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namebench

Home Page Release Notes Screen Shots License:
Open Source; $0

Current Version: 1.3.1 (June 7, 2010)

namebench is a free open source DNS benchmark utility from Google that searches for the fastest DNS servers available for your computer to use. It's a handy utility for people who find all too often that their Internt experience is marred by "looking up host" delays due to a less-than-responsive set of DNS nameservers.

The software runs a fair and thorough benchmark using your web browser history, tcpdump output, or standardized datasets in order to provide an individualized recommendation. namebench is completely free and does not modify your system in any way.

While no information is available regarding what's new in version 1.3.1 (presumably, it's a bugfix release), version 1.3 made the following enhancements:

  • Ability to upload & share your results online
  • Display DNS server versions and nodenames in the HTML output (mouseover)
  • Graphical interface updated
  • Fast/Slow toggle for health check speed
  • New datasets available (updated Alexa, cache miss, cache hit, cache mix)
  • Direct importation of pcap files generated by tcpdump and wireshark
  • OARC port diversity checks included
  • More consistent timeout settings
  • Updated server listing
  • Updated libraries (dnspython, jinja2)

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Download the Mac OS X 10.5+ (Python) version.

Also See . . .

Can't find what you're looking for? Try a search:

Also, if you have an older Mac, be sure to check out the "Classic" applications page for more options.

Finally, take a look at ALEMIA if you think you know that name of an application, but aren't quite sure.

Related Links

For an interesting and objective third-party view of Apple's networking technology - from MacTCP through Open Transport and beywond - Peter Sichel's Sustainable Softworks page is unparalleled.

Also Consider . . .

These are applications that are newer and of potential interest, but which I haven't yet selected for permanent inclusion. Have a look, and let me know if you think they deserve to be part of the permanent collection!