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I'm making my computer have a static IP address so I need to set a DNS server, should I set the Preferred DNS server setting on my computer to the IP of my router, or should I set it to the IP of my ISPs DNS server?

Basically should I go through the router or directly to the DNS server?

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    IF you're manually setting your dns settings, why not just set it to google's dns (8.8.8.8 & 8.8.4.4) or open dns
    – Roy Rico
    Feb 26, 2010 at 20:22
  • I'm just testing that now, though I'm not testing OpenDNS, I've used it before and it requires accounts, and i don't like it much. Will OpenDNS be better than Google?
    – Jonathan.
    Feb 26, 2010 at 20:34
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    OpenDNS does not require an account. You can just use the IP addresses.
    – Iain
    Feb 26, 2010 at 20:52
  • oh, will it be better than google though?
    – Jonathan.
    Feb 26, 2010 at 20:55
  • If by better you mean faster, that is very dependent on your connection and proximity to servers. I've used both services and they're both very good, however to get the fastest you will need to do the testing yourself.
    – heavyd
    Feb 26, 2010 at 22:32

2 Answers 2

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As far as the DNS is concerned, it really doesn't matter. Your router will end up doing the lookup to your ISP anyway. As for performance, you will likely get better performance using your ISP directly since your router is pretty under-powered and will be relatively slow in responding to queries. However, in theory, if your router is able to cache queries, if you visit the same domains repeatedly its possible the router will be faster.

You can use a DNS Benchmark Utility to test both options and decide for yourself.

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Most low-grade CPE routers are very bad with DNS proxying. It is highly recommended to bypass them and to talk directly to the ISP.

See a survey by the swedish registry and one by ICANN SSAC. Both surveys were made in the context of DNSSEC but apply to far wider issues.

And RFC 5625 for advices to the routers programmers (of course, not one of them have read a RFC).

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