Sean Walther's Blog

Google Public DNS Launches

I’m not sure how many readers of this blog have actually used alternate DNS solutions, but those numbers will grow.

Google has officially announced Google Public DNS in both the Google Code, and the Official Google Blog.  It’s too soon to tell how reception will go, but it is an interesting move.

What is Public DNS?

Public DNS offers an alternative to the standard ISP provided DNS servers.  DNS servers are the “telephone switchboard” of the internet.  When you type in “www.seangw.com”, your computer asks the DNS servers it has where that domain is.  The domain name is translated to the hosts IP, and then your computer can go to that domain.

Everything we do on the internet involving a domain name, goes through your DNS servers.  It’s much more important than most people think.  Without DNS servers, no internet.

Why Public DNS?

DNS servers are a shaky part of the internet.  Your ISP provides DNS because it is required for your internet connection to work, but odds are it is not the most expansive implementation of DNS servers.  I would bet it’s more like 2 computers sitting somewhere in their hosting environment.

Both Google and OpenDNS now offer public DNS options because they can provide results faster, and more secure than standard ISP DNS servers.

Using either option will likely speed up EVERY internet request you make.  Remember, every web page can have hundreds of DNS requests.  The speedup is likely to be minimal, but every little bit counts.

Who Should I Use for Public DNS?

Personally I use and recommend OpenDNS.

As the Founder of OpenDNS, David Ulevitch, states in his blog “Some thoughts on Google DNS”:

Google claims that this service is better because it has no ads or redirection. But you have to remember they are also the largest advertising and redirection company on the Internet. To think that Google’s DNS service is for the benefit of the Internet would be naive. They know there is value in controlling more of your Internet experience and I would expect them to explore that fully. And of course, we always have protected user privacy and have never sold our DNS data. Here’s a link to ourprivacy policy.

I think that is an important statement.  Why do companies want to provide public DNS?  It’s all about control.  Why do you want control? To make money off of it.

Google has a “do no evil” policy, but while doing no evil, they are making a ton of money.

OpenDNS is a tried and true solution.  Yes, they do redirect incorrect domain names to a search page with advertising.  They are very upfront about this.  Alternatively, there are paid solutions that give you control over this.

Google Public DNS is a beta (as is most Google proucts), and not yet tested.  They even say to “write down” your current DNS servers in case you have to revert back to them.

Summary

The choice is up to you, I’m staying with OpenDNS for the time being.  At least until someone can fully analyze the performance of Google Public DNS.  That isn’t to say I’m not interested in Google Public DNS.  I use quite a number of Google features and would bet that Google DNS improves their performance.

I do recommend using an alternative DNS solution.  It is easy to setup, more reliable and secure — and has saved me from a few headaches.

UPDATE #1 2009.12.04

Google DNS and OpenDNS has been compared in a post at Google DNS vs OpenDNS: Google Rocks for International Users

In summary:

In my tests, Google  DNS consistently outperformed both OpenDNS and Level 3. For  Americans the Level 3 server (4.2.2.2) might offer as good performance as Google. But if you are living outside US and  you care about your browsing experience you should switch now . The results are below…

Essentially the results show Google DNS wins over easily in most non-US countries, but is on par with OpenDNS in the states, and Canada (actually OpenDNS is usually faster in the states by a small margin).

To me it sounds like OpenDNS is faster in general, but Google has more of a global network to give it the advantage internationally.

Tags: Dvid Ulevitch, Google, Google Public DNS, OpenDNS

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