Google super slow in South Africa

[skynarc]

Hi All,

I have posted on a similar topic on these forums but it was under a Firefox label. This problem runs across any browser and has been going on for many many years now.

Google Maps, Google Search, Google Analytics, Google Docs...all things Google in our office runs exceptionally slow!

I have been back and forth with Ensync our ISP about this and they continue to tell me that it is a configuration setting on our end because from their side, everything looks fine. I was inclined to go with that until we replaced our old server and installed Windows Server 2008 and still the problem persists.

There is only two things I can think of.

1. There is a problem with Ensync
2. A configuration setting we have not checked on our router.

After some back and forth with guys on ServerFault.com, they told me to run an application called NameBench which checks your DNS settings and offers better DNS options to change to so this rules out number 2 because we have already changed the settings.

Here are the NameBench results and I was hoping that someone could shed some light on the situation of where we might be going wrong please.

http://namebench.appspot.com/id/4197007

And here is the topic on ServerFault.com if anyone is interested or experiencing the same problems

http://serverfault.com/questions/221939/google-products-are-excessively-slow

And here is an example of what happens in Google products:
http://www.screencast.com/users/jam...ng/media/f7ffce9a-0250-4112-b79d-7dc58c2c8b0a

Many thanks!

 

[Tinuva]

Looks like for the most part your Google traffic is redirected to SAIX's Cape Town Google Cache Cluster.

Perhaps add the output of the following command prompt command: "tracert mail.google.com" and "tracert docs.google.com"

Oh on another note, I have a employee who sits next to me, who have the exact same problem in multiple browsers on his Windows 7 machine. On my Ubuntu Linux Machine the same Google sites are almost instant in loading. We both on the exact same internet connection and ISP, only difference is our machines and the OS these machines run.

The problem could be with that desktop machine as well IMHO.

 

[|tera|]

I looked at your screencast. It definitely looks like a DNS issue.

I suggest you leave your Router at default ISP settings, but add OpenDNS, Google and other DNS Servers as forwarders on your Server DNS Configuration.
You can place your Router as the first forwarder followed by the rest.

Give it a shot and let me know if it works.

 

[sin_x]

I looked at your screencast. It definitely looks like a DNS issue.

I suggest you leave your Router at default ISP settings, but add OpenDNS, Google and other DNS Servers as forwarders on your Server DNS Configuration.
You can place your Router as the first forwarder followed by the rest.

Give it a shot and let me know if it works.

It is most definitely not DNS.
If it was DNS, the taskbar would say "Looking up mail.google.com"

In the screencast, the taskbar says "Waiting for mail.google.com", which means it has already done a lookup, and is waiting for a reply from the host.

 

[fragtion]

It is most definitely not DNS.
If it was DNS, the taskbar would say "Looking up mail.google.com"

No, the point is your configured DNS server is not RESOLVING to the right Google IP's. There are now local Google Cache servers hosted by IS, TENET, and SAIX. If you use the right DNS servers you'll benefit from the advantage of these

 

[medicnick83]

What are the Google DNS IP's ? (local ones) ?

 

[sin_x]

No, the point is your configured DNS server is not RESOLVING to the right Google IP's. There are now local Google Cache servers hosted by IS, TENET, and SAIX. If you use the right DNS servers you'll benefit from the advantage of these

I don't disagree with you, however I think that the problem here might not be the DNS servers OP has configured, but possibly DNS caching on his PC.

 

[|tera|]

I don't disagree with you, however I think that the problem here might not be the DNS servers OP has configured, but possibly DNS caching on his PC.

Then you probably missed this in the OP?

This problem runs across any browser and has been going on for many many years now.

 

[skynarc]

There are now local Google Cache servers hosted by IS, TENET, and SAIX. If you use the right DNS servers you'll benefit from the advantage of these

Thanks for all the rapid responses! Could you please tell me what the local Google Cache servers are and how I would go about changing this?

Thanks again!

 

[fragtion]

You didn't provide much relevant info, despite a long post... xD What type of connection are you on, and what's your ISP ? Are you connecting through a router, or a server, or dialing up on your PC? What OS? What browser?

 

[Tinuva]

No, the point is your configured DNS server is not RESOLVING to the right Google IP's. There are now local Google Cache servers hosted by IS, TENET, and SAIX. If you use the right DNS servers you'll benefit from the advantage of these

Actually, I noticed that the opendns servers actually now also resolve to local google cache servers depending on your network. So not a bad idea to use those anymore like it used to be.

 

[fragtion]

Actually, I noticed that the opendns servers actually now also resolve to local google cache servers depending on your network. So not a bad idea to use those anymore like it used to be.

Yeah I also noticed that recently, but, as you noted, I posted that a while ago ;D... Still, I wouldn't use OpenDNS, because you still won't benefit from other localized services such as AKAMAI which accounts for a large percentage of internet traffic !

 

[gksa]

This thread made me curious, since I've also experienced some intermittent problems, but only for some websites. Inexplicable slowness, for the most part, while others are lightning fast. It's the first I've heard of Namebench, so I tried it out.

It suggested the following:
Primary Server: 196.207.36.251 (Vodacom psi ZA)
Secondary Server: 209.212.96.1 (mtnns ZA)
Tertiary Server: 196.7.142.132 (IAfrica-2 ZA)

(Full results, if anyone cares: Here)

So I input that in my router - it only takes a primary and secondary, unfortunately - and bloody hell, what a difference! Facebook, particularly, has always just trickled in, at best. Now it's as fast as Google, almost.

Curious about all those errors, though...

EDIT: ...and why it tests to lapsiporno.info and youporn.com :wtf:

 

[ambo]

No, the point is your configured DNS server is not RESOLVING to the right Google IP's. There are now local Google Cache servers hosted by IS, TENET, and SAIX. If you use the right DNS servers you'll benefit from the advantage of these

The caches only serve bulk content like video files and map images. The actual sites are still served from Google's main servers.

Post a traceroute and then we'll have an idea of which Google cluster you are mapped to.

 

[who.is.michael]

Try this: http://www.grc.com/dns/benchmark.htm this will rule out DNS issues...

You can't optimize it until you can measure it - do remove the DNS server addresses from your router.

What is GRC's DNS Benchmark?
GRC's DNS Benchmark performs a detailed analysis and comparison of the operational performance and reliability of any set of up to 200 DNS nameservers (sometimes also called resolvers) at once. When the Benchmark is started in its default configuration, it identifies all DNS nameservers the user's system is currently configured to use and adds them to its built-in list of publicly available “alternative” nameservers. Each DNS nameserver in the benchmark list is carefully “characterized” to determine its suitability — to you — for your use as a DNS resolver. This characterization includes testing each nameserver for its “redirection” behavior: whether it returns an error for a bad domain request, or redirects a user's web browser to a commercial marketing-oriented page. While such behavior may be acceptable to some users, others may find this objectionable.

The point made above about the suitability — to you — of candidate nameservers is a crucial one, since everything is about where you are located relative to the nameservers being tested. You might see someone talking about how fast some specific DNS nameservers are for them, but unless you share their location there's absolutely no guarantee that the same nameservers would perform as well for you. ONLY by benchmarking DNS resolvers from your own location, as this DNS Benchmark does, can you compare nameserver performance where it matters . . . right where you're computer is.
When the benchmark is run, the performance and apparent reliability of the DNS nameservers the system is currently using, plus all of the working nameservers on the Benchmark's built-in list of alternative nameservers are compared with each other.

Results are continuously displayed and updated while the benchmark is underway, with a dynamically sorted and scaled bar chart, and a tabular chart display showing the cached, uncached and “dotcom” DNS lookup performance of each nameserver. These values are determined by carefully querying each nameserver for the IP addresses of the top 50 most popular domain names on the Internet and also by querying for nonexistent domains.

Once the benchmark finishes, the results are heuristically and statistically analyzed to present a comprehensive yet simplified and understandable English-language summary of all important findings and conclusions. Based upon these results, users may choose to change the usage order of their system's own resolvers, or, if alternative public nameservers offer superior performance or features compared with the nameservers currently being used, to switch to one or more alternative nameservers.

 

[x_RuDz_x]

Skynarc have you managed to sort out your Google issues yet?

if not PM me and ill check out your connection and the routing to the internet.