What is a DNS server, how to find out your preferred provider address, replace it with Google Public DNS or alternative options. How to change DNS in Windows, and how to choose the fastest public DNS server (or why pages may open slowly in

Or global networks, the purpose of which is to obtain information about domains.

The DNS database is maintained using a hierarchy of DNS servers that communicate using a specific protocol.

Initially, the role of DNS was performed by the hosts text file, which was generated at the central node and then sent to each computer on its local network.

What is a DNS server used for?

Without going into details, let's say that a DNS server is a mechanism that converts human-readable alphanumeric names of network devices (domains) into their .

Interesting! One domain name can belong to a group of several IP addresses because A large mail server is often not one server, but several. The purpose of this approach is to create redundancy - if a problem occurs with one server, another takes over its functions. All these technological features are hidden from the eyes of the average user, and the task of providing the required resource according to the request lies with the DNS server.

The most important indicator when choosing a DNS server is its availability over time.

For example, if the server you have chosen does not work, then you will only be able to access the Internet using the IP addresses of sites or by specifying another DNS server.

Based on practice, let's say that to solve most problems you will need to remember only 2 IP addresses: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.

The advantage of these servers is, firstly, a high degree of availability, and secondly, they are very easy to remember.

What DNS server are you using?

To find out which DNS server is used, you need to:

Type Win + R on your keyboard.

In the “Open” field, you must enter or copy from the site the command to call the command line - “ control /name Microsoft.NetworkAndSharingCenter" (without quotes) and click "OK".

In the window that appears, select the required profile (if there are several) and go to the “Local Network Connection” menu.

In the “Local Area Network Connection Status” window, click “Information” and go to the window with information about our connection, then find the line “IPv4 DNS servers”.

Algorithm for solving DNS problems

Sometimes, a situation may occur when the DNS server is unavailable. This situation can arise for two reasons:

A client-side problem is typically a stopping of the DNS client service on the computer. The DNS Client service must be started.

The problem is on the side of the provider or DNS server organization you use. You need to change the DNS server.

To start the DNS client service, you must:

Click “Start”, write “services” (without quotes) in the search field and go to this menu.

In the window that opens we will see all the services that are involved in the system. We are looking for the “DNS client” service. We need to make sure that the DNS service is running. The “Status” field should read “Working.”

If the field is empty, the DNS service has stopped and needs to be started. To start the DNS service, you need to right-click on the service and click “Run” in the context menu.

After starting, pay attention to the “Status” field; the inscription “Working” should appear.

If the DNS client service is running, but you can only access the site using its IP address, try changing the DNS server.

So, here you go DNS is one of the fundamental things on which the entire Internet is built. This abbreviation stands for Domain Name System, which means domain name system.

I already touched on this issue (the structure of the domain name system) when I talked about it, but only in passing. Today I want to talk about the role of DNS servers in the operation of websites and the entire Internet as a whole.

Why do we need DNS servers and what are they?

The domain name system operates with full names (Latin letters, numbers, dashes and underscores are allowed when forming them)..120.169.66 is not very informative) and it is easier to operate with them.

The latter relates specifically to the human factor, because it is still more convenient for machines to use IP addresses, which is what they do... But he understands that this is a domain name, which means information about what IP the site is located on, he will be able to receive from the DNS server.

It is on these DNS servers (sometimes they are also called N.S. from the Name Server, i.e. server names) and the entire Internet is supported (like a flat world on three whales standing on a turtle). which does not require direct human participation in its work (if you set it up, it works 24/7). And there are a lot of such DNS servers on the network.

How does DNS work and what does the Hosts file have to do with it?

At the dawn of the Internet, DNS didn't exist at all. But how did the network work then? .120.169.66? The so-called one was responsible for this matter then (and even now), where all the hosts of the then small Internet were registered.

Such a file was (and is now) on every user’s computer (yours has it too) connected to the network (see the link above for how to find it).

In the Hosts file several thousand lines were written (according to the number of sites on the Internet at that time), in each of which the IP address was first written, and then the corresponding domain, separated by a space. This is what an entry for my blog would have looked like if it had existed on the Internet twenty-five to thirty years ago:

109.120.169.66 website

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site

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How to find a fast DNS server and specify it in Windows settings

We are looking for the fastest DNS server for you

It is impossible to indicate which DNS will be the fastest for you. This depends on your Internet service provider, your geographic location, etc.

But with the help of one small utility you can do it in 1-2 minutes. test and find out the fastest DNS servers specifically for your provider. So...

After you run the utility DNSBench, open the tab "Nameservers" and press the button "Run Benchmark". In a couple of minutes, the utility will finish the test and present you with the results in sorted form (the best options for you will be at the very top. In the screenshot below, in my case, these are: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4, DNS from Google) .

Determine the fastest DNS server for your specific provider (DNSBench utility)

Note! The DNSBench utility does not use many well-known Russian servers in its test. However, in my opinion this is not so critical, besides, if you want to compare them, you can add them manually (ADD button). Some of them will be presented below.

Changing DNS (universal method using Windows 10 as an example)

The proposed change option will be relevant for today’s popular Windows: 7, 8, 10 (universal method).

By the way, if you use a Wi-Fi router, then the DNS server can be specified in its Internet connection settings. It is not possible to describe here how to do this - it depends both on the model of your router and on its firmware version. Most often, this is done in the Internet connection (WAN) settings section.

Help!

How to set up a Wi-Fi router from scratch (instructions) -

That's all, good luck!

Additions on the topic are welcome...

From the local network of your home router, you can provide access not only to the Internet, but also to the resources of the router itself.

We can talk about an FTP server where a USB drive is used as a disk, etc. At the same time, it is possible to make all these resources accessible from an “external” network. For this purpose, the “dynamic DNS” service is usually used. We'll look at how to set up DDNS on your router.

Local and “external” network

First, let's try to explain how DDNS is used. From the local network, the router itself is accessible at the same address (for example, 192.168.10.1). In the “external” network, the WAN port is assigned a specific IP address, which in most cases is changeable. It is useless to remember it, since the value can change at any moment. But it is possible to access the router without using the IP “explicitly”. It is enough to register once in the appropriate service and configure the DDNS option in the router.

After setting up DDNS, access to the router is carried out using a domain name (which, in addition, the user can come up with). This is convenient, but only if everything is configured correctly.

How to register in the DDNS service?

Paid and free services

Here is a list of addresses of sites providing DDNS service:

no-ip.com
3322.org
dyndns.org
dhs.org
update.ods.org
dyns.cx

The most famous of them is Dyndns. All configuration examples, as a rule, are given “for it”. But this service recently became paid. So, you need to look for a free service (from those supported in the router).

It is important to know that a router of a certain model can only support some of the DDNS services.

Let's look at an example for TP-Link devices:

Dynamic DNS Tab

As you can see, in routers of this brand you can use 1 of 3 different services (but no more). Their list is available on the DDNS settings tab. Which is true for routers of different models.

Registration in the service

Before setting up the router, you need to register with the DDNS service. You need to get a domain name (the service will check it for uniqueness), and only then this name will need to be specified in the settings.

An email is required to register. New user card – usually contains information: first name, last name, region, email. If you require a zip code, you can leave this field blank.

As a result, the user will have a unique domain name at his disposal. For example, this: “1234router.no-ip.biz”. Also, an account is created to manage your account card (you need to remember the login and password for it).

How to set up DDNS on a router?

DDNS Settings Tab

The DDNS option in most routers is the easiest to configure. The web interface should have a tab containing all the required parameters: domain name, login with password, list of services.

Setting algorithm:

Go to the required tab (usually “DDNS” or “Dynamic DNS” in the “Advanced settings” section)
Select the service (the one you registered with)
Fill in all empty fields
If there is a checkbox “Enable”, check it and be sure to save the settings:

Setting up DDNS in TP-Link routers

The user must connect the router to the DDNS service by opening the interface and clicking the “Login” button (on the tab discussed above). The connection will remain valid until the router is rebooted.

DDNS Case Study and Known Issues

Let's say everything was done correctly, and additionally, the ftp server is enabled on the router. Then, from anywhere in the world, this server becomes accessible at the following address: ftp://1234router.no-ip.biz:80. The example is, of course, correct if the domain name "1234router.no-ip.biz" was obtained.

Sometimes it happens that the domain name still makes the router unavailable. In this case, just go to the service website, open an account (or specify a domain name) - and the router’s IP will appear in the window on the page. The problem is that after some time this IP may change.

But, in principle, this method is also relevant: instead of “1234router...” the IP address is indicated (which is actually assigned to the WAN port). The ability to see the IP value is provided by any of the services, and without any problems.

Additionally, we note the main difference between DDNS and 2IP.ru and the like: you can find out the router’s IP using DDNS from any device connected to the Internet (from anywhere in the world). Next, this IP is used to access the router.

Example of setting up a D-Link router for DynDSN

Your ISP offers its own DNS servers, which help turn websites such as www.. Your devices use them by default, but you can configure your preferred DNS servers to improve your connection speed.

Many DNS servers can also block malware, pornography, and other types of websites. The latter is up to you.

DNS Server Speed Test

If you're looking for something faster than your ISP's DNS servers, we recommend running a DNS check to find what's best for your connection. The fastest DNS server will depend on your geographic location and ISP, so we really can't recommend finding the fastest DNS for you.

Many DNS providers focus on speed, and this is their big selling point. But only running a test will tell you what is fastest for you.

We recommend using the free Domain Name Speed Benchmark tool if you're looking for the fastest DNS server on Windows or Linux (Mac users should check out Namebench).

Simply download DNS Benchmark, run it (no installation required), select the Nameservers tab and click Run Benchmark. It will check the top 72 DNS servers. Once this is done, it will even suggest testing 5,000 public DNS servers and finding the top 50 for your connection. Of course it will take longer.

For the most accurate results, make sure the Benchmark DNS tool is the only thing running on your internet connection during tests (so turn off Netflix streaming, online games, or other downloads that might be using your internet).

For example, in the benchmark we used a single connection, we saw that the fastest third-party DNS servers were OpenDNS, followed by UltraDNS, followed by Google Public DNS.

There is one problem with this tool. There's a good chance that your ISP's DNS servers may be the fastest for your connection because they are physically located near you. However, DNS does not test your ISP's DNS servers.

In the screenshot above, for example, it actually says that our router is "The Local Network Namesaver" - the fastest DNS server. This is because it is physically present on our local network and can immediately return cached results. However, your router will use the ISP's DNS servers. This provider's DNS servers are compared with these third-party DNS servers.

To check this, you need to log into your router's DNS servers. Every router is a little different, but we found this in the Internet Status section on our ASUS router.

In DNS Benchmark, you can click the Usernames tab, click the Add/Remove button. Enter the IP address of the first DNS server and click Add to add it to the list. You can then enter the second DNS server address and click Add.

After that, click "Run Benchmark" to run the test with your ISP's DNS servers. We found that Comcast's servers were the fastest for our Comcast connection, which isn't surprising.

However, even if your ISP's servers are the fastest, you can still switch to a different DNS server that provides malware filtering, parental controls, and other features. It helps to know how quickly other options are available.

If you are looking for a fast DNS server

Some DNS servers don't offer many features and simply focus on providing quick, fast, and accurate results.

Google Public DNS was created by Google to provide a fast, secure alternative DNS server. It provides raw, unfiltered results. Google promises that it will not correlate with Google services.

OpenDNS Home is being configured. So while OpenDNS offers malware protection and other web filtering features, you can create a free account and customize the exact filtering that will take place on your connection. If OpenDNS is fast, you can use it with or without filtering. OpenDNS promises not to share your information with any party.

There is also Layer 3 DNS, which operates on Layer 3, which provides the basic connections that connect ISPs around the world. Many ISPs actually rely on Layer 3 DNS. Layer 3 does not publicly advertise its DNS service, but anyone can point their systems to Layer 3 DNS servers and use them. Layer 3 DNS can be very fast for some connections.

Verisign also provides its own public DNS server. It also doesn't block anything and promises that it won't sell your DNS data to third parties.

The NeuStar DNS server, formerly known as UltraDNS, also provides raw results if you want them. However, if it's fast on your internet connection - and this was one of the fastest on ours