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OpenDNS services: UK based, very slow resolution times

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  1.  
    • CommentAuthoricewraithuk
    • CommentTimeOct 7th 2009 edited
     permalink
    Hi,

    I'm based in Bristol in the UK on Virgin Media fiber broadband. I've tried setting up OpenDNS but I'm getting massively slow resolution times and the traceroutes to the DNS servers don't look healthy - am I missing something?

    traceroute to 208.67.220.220 (208.67.220.220), 64 hops max, 52 byte packets
    1 <hidden> 0.565 ms 0.235 ms 0.223 ms
    2 <hidden>.cable.ubr13.hawk.blueyonder.co.uk (<hidden>) 6.735 ms 7.274 ms 7.946 ms
    3 osr01hawk-ge123.network.virginmedia.net (80.1.243.41) 8.156 ms 7.038 ms 8.393 ms
    4 osr02azte-tenge73.network.virginmedia.net (195.188.230.77) 9.732 ms 7.112 ms 8.081 ms
    5 aztw-core-1b-ge-010-0.network.virginmedia.net (80.1.240.129) 5.872 ms 11.358 ms 7.919 ms
    6 bir-bb-b-as1-0.network.virginmedia.net (213.105.175.161) 10.066 ms 11.172 ms 12.418 ms
    7 bir-bb-a-ae0-0.network.virginmedia.net (62.253.185.153) 7.438 ms 7.284 ms 8.027 ms
    8 168.ge-1-3-3.mpr1.lhr2.uk.above.net (213.161.65.149) 12.676 ms 16.556 ms 16.741 ms
    9 above-ntt-2.lhr2.uk.above.net (64.125.12.134) 13.665 ms 15.134 ms 16.137 ms
    10 xe-4-1.r01.londen03.uk.bb.gin.ntt.net (129.250.2.126) 124.020 ms 216.435 ms *
    11 83.231.146.198 (83.231.146.198) 15.108 ms 14.506 ms 27.462 ms
    12 * * *
    13 * * *
    14 * * *

    traceroute to 208.67.222.222 (208.67.222.222), 64 hops max, 52 byte packets
    1 <hidden> (<hidden>) 0.785 ms 0.475 ms 0.257 ms
    2 <hidden>.cable.ubr13.hawk.blueyonder.co.uk (<hidden>) 4.776 ms 7.212 ms 8.037 ms
    3 osr01hawk-ge130.network.virginmedia.net (80.1.243.45) 8.308 ms 6.155 ms 8.430 ms
    4 osr02azte-tenge73.network.virginmedia.net (195.188.230.77) 9.767 ms 12.664 ms 6.687 ms
    5 aztw-core-1b-ge-010-0.network.virginmedia.net (80.1.240.129) 10.604 ms 6.504 ms 7.923 ms
    6 bir-bb-b-as1-0.network.virginmedia.net (213.105.175.161) 10.003 ms 6.921 ms 7.910 ms
    7 bir-bb-a-ae0-0.network.virginmedia.net (62.253.185.153) 11.956 ms 11.231 ms 8.043 ms
    8 168.ge-1-3-3.mpr1.lhr2.uk.above.net (213.161.65.149) 12.658 ms 15.014 ms 12.139 ms
    9 above-ntt-2.lhr2.uk.above.net (64.125.12.134) 31.558 ms 16.283 ms 14.487 ms
    10 xe-4-1.r01.londen03.uk.bb.gin.ntt.net (129.250.2.126) 18.200 ms 18.957 ms *
    11 83.231.146.198 (83.231.146.198) 20.191 ms 17.261 ms 15.770 ms
    12 * * *
    13 * *

    Thanks :)
    • CommentAuthorrotblitz
    • CommentTimeOct 7th 2009
     permalink
    Traceroutes are ICMP packets and don't tell a lot, because many servers don't respond to ICMP any longer to prevent from DDoS attacks. And the visible latency (~15ms) is not too bad. Better use dig to prove the health of DNS, especially DNS response times. Also, is it any better if you use your ISP's DNS service?
  3.  permalink
    Hi,

    Vanilla dig:
    ; <<>> DiG 9.6.0-APPLE-P2 <<>>
    ;; global options: +cmd
    ;; Got answer:
    ;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 22352
    ;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 13, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0

    ;; QUESTION SECTION:
    ;. IN NS

    ;; ANSWER SECTION:
    . 166882 IN NS e.root-servers.net.
    . 166882 IN NS f.root-servers.net.
    . 166882 IN NS g.root-servers.net.
    . 166882 IN NS h.root-servers.net.
    . 166882 IN NS i.root-servers.net.
    . 166882 IN NS j.root-servers.net.
    . 166882 IN NS k.root-servers.net.
    . 166882 IN NS l.root-servers.net.
    . 166882 IN NS m.root-servers.net.
    . 166882 IN NS a.root-servers.net.
    . 166882 IN NS b.root-servers.net.
    . 166882 IN NS c.root-servers.net.
    . 166882 IN NS d.root-servers.net.

    ;; Query time: 1052 msec
    ;; WHEN: Wed Oct 7 14:02:29 2009
    ;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 228

    Custom dig:
    bash$ for i in 0 2; do echo "Trying: 208.67.22$i.22$i..."; dig @208.67.22$i.22$i opendns.com txt |egrep 'FROM|IN TXT|msec'; echo; done;

    Trying: 208.67.220.220...
    ;; Query time: 1260 msec

    Trying: 208.67.222.222...
    ;; Query time: 1168 msec


    =======
    Interesting, seems to indicate that my ISP DNS isn't terribly quicker than OpenDNS, however every time I try and hit a site with OpenDNS doing the resolution, I get a pause of a few seconds towards 30 seconds before the page starts to load. Change back to the ISP and it works fine?

    Any ideas?
    • CommentAuthorrotblitz
    • CommentTimeOct 7th 2009
     permalink
    Your issue seems to be a combination of more than one problem. Also, I could not see that you specified your ISP's DNS servers for digging.
    The difference between your ISP's DNS and OpenDNS may be that they return different IP addresses for the same site, one of them directing you to a more distant destination of a site. But this is rather unlikely, as you seem to use UK DNS servers in each case. You can doublecheck this with dig as well.

    I would suggest to open a support ticket at http://www.opendns.com/support/contact/ referring to this thread.
    • CommentAuthorpjrobertson
    • CommentTimeOct 14th 2009 edited
     permalink
    I'm also in the Bristol area on Virgin Media Fibre Optic (cable) broadband.
    OpenDNS seems slower here as well, although not terribly slow (it can be at some times, then changing back to the default DNS speeds things up again)


    Here's some info from my end (not sure which of it's useful)

    1st Ping using OpenDNS

    PING google.co.uk (216.239.59.104): 56 data bytes
    64 bytes from 216.239.59.104: icmp_seq=0 ttl=52 time=39.138 ms
    64 bytes from 216.239.59.104: icmp_seq=1 ttl=52 time=28.708 ms
    64 bytes from 216.239.59.104: icmp_seq=2 ttl=52 time=38.356 ms
    64 bytes from 216.239.59.104: icmp_seq=3 ttl=52 time=34.903 ms
    64 bytes from 216.239.59.104: icmp_seq=4 ttl=52 time=33.282 ms
    64 bytes from 216.239.59.104: icmp_seq=5 ttl=52 time=33.639 ms
    64 bytes from 216.239.59.104: icmp_seq=6 ttl=52 time=44.761 ms

    --- google.co.uk ping statistics ---
    7 packets transmitted, 7 packets received, 0.0% packet loss
    round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 28.708/36.112/44.761/4.772 ms

    2nd ping using OpenDNS

    PING google.co.uk (209.85.229.104): 56 data bytes
    64 bytes from 209.85.229.104: icmp_seq=0 ttl=52 time=22.385 ms
    64 bytes from 209.85.229.104: icmp_seq=1 ttl=52 time=24.742 ms
    64 bytes from 209.85.229.104: icmp_seq=2 ttl=52 time=33.270 ms
    64 bytes from 209.85.229.104: icmp_seq=3 ttl=52 time=63.041 ms
    64 bytes from 209.85.229.104: icmp_seq=4 ttl=52 time=83.605 ms
    64 bytes from 209.85.229.104: icmp_seq=5 ttl=52 time=424.487 ms
    64 bytes from 209.85.229.104: icmp_seq=6 ttl=52 time=367.170 ms

    --- google.co.uk ping statistics ---
    8 packets transmitted, 7 packets received, 12.5% packet loss
    round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 22.385/145.529/424.487/160.329 ms

    A lot worse!

    Dig using OpenDNS

    ; <<>> DiG 9.6.0-APPLE-P2 <<>> google.co.uk
    ;; global options: +cmd
    ;; Got answer:
    ;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 30232
    ;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 3, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0

    ;; QUESTION SECTION:
    ;google.co.uk. IN A

    ;; ANSWER SECTION:
    google.co.uk. 834 IN A 209.85.229.104
    google.co.uk. 834 IN A 74.125.77.104
    google.co.uk. 834 IN A 216.239.59.104

    ;; Query time: 25 msec
    ;; SERVER: 192.168.1.1#53(192.168.1.1)
    ;; WHEN: Wed Oct 14 20:55:33 2009
    ;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 78

    (3 times, got the same result)

    -----------------

    Ping using default (Virgin DNS)

    PING google.co.uk (216.239.59.104): 56 data bytes
    64 bytes from 216.239.59.104: icmp_seq=0 ttl=52 time=33.319 ms
    64 bytes from 216.239.59.104: icmp_seq=1 ttl=52 time=30.000 ms
    64 bytes from 216.239.59.104: icmp_seq=2 ttl=52 time=29.319 ms
    64 bytes from 216.239.59.104: icmp_seq=3 ttl=52 time=33.045 ms
    64 bytes from 216.239.59.104: icmp_seq=4 ttl=52 time=34.553 ms
    64 bytes from 216.239.59.104: icmp_seq=5 ttl=52 time=34.756 ms
    64 bytes from 216.239.59.104: icmp_seq=6 ttl=52 time=32.047 ms

    - not much slower than the first ping using OpenDNS, but a lot faster than the second

    Dig using default (virgin DNS)

    ; <<>> DiG 9.6.0-APPLE-P2 <<>> google.co.uk
    ;; global options: +cmd
    ;; Got answer:
    ;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 55770
    ;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 3, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0

    ;; QUESTION SECTION:
    ;google.co.uk. IN A

    ;; ANSWER SECTION:
    google.co.uk. 1234 IN A 209.85.229.104
    google.co.uk. 1234 IN A 216.239.59.104
    google.co.uk. 1234 IN A 74.125.77.104

    ;; Query time: 16 msec
    ;; SERVER: 192.168.1.1#53(192.168.1.1)
    ;; WHEN: Wed Oct 14 20:53:09 2009
    ;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 78

    -- almost 10ms faster than OpenDNS
    -- ~1.6x faster

    If there's any more info you'd like let me know :)
    • CommentAuthorpjrobertson
    • CommentTimeOct 14th 2009 edited
     permalink
    Another idea (sorry for the double post)

    I have the option to redirect through the OpenDNS proxy turned on but it doesn't work. My browser just hangs e.g. if I put abcdefg in the address bar I get 'Failed to open Page' as opposed to being redirected to the OpenDNS page with a search for abcdefg

    One thing I noticed about the OP is that he's on a Mac.
    I've upgraded to Snow Leopard, could this be a problem? (I didn't use OpenDNS before upgrading at this address)

    Edit:

    After reading about your new Amsterdam servers, I did a traceroute and have realised I'm being directed to those in Amsterdam (with the last step not loading)

    See below:

    traceroute to 208.67.222.222 (208.67.222.222), 64 hops max, 52 byte packets
    1 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1) 2.995 ms 2.054 ms 2.768 ms
    2 10.10.0.1 (10.10.0.1) 26.566 ms 10.382 ms 12.072 ms
    3 80-192-0-1.cable.ubr01.azte.blueyonder.co.uk (80.192.0.1) 23.703 ms 15.558 ms 30.125 ms
    4 aztw-core-1a-ge-200-0.network.virginmedia.net (80.1.242.1) 17.155 ms 10.122 ms 25.164 ms
    5 win-bb-a-as0-0.network.virginmedia.net (213.105.175.157) 13.472 ms 16.297 ms 14.664 ms
    6 gfd-bb-b-so-100-0.network.virginmedia.net (213.105.172.130) 15.894 ms 13.690 ms 16.518 ms
    7 xe-4-2-0.lon20.ip4.tinet.net (77.67.65.161) 27.739 ms 14.391 ms 20.406 ms
    8 xe-8-2-0.ams10.ip4.tinet.net (213.200.81.145) 28.688 ms
    xe-8-3-0.ams10.ip4.tinet.net (89.149.186.133) 34.706 ms 24.904 ms
    9 opendns-gw.ip4.tinet.net (77.67.66.70) 31.109 ms 24.795 ms 26.735 ms
    10 * * *
    11 * * *
    12 * * *
    13 * * *
    14 * * *
    15 * * *
    16 * * *
    17 * * *
    18 * * *
    19 * * *


    --

    traceroute to 208.67.220.220 (208.67.220.220), 64 hops max, 52 byte packets
    1 * 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1) 1.263 ms 1.234 ms
    2 10.10.0.1 (10.10.0.1) 14.763 ms 25.220 ms 13.630 ms
    3 osr01azte-v11.network.virginmedia.net (62.30.64.33) 10.232 ms 14.084 ms 12.093 ms
    4 aztw-core-1a-ge-200-0.network.virginmedia.net (80.1.242.1) 9.286 ms 39.133 ms 14.024 ms
    5 win-bb-a-as0-0.network.virginmedia.net (213.105.175.157) 15.845 ms 14.972 ms 17.293 ms
    6 gfd-bb-b-so-100-0.network.virginmedia.net (213.105.172.130) 22.299 ms 14.503 ms 15.708 ms
    7 xe-4-2-0.lon20.ip4.tinet.net (77.67.65.161) 13.397 ms 17.474 ms 71.046 ms
    8 xe-8-2-0.ams10.ip4.tinet.net (213.200.81.145) 23.671 ms
    xe-8-3-0.ams10.ip4.tinet.net (89.149.186.133) 25.906 ms
    xe-8-2-0.ams10.ip4.tinet.net (213.200.81.145) 22.798 ms
    9 opendns-gw.ip4.tinet.net (77.67.66.70) 33.336 ms 24.400 ms 33.571 ms
    10 * * *
    • CommentAuthorrotblitz
    • CommentTimeOct 14th 2009 edited
     permalink
    Yes, they have routing problems, probably not OpenDNS, because they are not much in charge for routing, but the many network providers in Europe. I'm from Germany and NOT routed to Amsterdam, but to London.
    There is an easier diagnostic tool to determine the OpenDNS location you're using:
    http://www.opendns.com/support/article/208
    Also, although it is interesting to read your results, a ticket at http://www.opendns.com/support/contact/ would probably be the better way, including your results above and also the location diagnostics. The user forum community is not able to help here, and it is not sure if staff stumble over this thread.
  8.  permalink
    Thanks rotblitz,

    I tried using the support article you mentioned. I am definitely being routed to Amsterdam.

    I also did submit a ticket last night after posting here.
    • CommentAuthorrotblitz
    • CommentTimeOct 15th 2009
     permalink
    So good luck with resolving your issue, which seems to be specific to your area (Bristol). If you get a solution and a chance, you may report back how it went.
    •  
      CommentAuthormmirenzi
    • CommentTimeOct 15th 2009
     permalink
    Administrator
    Please send in support tickets with the following info:

    To help us troubleshoot your problem, please send us the output of the instructions at http://www.opendns.com/support/article/208 *AND* http://www.opendns.com/support/article/224 when using the OpenDNS servers.

    As well as traceroutes to one of the domains you're having issues with using both our IPs and your ISP's DNS.
  11.  permalink
    Here's the answer I got from OpenDNS (just for reference)

    Amsterdam is actually one of the largest peering points in the world, so it is not surprising that you are hitting that location even though you are in the UK. With that said, the routing is actually beyond our control. It appears though that you are still getting better response times from our servers than you would your ISP.
    Thankful People: rotblitz
    • CommentAuthorcrazyal15
    • CommentTimeOct 20th 2009
     permalink
    Everything is working fine here in Shropshire.

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