Here, you will find a comprehensive list of the primary and secondary DNS servers for various popular ISP's located around the world. This list helps you find the best DNS server to use for your internet connection, which results in fast DNS lookups.
Before proceeding further into what DNS server means? Is it better to understand what is DNS and what is a server?
DNS stands for Domain Name System that converts the given domain into its relevant IP address. A server is a program or device dedicated to providing services to other programs, referred to as "client."
Therefore, DNS Server is a device or program that your computer, tablet, or other internet-connected device uses to lookup DNS records for translating the domain name abc.com to its relevant IP address xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx. With a DNS server, people can type words (domain name) instead of a string of numbers (IP address) into their web browser to reach the websites and send emails using their familiar names.
Think like a DNS as a phone book on the internet: if you know a person or business's name, you can effortlessly search it out in the phone book by its name. And if the person or business's number changes, you can change it into your phone book. So that next time, you can effortlessly contact that person.
When the user enters the domain name into its browser bar, the DNS server is responsible for communicating the correct IP address against that domain name. Then browser communicates with the origin DNS server or the CDN server for the website's information.
If the domain's IP address changes, it takes 24 to 48 hours for complete DNS Resolution. You can check DNS propagation here.
Mostly, we use the DNS servers configured by our ISP as most routers have preconfigured DNS servers provided by ISP. We do not have to make complex changes to DNS settings.
But the real question is, should I use ISP's DNS or a third party's DNS?
Choose the DNS server that is fast and reliable. Some ISPs have speedy DNS resolution, and others have a relatively slow response. That can impact browsing and other activities. Some ISPs interfere with DNS requests, redirecting them to other sites, especially for mistyped addresses. You might not like that and want an independent DNS. A Global DNS server like Google Public DNS is preferred in this case. It also validates DNSSEC; most ISP DNS servers do not.
Some third-party DNS provides you with enhanced features like DNS Content Filtering to protect your workplace and family from cyber threats and from accessing particular categories of websites. But if the third-party DNS server has more hops and has a tremendous linear distance from your destination. Then it would be best to consider your ISP's DNS server for latency-sensitive services.
But how about using both. One good thing about your OS's DNS settings is that you can configure both: third party and your ISP's DNS servers to reference. That is helpful for reliability.
To find the DNS servers used by your PC and make necessary changes, you can check it here.
Note: A study shows that for the DSL connection, Google's public DNS server is 192.2 percent faster than the average ISP's DNS server. But it heavily depends upon the ISP, which DNS server(s) it uses, and the network conditions.
There can be several reasons for DNS server failure. The major ones are
DNS server outages had a severe impact in the past, but nowadays, it is not common because of the DNS redundancy. However, today, the majority cause of DNS errors is on the users' end. That includes internet or network connection, misconfigured DNS settings, antivirus programs, outdated browsers, etc.
Suppose your DNS server is returning outdated or incorrect results. It's better to change your DNS servers and flush the DNS cache. It optimizes the efficiency and speeds up your surfing, whether it's home or business setting. You can also edit the host file in your system to manually do the changes.
