openDNS - my speed test results [Archive]

bionnaki

October 26th, 2006, 09:25 AM

www.opendns.com - alternate dns that claims to lookup names quicker than your ISP's dns.

okay, so I tried it. and it seemed quicker, but I thought I'd test it.

I used the command dig to time dns lookups. I am pretty sure this is the best way to do this.

comcast dns results

bionnaki@ubuntu:~$ dig

; <<>> DiG 9.3.2 <<>>
;; global options: printcmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 56844
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 13, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 13

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;. IN NS

;; ANSWER SECTION:
. 423710 IN NS E.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 423710 IN NS F.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 423710 IN NS G.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 423710 IN NS H.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 423710 IN NS I.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 423710 IN NS J.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 423710 IN NS K.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 423710 IN NS L.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 423710 IN NS M.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 423710 IN NS A.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 423710 IN NS B.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 423710 IN NS C.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 423710 IN NS D.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.

;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
F.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 539562 IN A 192.5.5.241
G.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 539562 IN A 192.112.36.4
H.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 539562 IN A 128.63.2.53
I.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 539562 IN A 192.36.148.17
J.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 539562 IN A 192.58.128.30
K.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 539562 IN A 193.0.14.129
L.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 539562 IN A 198.32.64.12
M.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 539562 IN A 202.12.27.33
A.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 539562 IN A 198.41.0.4
B.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 539562 IN A 192.228.79.201
C.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 539562 IN A 192.33.4.12
D.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 539562 IN A 128.8.10.90
E.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 539562 IN A 192.203.230.10

;; Query time: 22 msec
;; SERVER: 68.87.72.130#53(68.87.72.130)
;; WHEN: Thu Oct 26 03:14:22 2006
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 436

openDNS results:

bionnaki@ubuntu:~$ dig

; <<>> DiG 9.3.2 <<>>
;; global options: printcmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 55706
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 13, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;. IN NS

;; ANSWER SECTION:
. 517458 IN NS A.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 517458 IN NS H.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 517458 IN NS C.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 517458 IN NS G.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 517458 IN NS F.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 517458 IN NS B.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 517458 IN NS J.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 517458 IN NS K.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 517458 IN NS L.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 517458 IN NS M.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 517458 IN NS I.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 517458 IN NS E.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 517458 IN NS D.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.

;; Query time: 59 msec
;; SERVER: 208.67.222.222#53(208.67.222.222)
;; WHEN: Thu Oct 26 03:19:24 2006
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 228

So, if I am reading this correctly, it looks like openDNS isnt that fast for me and my ISP's are twice as fast. Can anyone else reproduce this? I'd like to see if openDNS is worth it or not.

diepruis

October 26th, 2006, 10:30 AM

My ISP's DNS is downright pathetic, so I'll give it a try.

diepruis

October 26th, 2006, 10:41 AM

Normal DNS results:

ashley@monolith:~$ dig

; <<>> DiG 9.3.2 <<>>
;; global options: printcmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 65442
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 13, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 13

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;. IN NS

;; ANSWER SECTION:
. 326274 IN NS J.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 326274 IN NS K.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 326274 IN NS L.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 326274 IN NS M.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 326274 IN NS A.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 326274 IN NS B.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 326274 IN NS C.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 326274 IN NS D.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 326274 IN NS E.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 326274 IN NS F.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 326274 IN NS G.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 326274 IN NS H.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 326274 IN NS I.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.

;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
A.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 431224 IN A 198.41.0.4
B.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 601353 IN A 192.228.79.201
C.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 418056 IN A 192.33.4.12
D.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 467264 IN A 128.8.10.90
E.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 590431 IN A 192.203.230.10
F.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 418056 IN A 192.5.5.241
G.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 575937 IN A 192.112.36.4
H.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 604145 IN A 128.63.2.53
I.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 418057 IN A 192.36.148.17
J.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 579884 IN A 192.58.128.30
K.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 467263 IN A 193.0.14.129
L.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 467263 IN A 198.32.64.12
M.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 418055 IN A 202.12.27.33

;; Query time: 9 msec
;; SERVER: 10.0.0.2#53(10.0.0.2)
;; WHEN: Thu Oct 26 11:34:50 2006
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 436

And openDNS

ashley@monolith:/etc/dhcp3$ dig

; <<>> DiG 9.3.2 <<>>
;; global options: printcmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 20448
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 13, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;. IN NS

;; ANSWER SECTION:
. 171613 IN NS A.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 171613 IN NS H.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 171613 IN NS C.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 171613 IN NS G.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 171613 IN NS F.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 171613 IN NS B.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 171613 IN NS J.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 171613 IN NS K.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 171613 IN NS L.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 171613 IN NS M.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 171613 IN NS I.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 171613 IN NS E.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 171613 IN NS D.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.

;; Query time: 807 msec
;; SERVER: 208.67.222.222#53(208.67.222.222)
;; WHEN: Thu Oct 26 11:37:20 2006
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 228

Now, I have to confess that I have no idea how this program works and I'm too lazy to go read the man page, but here's what I gather. From the Query Time, openDNS is much slower than my DNS - but here's the kicker: it's faster. My DNS lookups are much faster and dig also returns in a fifth of the time. Perhaps we need another benchmark program, or perhaps I just misread my results.

At any rate, thanks, I've been looking for something like this for ages.

mips

October 26th, 2006, 11:09 AM

Does not work for me. I changed both my router & resolv.conf file. The test link says I have a problem.

My speed drops by over 300ms. Need a better benchmark app for this.

diepruis

October 26th, 2006, 11:15 AM

Does not work for me. I changed both my router & resolv.conf file. The test link says I have a problem.

The test link also complains at me, but I am using the server according to dig.

My speed drops by over 300ms. Need a better benchmark app for this.

Ditto. One that measures the total time from request to answer.

mozetti

October 26th, 2006, 11:20 AM

Ditto. One that measures the total time from request to answer.

Wouldn't ethereal or nmap, or some other sniffer/analyzer give you this?

david_ulevitch

October 26th, 2006, 04:38 PM

Does not work for me. I changed both my router & resolv.conf file. The test link says I have a problem.

My speed drops by over 300ms. Need a better benchmark app for this.

Hey guys,

Try something like this (someone else wrote it, I can't remember who):

http://katie.everybox.com/~davidu/lookup-py.txt

run it like
python lookup-py.txt. Run it once with your ISPs nameservers, then with ours. Compare the final number. That's a pretty extensive test of real-world lookups of popular domains.

Let's see what we get. Also post your geographic location (or traceroute) when you post results. It'll be an interesting test to see!

Thanks,
David (from OpenDNS)

TheRingmaster

October 26th, 2006, 07:13 PM

I have emailed opendns and here is what they say about the speed issue:

"OpenDNS is not slow with any operating system.

What that thread demonstrates is network latency. We are not always
closer, network-wise, than your ISP.

HOWEVER, speed in DNS is not just network latency. It's also software
and cache, and we deliver there, even when we're a few milliseconds
further away."

codypumper

October 26th, 2006, 07:37 PM

I found my results very interesting:

dig

; <<>> DiG 9.3.2 <<>>
;; global options: printcmd
;; connection timed out; no servers could be reached

With opendns I got:

~$ dig

; <<>> DiG 9.3.2 <<>>
;; global options: printcmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 10934
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 13, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;. IN NS

;; ANSWER SECTION:
. 172720 IN NS A.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 172720 IN NS H.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 172720 IN NS C.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 172720 IN NS G.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 172720 IN NS F.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 172720 IN NS B.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 172720 IN NS J.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 172720 IN NS K.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 172720 IN NS L.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 172720 IN NS M.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 172720 IN NS I.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 172720 IN NS E.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
. 172720 IN NS D.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.

;; Query time: 51 msec
;; SERVER: 208.67.222.222#53(208.67.222.222)
;; WHEN: Thu Oct 26 13:32:36 2006
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 228

It fixed something!

david_ulevitch

October 26th, 2006, 08:30 PM

I found my results very interesting

Who is your ISP?

-davidu

codypumper

October 28th, 2006, 03:12 PM

CenturyTel

caran

August 5th, 2010, 03:48 PM

I was lucky to get here, as im having a lot of trouble with my connection speed. Thats why im asking for your help. I've been having issues for some days now, and every speed test (http://www.myspeedtestonline.com/) i do, offers different results. I am really lost here. cheers and thanks in advance.

sydbat

August 5th, 2010, 05:14 PM

I was lucky to get here, as im having a lot of trouble with my connection speed. Thats why im asking for your help. I've been having issues for some days now, and every speed test (http://www.myspeedtestonline.com/) i do, offers different results. I am really lost here. cheers and thanks in advance.Threadcromancy is threadcromantic!

cariboo

August 5th, 2010, 05:34 PM

This thread is way to old, Closed.