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Switch to OpenDNS

TyWahn

TyWahn

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 25, 2003
402
40
My first-gen ATV is unable to even play a trailer without stopping and having to buffer. Movie downloads take hours.
I've read that switching to OpenDNS or Google can help this. I have read that some switch at the Airport Extreme settings, but id rather configure just the ATV.
Can somebody please explain how to do this?
Thanks
 
Since some Domain Name Servers are notoriously slow, are there any out there that folks have had success with at being exceptionally speedy? Or would mentioning them DOOM them to slowness too. :eek:

I used OpenDNS a year ago when I heard it could help speed my web surfing and it did, but going back to my ISPs server eventually was the better move as OpenDNS got bogged down with traffic.
 
OpenDNS actually publicly admit that using them may result in poor itunes performance, as you would not be routed to the most appropriate akamai server based on your geographical location.
 
I don't care for OpenDNS. I haven't enjoyed their reliability and some of their practices are a little questionable. Big Brother Google has a free DNS solution which works much more reliably, but I'm not completely sold on it.

Unless your ISP's DNS servers really suck, you usually won't encounter much benefit one way or another. Using Google's DNS server does at least alleviate the annoyance of having a broken link or domain hijacked into some kind of search.
 
I can't imagine it being any worse. Like I said.. I can't even watch a trailer without it stopping and having to catch up.

Thanks for the replies.
 
chenks said:
OpenDNS actually publicly admit that using them may result in poor itunes performance, as you would not be routed to the most appropriate akamai server based on your geographical location.
Click to expand...

What makes these other alternative DNS services any different?
 
owine said:
What makes these other alternative DNS services any different?
Click to expand...

i didn't say they were any different, but OpenDNS at least appear to be open about the potential issues, whereas the others aren't.
 
http://code.google.com/p/namebench/

Use Namebench and enter your ISP's DNS address then compare it to other DNS services like OpenDNS and Google. The app runs a test on most public DNS services and tells you which is likely to be fastest for your location.

For me, OpenDNS has about 50% better speed than my ISP.

I have been reading the info about non-ISP DNS causing issues with Akamai caching. Akamai has said the location of your DNS server is but one of the methods they use in determining which Akamai server to feed you from. That does not necessarily mean OpenDNS or Google DNS, for example, will cause you Akamai problems.

In my case Roadrunner is my ISP and their DNS server is in Texas. The OpenDNS server I use is in San Francisco, which is over a thousand miles closer to me than Texas. So in my case using OpenDNS would hypothetically give me better Akamai speeds if they are using the geo location of my DNS server.
 
owine said:
What makes these other alternative DNS services any different?
Click to expand...

Well, if you believe their PR, OpenDNS for example does this for a living and therefore puts more effort and computing power into providing a better DNS server.
 
DNS lookups are done when a device hasn't got an IP address for a particular hostname in its cache. Once a trailer is downloading/playing, the IP address for the server it's coming from has already been ascertained. Why would you believe that switching DNS servers would therefore alleviate buffering issues?
 
-Garry- said:
DNS lookups are done when a device hasn't got an IP address for a particular hostname in its cache. Once a trailer is downloading/playing, the IP address for the server it's coming from has already been ascertained. Why would you believe that switching DNS servers would therefore alleviate buffering issues?
Click to expand...

I think the theory here is that Akamai uses your DNS server as one of the methods to determine which Akamai server they send your data from. If using a non-ISP DNS server somehow causes Akamai to assign a server to you further than would otherwise have happened you could have slower speeds.
 
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