DNS (Domain Name Servers) are like the internet's phone book.
Just like you'd use a phone book to find someone's telephone number, a computer needs a DNS server to ask the IP address for each request you make with a name (ie a website).
The 3 main DNS providers, beyond your ISPs' (Internet Service Provider) which is usually not good, are:
| DNS Provider | Primary Server | Secondary Server |
|---|---|---|
| OpenDNS | 208.67.222.222 | 208.67.220.220 |
| Cloudflare | 1.1.1.1 | 1.0.0.1 |
| 8.8.8.8 | 8.8.4.4 |
OpenDNS
from Cisco. Free.
Provides filtering, analytics and reporting if desired (though turned off by default, for data privacy).
Primary: 208.67.222.222
Secondary: 208.67.220.220
Changes
31 Dec 2022 ping tests:
Ping loop (see Pingee)
13:10:40 OK 208.67.220.220: 19.83ms
13:10:42 OK 1.1.1.1: 93.14ms
13:10:43 OK 1.0.0.1: 20.63ms
13:10:44 OK 8.8.8.8: 13.91ms
13:10:45 OK 8.8.4.4: 18.77ms
13:10:46 OK 208.67.222.222: 18.85ms
13:10:47 OK 208.67.220.220: 20.05ms
13:10:48 OK 1.1.1.1: 95.95ms
13:10:49 OK 1.0.0.1: 22.12ms
13:10:50 OK 8.8.8.8: 14.56ms
13:10:51 OK 8.8.4.4: 13.82ms
13:10:52 OK 208.67.222.222: 20.49ms
13:10:53 OK 208.67.220.220: 20.87ms
13:10:54 OK 1.1.1.1: 33.76ms
13:10:55 OK 1.0.0.1: 21.06ms
13:10:56 OK 8.8.8.8: 17.02ms
13:10:57 OK 8.8.4.4: 16.27ms
13:10:58 OK 208.67.222.222: 20.5ms
13:10:59 OK 208.67.220.220: 21.94ms
13:11:00 OK 1.1.1.1: 33.78ms
13:11:01 OK 1.0.0.1: 26.58ms
13:11:02 OK 8.8.8.8: 12.99ms
13:11:03 OK 8.8.4.4: 15.64ms
13:11:04 OK 208.67.222.222: 23.74ms
13:11:05 OK 208.67.220.220: 20.6ms
13:11:10 NOK 1.1.1.1: None
13:11:11 OK 1.0.0.1: 22.53ms
13:11:12 OK 8.8.8.8: 13.98ms
13:11:13 OK 8.8.4.4: 16.91ms
13:11:14 OK 208.67.222.222: 19.28ms
13:11:15 OK 208.67.220.220: 18.69ms
13:11:16 OK 1.1.1.1: 29.85ms
13:11:17 OK 1.0.0.1: 20.9ms
13:11:18 OK 8.8.8.8: 14.24ms
13:11:19 OK 8.8.4.4: 17.14ms
13:11:20 OK 208.67.222.222: 17.94ms
13:11:21 OK 208.67.220.220: 21.56ms
13:11:23 OK 1.1.1.1: 34.88ms
13:11:24 OK 1.0.0.1: 18.69ms
13:11:25 OK 8.8.8.8: 13.14ms
13:11:26 OK 8.8.4.4: 16.33ms
13:11:27 OK 208.67.222.222: 24.02ms
13:11:28 OK 208.67.220.220: 21.89ms
13:11:29 OK 1.1.1.1: 32.43ms
13:11:30 OK 1.0.0.1: 23.03ms
13:11:31 OK 8.8.8.8: 15.13ms
13:11:32 OK 8.8.4.4: 16.65ms
13:11:33 OK 208.67.222.222: 20.19ms
13:11:34 OK 208.67.220.220: 20.07ms
13:11:35 OK 1.1.1.1: 51.86ms
13:11:36 OK 1.0.0.1: 20.87ms
13:11:37 OK 8.8.8.8: 15.78ms
13:11:38 OK 8.8.4.4: 18.24ms
13:11:39 OK 208.67.222.222: 18.08ms
13:11:40 OK 208.67.220.220: 20.19ms
1.1.1.1, my current DNS provider, shows intermittent issues (see 13:11:10 above).
Google DNS are the fastest, though I shy away from using Google products where/when I can.
I'll switch to OpenDNS for now.
03 Jan 2023
Interesting observation:
Before switching to OpenDNS, when I was using Cloudflare as my DNS, I was getting better ping time from OpenDNS (see above).
After switching to OpenDNS, I'm getting better ping time from Cloudflare:
0/14400 10:32:39 OK 208.67.222.222: 66.55ms
0/14400 10:32:40 OK 208.67.220.220: 25.02ms
0/14400 10:32:41 OK 1.1.1.1: 19.89ms
0/14400 10:32:42 OK 1.0.0.1: 23.42ms
0/14400 10:32:43 OK 8.8.8.8: 13.66ms
0/14400 10:32:44 OK 8.8.4.4: 18.07ms
1/14400 10:32:45 OK 208.67.222.222: 44.46ms
1/14400 10:32:46 OK 208.67.220.220: 19.74ms
1/14400 10:32:47 OK 1.1.1.1: 24.31ms
1/14400 10:32:49 OK 1.0.0.1: 21.86ms
1/14400 10:32:50 OK 8.8.8.8: 15.36ms
1/14400 10:32:51 OK 8.8.4.4: 13.75ms
2/14400 10:32:52 OK 208.67.222.222: 33.29ms
2/14400 10:32:53 OK 208.67.220.220: 19.48ms
2/14400 10:32:54 OK 1.1.1.1: 20.43ms
2/14400 10:32:55 OK 1.0.0.1: 21.23ms
2/14400 10:32:56 OK 8.8.8.8: 14.89ms
2/14400 10:32:57 OK 8.8.4.4: 14.75ms
I'm also getting more intermittent issues it seems:
18:44:13 NOK 208.67.222.222: None
18:51:29 NOK 208.67.222.222: None
18:57:01 NOK 208.67.222.222: None
18:58:13 NOK 208.67.222.222: None
19:32:05 NOK 208.67.222.222: None
19:39:00 NOK 1.0.0.1: None
19:44:35 NOK 208.67.222.222: None
19:55:53 NOK 208.67.222.222: None
21:30:09 NOK 208.67.222.222: None
21:31:21 NOK 208.67.222.222: None
21:34:49 NOK 208.67.222.222: None
21:50:21 NOK 208.67.222.222: None
22:04:15 NOK 208.67.222.222: None
It's frustrating as I'm now operating with a load-balanced internet connection Load Balancing my internet connection so I had hoped for more stability.
Might need to do some more diligent testing & experimenting.
04 Jan 2023
More failed pings with OpenDNS. 1s fails only though, eg:
12901/14400 08:46:44 OK 208.67.222.222: 36.79ms
12901/14400 08:46:45 OK 208.67.220.220: 18.82ms
12901/14400 08:46:46 OK 1.1.1.1: 19.37ms
12901/14400 08:46:47 OK 1.0.0.1: 22.05ms
12901/14400 08:46:49 OK 8.8.8.8: 13.89ms
12901/14400 08:46:50 OK 8.8.4.4: 17.13ms
12902/14400 08:46:55 NOK 208.67.222.222: None
12902/14400 08:46:56 OK 208.67.220.220: 20.91ms
12902/14400 08:46:57 OK 1.1.1.1: 18.68ms
12902/14400 08:46:58 OK 1.0.0.1: 25.44ms
12902/14400 08:46:59 OK 8.8.8.8: 12.26ms
12902/14400 08:47:00 OK 8.8.4.4: 13.64ms
12903/14400 08:47:01 OK 208.67.222.222: 49.49ms
12903/14400 08:47:02 OK 208.67.220.220: 21.33ms
12903/14400 08:47:03 OK 1.1.1.1: 21.36ms
12903/14400 08:47:04 OK 1.0.0.1: 21.81ms
12903/14400 08:47:05 OK 8.8.8.8: 13.2ms
12903/14400 08:47:06 OK 8.8.4.4: 17.55ms