Best way to benchmark public DNS servers from your actual location?

[PaddraighOS]

I've been doing some spring cleaning on my network config and realised I haven't checked my DNS setup in ages. Currently using Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) as primary and Google (8.8.8.8) as fallback but I picked those years ago without much thought.

Is there a decent way to benchmark which public DNS resolvers are actually fastest from my location? I tried DNS Benchmark but it hasn't been updated in years and half the servers in its list are dead. Looking for something current that actually tests response times rather than just listing servers.

Bonus if it shows servers I haven't heard of — I'm sure there are regional options that might be quicker than the big names from here in Ireland.

 

[Ripshod]

I've been doing some spring cleaning on my network config and realised I haven't checked my DNS setup in ages. Currently using Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) as primary and Google (8.8.8.8) as fallback but I picked those years ago without much thought.

Is there a decent way to benchmark which public DNS resolvers are actually fastest from my location? I tried DNS Benchmark but it hasn't been updated in years and half the servers in its list are dead. Looking for something current that actually tests response times rather than just listing servers.

Bonus if it shows servers I haven't heard of — I'm sure there are regional options that might be quicker than the big names from here in Ireland.

GRC's | DNS Nameserver Performance Benchmark

DNS Nameserver Performance Benchmark

www.grc.com

Used to be free, but it's now $10 for a lifetime.

 

[PaddraighOS]

Thanks — yeah GRC DNS Benchmark is the one I tried. It does work but the server list baked into it is pretty stale at this point and it's Windows only which is a pain since most of my stuff runs Linux. Was hoping there might be something web-based that tests from your browser so you get results from your actual connection without needing to install anything. Haven't found one yet though.

 

[Ripshod]

The old list is pretty stale, but there's an option to add your own favourite servers or even rewrite the server list from scratch. The included list is really just to cut your teeth on.

Was hoping there might be something web-based that tests from your browser

A test from a remote server would just prove irrelevant - the results would be for that server, not your home.

 

[Centrifuge]

I've been doing some spring cleaning on my network config and realised I haven't checked my DNS setup in ages. Currently using Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) as primary and Google (8.8.8.8) as fallback but I picked those years ago without much thought.

Is there a decent way to benchmark which public DNS resolvers are actually fastest from my location? I tried DNS Benchmark but it hasn't been updated in years and half the servers in its list are dead. Looking for something current that actually tests response times rather than just listing servers.

Bonus if it shows servers I haven't heard of — I'm sure there are regional options that might be quicker than the big names from here in Ireland.

Maybe doggo could do what you're looking for. It gives you something like this:

$ doggo google.com --time
NAME         TYPE  CLASS  TTL   ADDRESS                   NAMESERVER     TIME TAKEN
google.com.  A     IN     300s  172.217.12.110            127.0.0.53:53  38ms     
google.com.  AAAA  IN     300s  2607:f8b0:4005:803::200e  127.0.0.53:53  38m

Or, bypassing any local caching and testing specific public dns, e.g., 1.1.1.1:

$ doggo google.com @1.1.1.1 --time
NAME         TYPE  CLASS  TTL   ADDRESS                   NAMESERVER  TIME TAKEN
google.com.  A     IN     300s  142.251.218.78            1.1.1.1:53  41ms      
google.com.  AAAA  IN     266s  2607:f8b0:4005:817::200e  1.1.1.1:53  40ms

 

[Chulamin]

If you want to subscribe, the Fing app has a pretty decent DNS benchmark tool.