Google Public DNS services launched

'Open'DNS finally have a competitor.

http://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/

--
Adrian C

"Adrian C" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> 'Open'DNS finally have a competitor.
>
> http://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/
>
Server hosting based at Washington, D.C. 20505 no doubt.

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%

On Sat, 5 Dec 2009 22:03:16 -0000, "Graham." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>
>
>"Adrian C" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> 'Open'DNS finally have a competitor.
>>
>> http://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/
>>
>Server hosting based at Washington, D.C. 20505 no doubt.

Found this in the FAQ:

Where are your servers currently located?
Google Public DNS servers are available worldwide.
How does Google Public DNS know which data center to send me to?
Google Public DNS uses anycast routing to direct all packets to
the closest DNS server. For more information on anycast routing, see
the Wikipedia entry.

On Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:34:45 +0000, Adrian C wrote:

> 'Open'DNS finally have a competitor.
>
> http://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/

Seems to be OK. As to 'privacy': well, at least there's a published policy,
which is more than some companies have.

Currently trying Open DNS, Google DNS and Comodo DNS and seeing
(qualitatively only!) how they are compared with TreeWalk. Haven't used
Tiscali (or whatever it is) for some time.

There's a hack to get TreeWalk to go via Open DNS (I don't know if this is
of any use), so perhaps the same could be done with Google.

Google, I would guess, has more servers around the world than any of the
others.
--
Peter.
The head of a pin will hold more angels if
it's been flattened with an angel-grinder.

On Sun, 06 Dec 2009 07:35:27 +0000, spud wrote:

> On Sat, 5 Dec 2009 22:03:16 -0000, "Graham." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>
>>
>>"Adrian C" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>>news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>>> 'Open'DNS finally have a competitor.
>>>
>>> http://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/
>>>
>>Server hosting based at Washington, D.C. 20505 no doubt.
>
> Found this in the FAQ:
>
> Where are your servers currently located?
> Google Public DNS servers are available worldwide.
> How does Google Public DNS know which data center to send me to?
> Google Public DNS uses anycast routing to direct all packets to
> the closest DNS server. For more information on anycast routing, see the
> Wikipedia entry.

Server logging based in...., then!

--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

"Adrian C" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> 'Open'DNS finally have a competitor.
>
> http://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/

Forgive my ignorance but what do these DNS programs do - and to what
advantage?

George

"George Weston" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> "Adrian C" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> 'Open'DNS finally have a competitor.
>>
>> http://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/
>
> Forgive my ignorance but what do these DNS programs do - and to what advantage?

When you type a URL into the top of your browser, the "internet" hasn't
a clue what to do with it because it only understands IP addresses.
So what you need is a hierarchy of domain name servers that together know
the IP address of any URL you throw at them. Your ISP will run one
of these servers (usually two) but they might not be as well connected
to other servers higher up the chain than a company that specializes
in DNS resolution like Open DNS or, dare I say it Google. So
these systems might make web-browsing quicker, and, in some cases find
sites that your ISP thinks don't exist.


--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%

"Graham." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:hfgjev$92f$(E-Mail Removed)...
>
>
> "George Weston" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>>
>> "Adrian C" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>>> 'Open'DNS finally have a competitor.
>>>
>>> http://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/
>>
>> Forgive my ignorance but what do these DNS programs do - and to what
>> advantage?
>
> When you type a URL into the top of your browser, the "internet" hasn't
> a clue what to do with it because it only understands IP addresses.
> So what you need is a hierarchy of domain name servers that together know
> the IP address of any URL you throw at them. Your ISP will run one
> of these servers (usually two) but they might not be as well connected
> to other servers higher up the chain than a company that specializes
> in DNS resolution like Open DNS or, dare I say it Google. So
> these systems might make web-browsing quicker, and, in some cases find
> sites that your ISP thinks don't exist.

Thanks for that, Graham.
However - so far! - I've not yet experienced such problems from my ISP's
servers (Plusnet), so I won't be bothering at the moment.
Good info for the future though, just in case - thanks.

George

On Sun, 6 Dec 2009 15:43:25 -0000, Graham. wrote:
[...]
> So what you need is a hierarchy of domain name servers that together know
> the IP address of any URL you throw at them. Your ISP will run one
> of these servers (usually two) but they might not be as well connected
> to other servers higher up the chain than a company that specializes
> in DNS resolution like Open DNS or, dare I say it Google. So
> these systems might make web-browsing quicker, and, in some cases find
> sites that your ISP thinks don't exist.

The performance increase probably has more to do with bigger caches and
better load balancing of the DNS servers than with the raw connectivity.

But why would Open DNS or Google DNS "find" sites your ISP's DNS won't find?
Is this just speculation or can you provide any details?


Christof

--
http://cmeerw.org sip:cmeerw at cmeerw.org
mailto:cmeerw at cmeerw.org xmpp:cmeerw at cmeerw.org

PeterC wrote:
> On Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:34:45 +0000, Adrian C wrote:
>
>> 'Open'DNS finally have a competitor.
>>
>> http://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/
>
> Seems to be OK. As to 'privacy': well, at least there's a published policy,
> which is more than some companies have.
>
> Currently trying Open DNS, Google DNS and Comodo DNS and seeing
> (qualitatively only!) how they are compared with TreeWalk. Haven't used
> Tiscali (or whatever it is) for some time.
>
> There's a hack to get TreeWalk to go via Open DNS (I don't know if this is
> of any use), so perhaps the same could be done with Google.
>
> Google, I would guess, has more servers around the world than any of the
> others.

I use Treewalk, and it's quicker and more reliable than the ISP's DNS.
What's the downside of running your own DNS server in this way ?