Public DNS Servers
filed in General Computing, Internet on December 04, 2009
Only a small number of people using the Internet ever really think about it or even know what it is. In simple terms computers use numbers (IP addresses) to identify each other. DNS overlays this system with domain names and maps them to the relevant IP address. So, you don't have to know the IP address for google.com to get there. DNS does more, but that's probably beyond the scope of this article.
Back in the early days of the Internet when you had to configure your dial-up modem connection manually, one of the many numbers you were given by your ISP to set things up was the IP address of their DNS server (actually, you were probably given two) These days, stuff like that is handled automatically when you connect to your DSL or cable internet connection.
So, what's a public DNS server and why should you care?
Well, DNS servers do all sorts of things behind the scenes to find out where in the world the server for the website you're trying to load is located. And in the case of large websites like google.com there may be hundreds of servers around the globe. DNS servers will direct you to the one closest to you so that page loads and other network activity will be faster.
Public DNS servers are DNS servers that allow anyone to use them. Your ISP has DNS servers, but only their customers can use them. To date, one of the largest providers of public DNS services is OpenDNS. Some of the reasons to use OpenDNS is that their DNS servers can be more reliable, are probably faster, could be more reliable (although I've never personally had a problem using ISP-provided DNS it does happen), and if you're using them you'll get the same DNS service whether you're at home or at the coffee shop (where you could possible run into issues). I've been using OpenDNS myself
In addition to OpenDNS, AT&T and Level 3 have had an array of public DNS servers for years, even tough most people have never heard about them. In fact, other than references to people using them, I've never really seen a definitive site that explains their usage. However, they are quite reliable and speedy. If you want basic DNS without all of the added features OpenDNS provides then using these servers is a great alternative. (Server IP's: 4.2.2.1, 4.2.2.2, 4.2.2.3, 4.2.2.4, 4.2.2.5, 4.2.2.6)
And finally, to the reason why the topic of public DNS is all of a sudden a hot topic, Google is now providing public DNS servers. You can go to the Google Public DNS page for an explanation and setup instructions.
DNS is one of those core technologies that keeps the Internet held together, but no one ever thinks about. The next time your internet connection seems to be fine, but when you hit enter in your browser and it takes awhile for the initial page to start loading, it could be your ISP's DNS servers being flakey.
Back in the early days of the Internet when you had to configure your dial-up modem connection manually, one of the many numbers you were given by your ISP to set things up was the IP address of their DNS server (actually, you were probably given two) These days, stuff like that is handled automatically when you connect to your DSL or cable internet connection.
So, what's a public DNS server and why should you care?
Well, DNS servers do all sorts of things behind the scenes to find out where in the world the server for the website you're trying to load is located. And in the case of large websites like google.com there may be hundreds of servers around the globe. DNS servers will direct you to the one closest to you so that page loads and other network activity will be faster.
Public DNS servers are DNS servers that allow anyone to use them. Your ISP has DNS servers, but only their customers can use them. To date, one of the largest providers of public DNS services is OpenDNS. Some of the reasons to use OpenDNS is that their DNS servers can be more reliable, are probably faster, could be more reliable (although I've never personally had a problem using ISP-provided DNS it does happen), and if you're using them you'll get the same DNS service whether you're at home or at the coffee shop (where you could possible run into issues). I've been using OpenDNS myself
In addition to OpenDNS, AT&T and Level 3 have had an array of public DNS servers for years, even tough most people have never heard about them. In fact, other than references to people using them, I've never really seen a definitive site that explains their usage. However, they are quite reliable and speedy. If you want basic DNS without all of the added features OpenDNS provides then using these servers is a great alternative. (Server IP's: 4.2.2.1, 4.2.2.2, 4.2.2.3, 4.2.2.4, 4.2.2.5, 4.2.2.6)
And finally, to the reason why the topic of public DNS is all of a sudden a hot topic, Google is now providing public DNS servers. You can go to the Google Public DNS page for an explanation and setup instructions.
DNS is one of those core technologies that keeps the Internet held together, but no one ever thinks about. The next time your internet connection seems to be fine, but when you hit enter in your browser and it takes awhile for the initial page to start loading, it could be your ISP's DNS servers being flakey.
