pingerr

A comprehensive DNS benchmarking tool that tests 50+ public DNS servers to find the fastest and most reliable DNS resolver for your network.

Features

• Tests 50+ DNS Servers: Including Google, Cloudflare, Quad9, OpenDNS, AdGuard, and many more
• Cache-Aware Testing: Warmup queries ensure accurate cached response time measurements
• Multiple Test Iterations: Performs 5 tests per server (configurable via -n flag)
• DNS-Ping Correlation Analysis: Measures both DNS query time and network latency
• Smart Scoring System: Weighted scoring (70% DNS, 30% ping) for optimal server selection
• Color-Coded Results: Visual indicators for performance (Green = Excellent, Yellow = Good, Red = Slow)
• Configuration Recommendations: Provides ready-to-use primary and secondary DNS suggestions

How It Works

The script uses a cache-aware benchmarking approach:

1. Warmup Query: Sends an initial DNS query to prime the server's cache
2. Measurement Queries: Performs 5 subsequent queries to measure cached response time
3. Median Calculation: Uses the median of all measurements for robust results

This approach measures the actual network latency to each DNS server, rather than recursive resolution time, giving results that correlate closely with ping latency.

By default, google.com is used as the test domain, but you can customize this with the -d flag.

Videos

Demo Videos

Archlinux

archlinux.mp4

OpenWRT

openwrt.mp4

Note: Embedded videos may not play on GitHub.com due to platform limitations. If so, click here for Archlinux or OpenWRT.

Installation & Usage

For Regular Linux/Mac Users (Bash)

Run directly from the internet:

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Panchajanya1999/pingerr/refs/heads/master/pingerr.sh | bash

Or download and run:

# Download the script
curl -o https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Panchajanya1999/pingerr/refs/heads/master/pingerr.sh

# Make it executable
chmod +x pingerr.sh

# Run the test
./pingerr.sh

For OpenWRT Users (Ash Shell)

Run directly from the internet:

wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Panchajanya1999/pingerr/refs/heads/master/pingerr_ash.sh | ash

Or download and run:

# Download the script
wget -O /tmp/pingerr_ash.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Panchajanya1999/pingerr/refs/heads/master/pingerr_ash.sh

# Make it executable
chmod +x /tmp/pingerr_ash.sh

# Run the test
/tmp/pingerr_ash.sh

Command Line Options

Options:
  -4, --ipv4-only     Test only IPv4 DNS servers
  -6, --ipv6-only     Test only IPv6 DNS servers (requires IPv6 connectivity)
  -n, --count N       Number of tests per server (default: 5)
  -d, --domain NAME   Domain/IP to use for DNS queries (default: google.com)
  -q, --quick         Quick mode (3 tests per server)
  --no-ping           Skip ping correlation test
  --no-color          Disable colored output
  -h, --help          Show help message
  -v, --version       Show version

Examples

# Run full test (IPv4 + IPv6 if available)
./pingerr.sh

# Test only IPv4 servers
./pingerr.sh -4

# Quick test with fewer iterations
./pingerr.sh -q

# Use a custom domain for DNS queries
./pingerr.sh -d github.com

# Use an IP address for consistent measurements
./pingerr.sh -d 1.1.1.1

# Skip ping correlation analysis
./pingerr.sh --no-ping

# Run 10 tests per server for more accuracy
./pingerr.sh -n 10

Prerequisites

For Regular Systems

• Required: dig or nslookup command
• Optional: ping for correlation analysis

Install prerequisites:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt-get install dnsutils

# RHEL/CentOS/Fedora
sudo yum install bind-utils

# macOS (usually pre-installed)
# If not: brew install bind

For OpenWRT

# Update package list
opkg update

# Install dig (recommended for better accuracy)
opkg install bind-dig

# Or install drill as alternative
opkg install drill

Understanding the Results

DNS Speed Rankings

The script provides a complete ranking of all tested DNS servers:

┌──────┬──────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────┬───────────┐
│ Rank │ DNS Server                           │ IP Address            │ Median    │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────┼───────────┤
│ 1    │ Cloudflare-Primary                   │ 1.1.1.1               │   12 ms   │
│ 2    │ Google-Primary                       │ 8.8.8.8               │   15 ms   │

Performance Indicators

• 🟢 Green (< 50ms): Excellent performance
• 🟡 Yellow (50-100ms): Good performance
• 🔴 Red (> 100ms): Slow performance

Correlation Analysis

The script performs a DNS-Ping correlation test to find servers that are both:

• Fast at DNS resolution
• Have low network latency

Score Calculation: (DNS Query Time × 70% + Ping Latency × 30%)

Configuration Examples

OpenWRT Configuration

After running the test, apply the recommended DNS servers:

# Via UCI commands
uci set network.wan.dns="1.1.1.1 8.8.8.8"
uci commit network
/etc/init.d/network restart

Linux (systemd-resolved)

# Edit resolved.conf
sudo nano /etc/systemd/resolved.conf

# Add recommended DNS servers
DNS=1.1.1.1 8.8.8.8
FallbackDNS=9.9.9.9

# Restart service
sudo systemctl restart systemd-resolved

macOS

# Via System Preferences
System Preferences > Network > Advanced > DNS
# Add the recommended IP addresses

Sample Output

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
      DNS Speed Test - Testing 60+ DNS Servers
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

[1/60] Testing Cloudflare-Primary (1.1.1.1) ... 12 ms
[2/60] Testing Google-Primary (8.8.8.8) ... 15 ms
...

🏆 BEST DNS SERVER: Cloudflare-Primary
   IP Address: 1.1.1.1
   Median Response Time: 12 ms

CONFIGURATION RECOMMENDATION:
  Primary DNS:   1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare-Primary - 12ms)
  Secondary DNS: 8.8.8.8 (Google-Primary - 15ms)

Advanced Usage

Modify DNS Server List

Edit the script to add or remove DNS servers from the DNS_NAMES_IPV4/DNS_IPS_IPV4 arrays (or DNS_SERVERS_IPV4 for ash version).

IPv6 Testing

The script automatically detects IPv6 connectivity. Use -6 to test only IPv6 servers, or -4 to skip IPv6 entirely.

Troubleshooting

"dig: command not found"

Install the DNS utilities package for your system (see Prerequisites).

No results or all servers failing

• Check your internet connection
• Verify firewall isn't blocking DNS port 53
• Try running with nslookup instead of dig

Permission denied

Make sure the script has execute permissions:

chmod +x pingerr.sh  # or pingerr_ash.sh for OpenWRT

OpenWRT specific issues

• Ensure you have enough free RAM (script uses temporary files)
• If /tmp is full, clear some space: rm /tmp/*

Performance Tips

1. Run multiple times: Network conditions vary; run 2-3 times for consistent results
2. Test at different times: DNS performance can vary by time of day
3. Consider geography: Servers physically closer typically perform better
4. Check ISP restrictions: Some ISPs block or redirect certain DNS servers

DNS Server Categories

The script tests various categories of DNS servers:

• Standard: Google, Cloudflare, Quad9
• Privacy-focused: Mullvad, DNS0.EU, LibreDNS
• Family-safe: CleanBrowsing-Family, AdGuard-Family, OpenDNS-Family
• Ad-blocking: AdGuard, NextDNS, ControlD
• Regional: AliDNS (Asia), Yandex (Russia), DNS.SB

License

This script is provided as-is for network diagnostics and optimization purposes.