Namebench runs on Mac OS X, Windows, and UNIX, and is available with a graphical user interface as well as a command-line interface. and any issues that they may have.Īfter switching to the DNS servers Name Bench recommend my browsing experience is much much better. The tools takes 5-10 minutes to run but when finished it presents you with a report of the DNS servers it has found, with their response time. Name Bench is a tool that takes your location and then hunts down the fastest DNS servers available for your computer to use. In the past I would have switched to either Google’s DNS or OpenDNS for my name resolution but I came across a rather neat utility from Google called Name Bench. Whether they are overloaded or poorly implemented I’m not sure but it was certainly distracting from my browsing experience.
The poor response was down to Virgin’s DNS servers. Turns out I wasn’t the only person experiencing this issue. Once the site was found by the browser the load/download speeds were fine but there was always that slight lag in locating the site. Once you’ve used Namebench to find the fastest DNS servers, you should change the DNS servers on your devices.My home broadband setup is with Virgin Media and to be honest I’m really happy with the service however I have always found it to be slightly sluggish when locating web sites. Hopefully you can realize similar gains! Changing Your DNS Servers In our example, OpenDNS was a whopping 54.5% faster than the DNS servers we were using. For best results, you should change your DNS to these servers. The recommended DNS servers for your Mac, iPad, and AirPort Extreme are shown in the Recommended configuration box. Once the test is complete, Namebench will open your web browser and display the test results, as shown below. Be patient - the test could take a couple minutes to complete. Select the Best available regional DNS services to test smaller, lesser-known DNS services that are available in your area.Ĭlick Start to run the test. Select the Include global DNS providers checkbox to test all of the popular DNS services. Just leave these alone for the time being. Your Mac’s current DNS servers are displayed in the Nameservers field.
Here’s how to use Namebench to find the best DNS servers:ĭownload Namebench, if you haven’t already. When the test is complete, the results will recommend the fastest DNS servers for you, personally.
It does this by running a series of tests on your computer and comparing your current DNS servers to many other free DNS services. It’s an open source DNS benchmark utility that can quickly and accurately find the fastest DNS servers for your location. To find the fastest DNS servers for your Mac, iPad, or AirPort Extreme, try using Namebench. Namebench is a DNS benchmarking tool that measures the response time of your DNS servers and compares it to other publicly available DNS servers. Using Namebench to Find the Best DNS Servers
In short, there’s no one DNS server that is right for every individual. Just like the quality of cellular network service, which varies widely from location to location, DNS service can also be influenced by your geographic location and Internet service provider. Nobody knows which DNS servers are the best and fastest for you, because there are many different factors that can impact the speed of DNS service. Why Can’t Anyone Tell Me Which DNS Servers to Use? namebench runs a fair and thorough benchmark using your web browser history, tcpdump output, or. In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to find the best DNS servers, no matter where you’re located or which device you’re using. It hunts down the fastest DNS servers available for your computer to use. But how do you know which DNS servers to use? There are dozens of free DNS providers, and all of them claim to offer the best service. We’ve previously discussed how to change the DNS servers on your Mac, iPad, and AirPort Extreme.
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