DNS is how the internet converts your human name like CTHREEPO.COM to its machine internet address like 74.208.84.221. When I’m hooked to the cable modem and want to look at this blog, the browser asks the internet for the address based on its name.

It’s like looking up in a phone book to get my phone number.

First my computer checks its own stored DNS for the number and then it checks to see if the router knows the number. If the router doesn’t know, the router checks the cable company’s DNS, and if those servers don’t know they check their own primary DNS servers, and so on until it gets all the way to the Internic.

The company DNSAdvantage.com has a free DNS server that you can use instead of your router and ISP. It is generally faster. I set it up today because my machine was sluggish. The speed increase is noticeable. Their DNS servers really are fast, but I wonder why they are free. I am concerned that there seems to be no economic model that will justify offering a free service like this.

I’ll watch it for a while, and if this speed keeps up and there is no downtime, I will change over my other machines.