was faster than DNS.

Reply to
VanguardLH

Also it can depend on ISP DNS response time, my ones returns cached request in 1-4 ms. All four of them were faster in fresh check than my Linksys router set to them.

Router DNS proxy do use caching otherwise iw would not make much sense to have an extra step.

BTW faster than OpenDNS servers seem to be Google servers

8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
Reply to
Poutnik

Hey, people, disable your system dns servers(that includes routers), any caching by routers or hosts files will skew your results. The whole idea is to discover the FASTEST server, not to compare it to your cache/hosts/router. Then set your system/router to that DNS server(s), and re-run the test. []'s

Reply to
Shadow

Huh? If you configure DNS servers in the TCP properties then you go directly to those DNS servers, not to your router. Also, when DNS queries are sent, they are sent to a specific host. If I send a DNS query to OpenDNS, it does NOT use the router's DNS servers nor any DNS functionality within that router. It's just another packet getting sent through the router to some destination host.

You do NOT need to alter any of your TCP configuration regarding to whose DNS server you normally use to resolve hostnames to IP addresses. If your TCP is set up for dynamic assignment then you will be using your router's DHCP server and it will give you itself as the DNS server. If you use a static IP address for your host then you also have to specify the DNS servers in your TCP settings - and you will use *those* hosts (and only the router if you so include). Connections made by any program, like GRC's DNSBench, are not using anything in your router with regard to anything inside of it for DNS resolution. Requests made by DNSBench go to whatever site is specified (which is by IP address).

This is complicated to you? There is a web browser inside your router, too, used to configure it settings. You really think your router's web server is in anyway involved with the traffic you generate with the web server at some site? No changes are required in your TCP settings for your host to make a direct connection to a off-network DNS server.

Reply to
VanguardLH

I think you mean IP settings, not TCP properties. DNS is primarily UDP btw Quite what Shadow is waffling on about the system IP settings having to do with DNS benchmark is beyond me, as I would think DNS benchmark queries DNS servers directly, and not using the built in DNS resolver, which by default looks in its cache first, and would therefore skew results.

Yep, with the caveat that the built in resolver looks in its cache first.

Usually, but it's not mandatory. Most simple routers run DNS forwarders, not full blown DNS servers, they can cache a little, and work as simple DDNS servers to resolve local hostnames, through interacting with DHCP.

Reply to
za kAT

Meanwhile, at the alt.internet.wireless Job Justification Hearings, Shadow chose the tried and tested strategy of:

If using one's cache/hosts/router yields faster results than going directly, then why *wouldn't* you use it?

Reply to
alexd

Control Panel -> Network Connections Right-click on your connectoid Properties Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)

*PROPERTIES* There is where you configure the DNS servers used by your host. Yeah, saying "IP properties" would've been more accurate.

Why would the local DNS cache be involved when connecting via IP addresses? DNS resolution is only needed when you specify a hostname. That is not the case here. DNS Bench is *not* using hostnames. It uses IP addresses. No DNS lookup is required or even applicable if you are already using an IP address.

My mistake was saying "they are sent to a specific host" without mentioning that the host is specified by an IP address, NOT a hostname. However, why would anyone specify a DNS server by its hostname which would itself require a lookup? I've never seen anyone configure a DNS server by hostname plus the input fields to do the configuration force you to specify an IP address. In the IP properties for your host and in DNS Bench, you can't enter the hostname. You can only enter the IP address - and using an IP address doesn't involve DNS (local cache, router cache, or anything DNS related).

Yep, know that. They fail the lookup and then pass the request on to their configured upstream provider. However, since IP addresses are being used by DNS Bench, neither the local DNS cache or the router's DNS functions are involved.

Reply to
VanguardLH

You said "If I send a DNS query to OpenDNS". I interpreted that to mean when you were using a browser or whatever, and your system was set to use OpenDNS. Obviously, that's not what you meant :)

Yep, exactly, DNS Benchmark is a kinda independent resolver/timer combo which sends queries direct to each configured server. No cache, no router[unless configured as a DNS server in DNS benchmark] involved.

Reply to
za kAT

Sorry, I wrote that with my wife shouting that I was late to work.

What I mean is that if your system DNS server does tandem lookups, you will probably find that your system server is "faster" than many other single ones. So I advise people to disable their system servers, add the IPs manually to the servers list, and see which are the fastest.

Of the two DNS servers I had doing "tandem" requests, one was very fast, and returned a really fast value to DNSBench, but the other was much slower and less reliable, but DNSBench could not detect that, as the result came from "system server". So now I have my original DNS IP(one my ISP gave me) plus the fastest DNSBench found. The second number my ISP gave me is terrible, I do not use it anymore. I'll try to explain again, if I was unclear this time. (Had a hard day)

[]'s (actually , my setup is much more complicated, I have a tandem lookup on localhost, one server is my router(with 2 addresses), the other is another fast one, above description was to keep it simple. My localhost server does a host file lookup, which returns lighting fast results if the site is actually on the list, as it is carried in memory, agggh, why do I complicate things so much ? Maybe because I live in a 3rd world country, and half of the local DNS servers are down, most of the time)
Reply to
Shadow

OK, you are going to have to explain exactly how your system works. I'm not aware what "tandem lookups" are, is this a Linux thingy where you query against two servers at the same time? that sounds like it would be against rfc's?

What do you call your system server. Are you running a DNS server on localhost, or is that just the primary server in your network settings?

I'm getting more confused.

That makes no sense to me. As far as I'm aware if you are using your own DNS server, and it is set to use several forwarders, it does so in succession, not at the same time, but hey maybe you can do 'tandem requests' I googled, but found nothing. I may have to osmose you :) enlighten me.

You'll have to clear up what you mean by tandem. I still don't understand why you would use DNS Benchmark to query a local server. All I want to find out is the fastest forwarder for global lookups which will be WAN side.

Reply to
za kAT

Windows "fastcache" by analogx. BTW, the latest one is buggy, try one from 2009.

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Fastcache DNS server on localhost

I had a bad day too. 12 year old attempted suicide, swallowed a blade.

I'm not sure if my router DNS server is tandem. RFC probably RuleZ. But my localhost one is.

The first DNS server in fastcache is the fastest DNS server from DNSBench, the second is my router's address. Fastcache does tandem lookups. So it will query my router and the fast DNS server, both at the same time. My router is set up with the next fastest two DNS servers from DNSBench So I query localhost, which will query the router AND fastest DNSBench server. If this last one fails (offline), the router will return IP address from the next two fastest ones. All three have to fail before I get a resolver problem.

I don't. I enter their IPs manually, and disable the router server (fastcache is automatically disabled by DNSBench - not rfc complient ??) from the list, when I test. I then use the results to set up my servers.

I have that, but it is offline a lot of the time, also it bans certain hosts. There is still some degree of political blocking in Brazil. Tandem = queries both DNS servers simultaneously. Was I clearer ? BTW - it works, and is fast enough for me.

Reply to
Shadow

OK, I wasn't aware of that app, or tandem queries.

Blimey.

I still see no point in testing fastcache with DNS Benchmark, because it caches. The thing you want to know is the fastest DNS server on the WAN, and set that as the forwarder in fastcache.

It doesn't sound rfc compliant, I can't be arsed to check, and hey a man's gotta do. It sounds worth it in your part of the world, but in mine I doubt it would make a significant difference, besides I don't get paid to f* about with analogx thingies. I have two main local servers, one BIND on Linux, and one on Windows 2008, + at least two routers with forwarders, and a few firewalls with forwarders, .. and nothing round here has too stable a config...

Sounds good. The tandem idea is kinda interesting to me. It sounds useful on dodgy lossy networks. Ta.

Reply to
za kAT

IMHO if there are set multiple DNS systems servers ( if you mean this as tandem, am not expert ) the system uses only the 1st in the list, and the 2nd ( or rest ) is used only if primary DNS causes time out or fails by other way.

This is the reason why is advised to use as primary DNS the fastest and most reliable from the list.

AFAIK DNSBench extracts system DNS IPs, but then uses them by the same way as IPs of the other DNS servers to test, bypassing system DNS service.

At least DNSBench on my PC seems to follow this behavior pattern, realizing 2 of my secondary system DNS and one ISP DNS I have not set as system are slower then my primary dns.

2 of them significantly slower, still faster then any nonISP DNs tested.

But If I am wrong it would be pleasure to be corrected.

Reply to
Poutnik

I don't. I disable the router DNS and fastcache(it's disabled by default by DNSBench). After testing, I enter the fastest servers in router and fastcache., and enable them. []'s

Reply to
Shadow

Fastcache queries both at the same time.

Yes, my ISP DNS server is by the fastest and most reliable. However, it is often "down", and the second number they gave me is very slow, and often "down" too.

You can bypass system DNS in the settings, and do a "pure" DNS servers test.

If they are the three fastest, it's the way to go.

Reply to
Shadow

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