NameBench - Find Fastest Free DNS Server

[Pax]

Hi,

Just came across an application named NameBench via a Lifehacker Article today. I ran it and it appears to be portable. It is a self-extracting app that runs off a temporary directory and cleans after itself once it closes.

From the site:

It hunts down the fastest DNS servers available for your computer to use. namebench runs a fair and thorough benchmark using your web browser history, tcpdump output, or standardized datasets in order to provide an individualized recommendation. namebench is completely free and does not modify your system in any way.

Application site: http://code.google.com/p/namebench/

[freakazoid]

This is somewhat related but Google recently released their own DNS public servers:
http://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/

I'm more partial to OpenDNS myself.

Google tracks a lot of stuff and holds it in their database for 48 hours or something like that (or so I've read), I haven't looked into it myself.

Good post, Pax.
I'll take a look at NameBench.

---

Just tested NameBench.

It says that my local ISP's DNS is 35% faster than OpenDNS; however OpenDNS is safer to use.
The graphs are interesting to look at.

Definitely worth at least a download!

[carbonize]

Definately an interesting program. My own ISPs nameservers were not even in the top results for me which shouldn't really surprise me. Like you I am going to stick with OpenDNS mainly because they are reliable and I use them to block adult sites etc.

[Toxteth O'Grady]

Good program. My local DNS server was the fastest, yeah.

Mind you, I use this clever program (not portable), which combines two servers (whichever you want to use) and a user definable cache:
http://www.analogx.com/contents/downloa ... eeware.htm

[taotra]

Mind you, I use this clever program (not portable),...

Actually, the program does seem portable. From their FAQ:

How do I uninstall your programs (what's the delete key)?
..... If, for some reason, the uninstaller isn't there, or won't function properly, simply select all files in the directory that the program is located in, hit the 'delete' key, and that's it! None of the programs on the site install components into other places in your system (that's just rude), so it's very easy to clean up after. .....

So, if you install the program, copy the files to a folder of your choice, and then uninstall it again, you should be fine, I think.

[freakazoid]

Interesting program, Toxteth.

Does FastCache require the DNS client to be enabled under services.msc?
I have mine disabled because I'm using a HOSTS file.

[Toxteth O'Grady]

Contrary to what was said, FastCache is not portable. Yes, all files it needs\uses are in the program directory, but program settings are stored in the registry.

Does FastCache require the DNS client to be enabled under services.msc?
I have mine disabled because I'm using a HOSTS file.

My DNS Client service isn't running either (Disabled). This does not affect FastCache.

[guinness]

DNS Benchmark is another alternative http://www.portablefreeware.com/index.php?id=1568

*Edited because I was confused by NameBench and DNSBench (which is the name of the DNS Benchmark executable when you download it!)

[freakazoid]

Although the program does a similar task, DNS Benchmark is not the same program as NameBench.

[linuxamp]

The nice thing about DNS bench is that it also tells you if a DNS server will redirect you to a search page or simply reply not-found when a domain is not resolvable.

You'd be surprised how many DNS servers redirect you to a search page since it's profitable. Amazingly, Google's DNS doesn't.

[Toxteth O'Grady]

[carbonize]

Last I checked Windows cache's DNS results anyway not to mention most routers doing likewise.

edit: This was in response to a program that Toxteth O'Grady linked to in the previous post that promises to cache DNS results but they have since gone and removed everything from the post.