Using googles public dns instead of comcast's - which just happens to be broken at the moment

[geckosfeet]

Some technoid stuff explaining how to use google's public dns. They explain it for several platforms but left out Windows XP. Read it first.
Google Public DNS: What is Google Public DNS?

This is what I did for XP:
1. Open control panel
2. Click network connections
3. Right click on the connection that you want to use
4. You should see a list box - scroll down to Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
5. Click properties
6. Select Use this DNS and enter 8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4
7. Close everything out to the network connections and restart/repair the connection you are using

[woo me with science]

1. Thank you.

Who knows when this may come in handy.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Thanks for the info..

[originalpckelly]

3. I'm using Comcast with no problems.

I wonder why, it should be connected to Comcast's DNS.

[spanone]

4. me2

[bluerum]

7. Not here. Lots of posts on the intertubes about comcast dns being out.

I logged on using a work computer that must have been set up to use a different dns. Perhaps your machine defaults to a different dns or Comcast is routing to a working dns.

[Recursion]

12. They parcel out DNS by region; this affects mostly the east coast

I'm not clear whether it's the second-hop routing from NYC to the DNS server or whether it's the server itself that's down (and I don't feel like firing up nmap to figure it out).

[TheWraith]

5. I use different public DNS servers.

Specifically 4.2.2.1 and 4.2.2.2. I started doing this way back when I had a satellite ISP whose DNS servers were notoriously crappy; the publicly available ones had much better uptime.

[bluerum]

6. Cool. Who owns and maintains them?

[TheWraith]

10. They're core servers operated by Level 3 Communications.

Level 3 is one of the largest providers of raw internet backbone connections in the world.

[Recursion]

13. They're intended to serve consumer DNS servers

While they're good I don't recommend people use Level 3's because they're meant to serve smaller DNS servers which in turn serve individual users; Google's are set up to serve consumers directly.

DNS is a fascinating technology and one of the coolest components of the modern Internet (I remember the days before DNS, and they weren't fun for admins). For anyone into tech stuff: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System

[backscatter712]

8. I've been using OpenDNS for some time now.

So far, no major problems.

[klook]

9. Thanks -- this is a new one on me

I went ahead and updated my settings and will see how it works for a while. Supposedly this will make web surfing faster, so it will be interesting to see if there is any noticeable difference.

I was careful to write down the address I was using before, in case I need / want to revert at some point.

I guess all this is just further evidence that Bush may have been right when he referred to "the Internets." :shrug:

[TheWraith]

11. Performance difference can vary.

If you previously had a good DNS server through your ISP, it won't make much of a difference. But if your ISP had a crappy DNS server, then it can be a noticeable improvement. You don't get more bandwidth (which is what most people think of when they talk about internet speed) but it can reduce lag. Maybe only by a tenth of a second at best, but when you talk about ten, twenty, or thirty queries a minute when websurfing, that can add up fast.

[geckosfeet]

14. Seems the performance of the dns that comcast was routing me to had been degrading

slowly over the last six months or so. To the point where it would take five seconds or so for an initial page load. Very long look ups and very noticable when on DU. Posting was painful and failures to post were getting more frequent. I think it finally crashed.

Things seem snappier using the google dns.