R6700v3 and OpenDNS

michaelkenward wrote:

"But that is not the same as using an OpenDNS account, which is what the new firmware breaks."

Great.  Now I understand.  I do not have an OpenDNS account.

michaelkenward 

"Out of interest, what does using an Open DNS server do that you won't get with other DNS servers?"

Actually, I am not sure.  I have read that using certain DNS servers can be faster and safer than others and that OpenDNS was a good one.

From michaelkenward 

Out of interest, what does using an Open DNS server do that you won't get with other DNS servers?

I live in the Pacific Northwest USA and Comcast is my ISP.  On a regular basis the Comcast DNS servers become bogged down and slow to respond.  I presume due to high traffic.  Using Office 365 Outlook generates server not found errors when retrieving e-mail, web browsing becomes a pain with multiple clicks and page not found errors, and on-line gaming becomes nearly impossible.

When I do a ping or trace route to either the Comcast or Open DNS servers, the result is very close to the same outside of high traffic times.  For ping the average return time is 10ms and the trace route is complete is seven hops.  There is an Open DNS data center in the close area.

For the last couple of years I have my R7800 configured with the primary Open DNS addresses for my IPv4 and IPv6 primary DNS servers.  For the R7800 secondary DNS servers, both IPv4 and IPv6, I configure the primary Comcast DNS addresses.

I find this to be consistent 24x7, web browsing is responsive and page not found or server not found errors are non-existent.

I am reasonably certain Comcast sells customer data generated by their DNS servers.  What addresses you visit, how often, and for how long.  The Charter for Open DNS indicates no data is collected or sold.  This is why I have Open DNS configured as primary on the R7800.