Does Open Dns Speed Up Your Interernet?

[steveb]

Does anyone have any experience with Open DNS and does it help boost your speed? Thinking of trying it and would like to know is it safe and does it make a difference in speed.

[monty]

In normal situations, OpenDNS does not speed up your internet!

On the contrary, because of the fact that the openDNS servers are virtually on the other side of the globe, you'll introduce extra delays because of the latency involved.

But, that's in normal situations

This being Thailand, the local ISP's DNS servers can be so messed up at times that certain sites are simply not resolving and thus are inaccessible!

In short, OpenDNS does not increase speed, it even slows down your surfing a tiny little bit, but it will increase reliability and stability by a big margin...

[sniffdog]

My impression is that the proxy server of TOT is a little faster ....(under normal circumstances).

Edited April 16, 2008 by sniffdog

[monty]

Ping on CAT's DNS servers:

Pinging 202.129.27.135 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 202.129.27.135: bytes=32 time=70ms TTL=60

Reply from 202.129.27.135: bytes=32 time=42ms TTL=60

Reply from 202.129.27.135: bytes=32 time=76ms TTL=60

Reply from 202.129.27.135: bytes=32 time=52ms TTL=60

Ping statistics for 202.129.27.135:

Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),

Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:

Minimum = 42ms, Maximum = 76ms, Average = 60ms

and ping on openDNS servers:

Pinging 208.67.222.222 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 208.67.222.222: bytes=32 time=273ms TTL=50

Reply from 208.67.222.222: bytes=32 time=280ms TTL=50

Reply from 208.67.222.222: bytes=32 time=283ms TTL=50

Reply from 208.67.222.222: bytes=32 time=317ms TTL=50

Ping statistics for 208.67.222.222:

Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),

Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:

Minimum = 273ms, Maximum = 317ms, Average = 288ms

So average on CAT is 60 msec while openDNS is almost 300 msec!

[cali]

What are the reasons someone would choose to use OpenDNS from inside Thailand?

[monty]

What are the reasons someone would choose to use OpenDNS from inside Thailand?

Reliability!

Sometimes the DNS servers of your ISP can be overloaded and take a long time to resolve URL'S or will not resolve URL's at all!

Had it quite recently with CAT's DNS servers, they didn't resolve anything at all. OpenDNS can help you out then!

Also, Thai DNS servers are sometimes very slow to update. I just registered a new domain, and it started resolving on openDNS within 10 minutes, while after 2 days the domain still wasn't resolving on CAT's DNS servers!

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Does anyone have any experience with Open DNS and does it help boost your speed? Thinking of trying it and would like to know is it safe and does it make a difference in speed.

its not a big investment in time or money to try it. Takes about 1 minute to configure and its free. I use it and it seems to be snappy. I sometimes flip back to TTT maxnets but after a while the Thai DNS servers tend to have more downtime so I end up leaving it on OpenDns most of the time. Okay maybe its slower but more reliable for me.

[Prasert]

What are the reasons someone would choose to use OpenDNS from inside Thailand?

Reliability!

Sometimes the DNS servers of your ISP can be overloaded and take a long time to resolve URL'S or will not resolve URL's at all!

Had it quite recently with CAT's DNS servers, they didn't resolve anything at all. OpenDNS can help you out then!

Also, Thai DNS servers are sometimes very slow to update. I just registered a new domain, and it started resolving on openDNS within 10 minutes, while after 2 days the domain still wasn't resolving on CAT's DNS servers!

There is another advantage.

The Thai ISPs often block websites by adding the domain to their nameservers and point it at their webserver saying this domain is blocked.

Adding these (non-authorative) domains is against all regulations and common sense, can cause other problems.......but the Thai ISPs won't care less.......

[wpcoe]

What are the reasons someone would choose to use OpenDNS from inside Thailand?

According to their web site, www.opendns.com :

OpenDNS gives you the option to block dozens of categories on your networks, for free. From social networking to job sites, from gambling to video sharing, from webmail to alcohol and more: with OpenDNS, you make the choice about what's available on your network.

and

We operate PhishTank.com, the world's most trusted source of phishing data. We integrate that data into an intelligence feed on our DNS servers to keep everyone on your network safe from phony sites trying to steal personal information.

and, even

We don't think you should be punished with an annoying error message if you make a small typo, like typing google.cmo instead of google.com. That's why we correct that typo, and thousands more like it every day.

Take a tour of their web site and see if there's anything that appeals to your particular situation. I use it primarily for the reliability. As mentioned in other posts, the DNS servers of Thai ISPs can be a bit "peculiar" at times.

[steveb]

Thanks for your advice. I am using True and I like to read the New York times. It doesn't open when I go there but if I open another website and then go back it will open. Tried Open DNS and it opened immediately the first time. Also have problems with you tube opening on True. Open DNS seems to help.

[Gary A]

Quite some time ago, I installed open dns on my laptop computer. I have been using the laptop more frequently now since my desk top is starting to die. I noticed that it seems more stable than my desk top connection. I had totally forgotten about the open dns until I read this post. Today I installed it on the desk top and I think the connection is more stable. Not faster but it doesn't sit and do nothing as much as it did before.

[rcjoop]

The statement that there are no DNS servers in Thailand that are well maintained seems to me the same broad generalization as “you will never find a builder that builds to decent standards”

The TOT CAT etc DNS servers are not always reliable but as the DNS system is fully open you can choose any server you want and you do not have to go abroad.

I picked an organization (in Thailand of course) of which I have reason to believe that they can maintain an IP network, as secondary I use the DNS server of my old working place (a university in Europe).

Never have a problem.(with DNS)

Joop