I’m pitting 4 DNS servers against each other:
1. My ISP (TMnet)
2. Level 3
3. Open DNS
4. Google DNS
The aim: to resolve www.yahoo.com (from ubuntu: time resolveip www.yahoo.com)
The results:
TMnet (202.188.1.5) – Inconsistent count but averages 30ms
Level 3 (4.2.2.4) – Rather consistent 450ms
OpenDNS (208.67.222.222) – Rather Consistent 350ms
Google DNS (8.8.8.8) – Inconsistent count between 70ms to 250ms. A good average is 150ms
So what does that say?
As expected you’re better off with your ISP’s DNS any day. However in the event that you need to override that settings and use a 3rd party DNS Server, you’ll have better luck with Google as opposed to Level3 or OpenDNS. I’m ignoring such items as Evel Google Overlords knowing which porn sites you visit.