- Thread starter Rocky
- Start date
DNS - Internet - Follow Up
Sorry guys but DNS (Domain Name Service) has nothing to do with your download or upload speed. If the DNS server is fast in converting your URL to an IP address, then it will seem faster, and in fact for you it is, but when you do a speed test, you are doing an altogether different thing. In a speed test, a small file is downloaded and then uploaded to and from your PC. Each operation is timed and then the speed is calculated from there. What DNS does is convert what you type in the address bar of your browser into a set of numbers (IP address). Computers only understand number on the net, so every URL must be converted to an IP address to be able to find the site. Think of it as a house number of sorts. each site has this (house number) Ip address that is unique to the site. When you type in www.dr1.com, a request goes out from your computer to the DNS server you designated (the number Rocky is talking about). The request says "hey, where is www.dr1.com located? The server then sends the address back to your computer and a request is sent out for the index page of the web site using the IP address that was given by the DNS server. There are hundreds of thousands of DNS servers on the web and they alll talk to each other. Some servers are faster than others and this is why the page seems to appear faster with some servers rather than others. When you display a page, the size of the file is very small and the amount of time needed for the DNS request is a large portion of the time it takes to display the page. When you are downloading a larger file, (speed test), the DNS request time is almost insignificant because it is a very small part of the time needed to download the file, the rest is controlled by where you are being routed in the world (traceroute). Being routed through Bejing is usually slower than being routed through say, South America, and these routes are always changing.
To top it all off, page display time is controlled by many local factors as well such as what the script engine on your PC is doing at the time and how many ads are loading from outside sources, etc. DNS servers may also be fast one day and slow the next depending on the traffic being routed to them.
I hope I haven't confused anyone more than they are. :ermm: I have been doing this since 1985, and build and run my own webservers. Sometimes I talk over people's heads. I am sorry if this is the case, but please feel free to ask questions.
Chiri, I am quite sure the upgrade will solve most of your problems. Firefox 1.06 is quite old now and 2.0.0.1 is da bomb in my opinion, even has spell check.
-Tim
Thanks for that in depth explanation.
I am far from being an expert, nor do I have a lot of experience with computers, but I can tell you one thing, absolutely for sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this whole problem started when all of us were experiencing slowdowns, so bad, that some of us could not even open certain websites, and when the technician from Verizon came by here and simply changed the DNS numbers, as, according to him, the old ones, the 196 series, were experiencing serious problems, then, all of a sudden, we were back up to speed.
So although I do not know the technical aspects of how DNS numbers can affect download & upload speed, I do know that the old 196 series were slow and the 200 series solved the problem.
In this thread, http://www.dr1.com/forums/living/54898-internet-speed-solution.html?highlight=internet
you will find posts, such as,
In that thread, you yourself posted the following.
As you may see it from a technical point of view, like refrigerators don't make cold, they remove heat, I understand that you might not agree with the wording we are using, but the net result is the same.
We have a case of DNS numbers that, as you put it, "are not working properly".
So, we are putting in DNS numbers that DO work properly.
I'll put in in technical terms that twincactus would understand. "The speed with which the Domain Name Server resolves the ip address and returns the information to the requestor, has a marked effect on the quality of the user experience!" :laugh::laugh:
Twincactus - thanks for your explanation. I found it usefull and educational.
Yes the DNS entries were slowing things down. It seems that this was part of the issue with our speeds here and certainly the one that was having a major effect at that time.
Would the DNS server designated by Verizon be owned by Verizon??? Just curious.
Thanks again.
Yes the DNS entries were slowing things down. It seems that this was part of the issue with our speeds here and certainly the one that was having a major effect at that time.
Would the DNS server designated by Verizon be owned by Verizon??? Just curious.
Thanks again.
You're welcome!
Yes, those DNS servers are more than likely owned by verizon. It is not uncommon for ISPs to have their own DNS servers, however, you are free to use any you desire. Most people are not aware of that.
-Tim
Rocky you are absolutely right in saying that the DNS servers were the problem. No doubt in my mind, I was just trying to explain that they will have no effect on the speed test results. Will pages load faster? Yes. Will you have faster downloads for files? No, the DNS won't affect that.
-Tim
I know that getting me to understand the fundamentals of computers is like teaching pigs to fly, but I must mention that it did have an effect on our speed test ratings, when we had trouble with the 196 series DNS numbers.
With the 196's, we would get ridiculously low speeds, like 34kbps, slower than dial up, and when we inserted the new DNS numbers, we would get 300 to 600 kbps.
I suppose you're getting frustrated with me by now, for only having a layman's understanding of the digital world, but I learned too late in life.
This is only year 5, for me, and there's little hope of me ever being a real PC guru.
I've decided to become an expert PC cleaner instead.
For some reason, I've managed to learn all the little tricks for stopping all those things that slow PC's down, and have also managed to get rid of those replicating virus', that everyone says are impossible to kill, so they land up reformatting and reinstalling a new program.
How I can be so good at that, and so dumb with other things, is beyond me.
I think my hard drive is out of free space.
You're playing with the zombots yet? They seem to be causing absolute chaos, marshalling hundreds of thousands of computers to do their dastardly deed, and if anyone messes with one zombot, the others protect that one. :laugh: No, I've not read too much science fiction, this is real. They contact one another via irc and steal masses of amounts of data. The little buggers are real fast as well and they mask their signature so that anti-virus software cannot identify them.
Haven't had the pleasure of battling one, yet.
Bring me a puter with one on it, and I bet I can kill it.
So far, any of those replicating virus' that protect themselves from deletion, I have managed to kill.
I got me a special trick.
Go and search for botnets and honeypots.
"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated."
Here is some reading that will get you started Is the Botnet Battle Already Lost?
