In reply to a post by Andrue:

In reply to a post by Bryer:

I'm finding that VM DNS are slower when using my Xbox One, takes ages to join a party or join a server. Changing the Xbox One to Google PDNS or Level3 drastically improves the times. I'm also finding that replacing the DNS servers on the PC will cause pages to instantly render websites and not take 10-15 seconds.

I'm using namebench to accurately track DNS resolution speeds and Virgin's are on average 65% slower than other providers.

Most odd. Even at 65% slower DNS queries just aren't sent that often. DNS is only the computer equivalent of directory enquries. Modern OSes cache the results anyway subject to the TTL for a given domain. From a Windows command line 'ipconfig/displaydns' will show you the current cache. Most domains have a TTL of many minutes - some several days.

A computer just shouldn't need to issue DNS requests any more often than you or I might need directory enquiries. I'm also surprised that the XBox uses DNS when joining a party. I'd have thought the look up was handled by the XBox service since most players won't have a domain or static IP address so can't be looked up on DNS.

Actually DNS performance is a big deal and has a significant bearing on the performance of a service. The difference in responsiveness for various services is quite noticeable when DNS is poor. Don't underestimate the importance of robust DNS.