What is a DDoS attack?

DDoS attack stands for Distributed Denial-of-Service attack and represents a cyber-attack that aims to disrupt normal traffic and make the target (website, server, network) unavailable for regular users. There are few different types, but in general, a DDoS attack is an attempt to overwhelm the target (a computer, few connected computers or a whole DNS network) with high traffic from multiple sources.

The cybercriminals can generate this strong wave of traffic by:

• Using a network of pre-infected devices (computers, mobiles, IoT devices, etc.)  called a botnet
• Amplify attack that uses other servers to resend the traffic to a target after significantly increasing the size of the packets
• Occupy the existing connection and not allow new ones
• Exploit the vulnerabilities of a protocol, such as the UDP or another. 

There are many DDoS threats, this is why you want to a DDoS defense too. DDoS attack protection could keep your business safe and notify you of problems.

How does it work?

There are different types of DDoS attacks (volume-based attacks, protocol-based attacks, and application-layer attacks), but in general, they all have the same stages:

1. Pre-production of the attack. At this moment, the cybercriminals will create a network of botnets (infected devices) that later they will use for attacks. For example, hackers can bypass the security of IoT devices, or they can send phishing emails to users, and when the users open the emails, they can get infected with malicious code. 
2. Launching of the attack. Now it is time to use the botnet. Time for choosing a victim and sending the traffic towards the targeted server. There are different reasons for the attacks, but the goal is to saturate the target with traffic and take it out of service. 
3. The success of the attack. After a while, if the target does not have DDoS attack protection, or it is not strong enough, eventually it won’t be able to function correctly. There is a limit to how many active connections a server can have, even if it is very powerful. It will start to deny service and stop working. Normal users will not be able to use the server until the traffic drops again and the server can begin responding to normal queries. 
4. Final result. The bad actors could have achieved different goals, and now they get their reward. It could be money or just satisfaction with the success of the attack.

Signs of DDoS attacks 

DDoS attacks are extremely harmful and could lead to large reputational and financial losses. That is why it is crucial to be mindful and observe for any early signs of an appearing attack. There are specific characteristics of each DDoS attack type, but in general, what you can expect during an attack is: 

• Strange traffic, coming from one IP address or various but similar IP addresses (same range of addresses). 
• Traffic coming from devices with a similar profile (the type of devices, OS, etc.) and same patterns. 
• Out-of-ordinary traffic spikes like a huge spike, in the middle of the night without any sense or repeatable traffic, with a particular interval. 
• Traffic only to a single page, and no further exploration of your website.  

DDoS vs. DoS 

Let’s first briefly define a Denial of Service (DoS) attack. In this type of online attack, a source is maliciously infected in order to send big amounts of traffic to a target. The purpose is to saturate the system, to make it crash by exhausting its technical resources (CPU, RAM, etc.), or by exploiting a specific vulnerability and injecting a proper, harmful input. Then the service for users will be denied.

Now, let’s jump to the differences between DDoS vs. DoS attacks:

• Sources for attacking. In DoS attacks, the perpetrator only needs one Internet-connected device (source) to flood its victim with lots of forged requests or exploit a specific vulnerability within its software. DDoS attacks are executed from multiple sources, thousands, even millions of devices connected to the Internet.
• Way of execution. Generally, DoS weapons are apps like Low Orbit Ion Cannon or homemade codes. DDoS perpetrators use botnet armies, massive groups of malware-infected devices like PCs, routers, mobiles, Internet of Things (IoT) connected to the Internet. The traffic a DDoS attack can produce is heavy, much bigger than a DoS attack can.
• Damage scope. Both attacks can be very aggressive. But still, modern technology makes it easier to defend and even track the malicious source of a DoS attack, increasing the chances of identifying it and defeating it. It becomes a one-to-one fight (DoS). During a DDoS attack, you are fighting against multiple devices, possibly located in different countries or continents. You would have to track and stop all of them simultaneously. This is more like a war, and it definitely will demand so much more time and resources for the victim to defend and try stopping the attack. Thus, the damage scope of a DDoS is wider than the DoS one.

DDoS attacks Protection

There is a solution that can stop most of the DDoS attacks, even a strong attack involving heavy traffic, called DDoS Protection. It is an additional service to a regular managed DNS plan. 

To successfully mitigate a DDoS attack, you need to have the following 3 elements:

1. Active monitoring. You need a Monitoring solution system that checks for signs of attacks like increased traffic, suspicious traffic from particular IP addresses, and strange patterns of requests. 
2. Reactive service. One thing is to see the danger. Another is to take action. Good DDoS protection service must have auto triggers that will take action. This may include load balancing, traffic filtering, and an alarm system. 
3. Traffic load balancing. When we talk about heavy traffic, you need to direct the traffic to more servers. That way, you will balance the hit on one and disperse it to more. The more DNS servers your plan includes, the better possibility you have to resist the DDoS attack. 

You need to have an intelligent DDoS attack protection service that can distinguish between heavy traffic because of your excellent promotion or real danger. You don’t want to block your real users at any moment.

Discover Web monitoring from CloUDNS

What is the motivation of DDoS attackers?

Cybercriminals can have multiple reasons to use a DDoS attack, and the most common are:

• Extortion. The attacks can send waves of traffic towards the target and disturb the functionality of its services, causing technical problems, downtime, and miss of sales, demanding money for stopping the DDoS attack.
• DDoS-for-hire to attack the competition. On the Dark Web, people can hire hackers for DDoS attacks. Some people pay for such an attack to be directed towards their competitors. It is especially popular during important sales moments like Christmas, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or Easter promotions. If the competitor is down, it won’t receive visitors on its site, and they will go to another place. The one who paid the attack hopes a part of these visitors directs to its site.
• Cyberwarfare. The governments of some countries use DDoS attacks to target the opposition’s news sites, their communication, or other crucial services. The goal is to control the narrative and not allow free speech in their country. These attacks could be especially strong because countries have a lot of money for sponsoring them.
• Gamers’ conflicts. You could be surprised, but the gaming industry has already reached almost 200 billion dollars in revenues per year, so the stakes are high. Rival gamers use DDoS attacks to bother their competitors and try to lower their scores. Sometimes, they use DDoS to stop a competition game they are losing and demand a re-match.
• Hacktivism. Hackers also have an opinion. They might have a problem with the government, with a particular organization or event. Modern activism has many new ways to protest and express a point that includes cyberattacks.

Types of DDoS attacks

Over time, cyber criminals managed to create multiple technical approaches for taking out their victims through DDoS. Each of the techniques falls into one of the three general types of DDoS attacks, which are the following: 

Volume-Based or Volumetric Attacks

These are the most classic type of DDoS attacks. They use different methods for generating massive volumes of traffic to overwhelm the capacity of the victim’s resources. As a result, servers are overwhelmed with requests, networks are overwhelmed with traffic, and databases are overwhelmed with calls. Additionally, they saturate bandwidth and produce large traffic, which results in it being impossible for legitimate user traffic to flow into the targeted website.

Protocol Attacks

Protocol attacks, also known as state-exhaustion attacks, abuse protocols to overwhelm a particular resource, most commonly a server but occasionally firewalls or load balancers. They are designed in a way that allows them to consume the processing capacity of network infrastructure resources. Their target is usually Layer 3 and Layer 4 protocol communications and, more precisely, their weaknesses. These attacks are often measured in packets per second.

Application-Layer Attacks

These DDoS attacks target weaknesses in applications in order to force the application itself to fail. In contrast to other attacks that mainly concentrate on disrupting infrastructure, these attacks are initiated on Layer 7 (the Application layer) by opening connections and starting processes and transaction requests that consume limited resources, such as disk space and available memory. Yet, it can even result in overloaded CPUs or exhausted memory, which impacts the server and other applications. Layer 7 attacks are well-known that are difficult to prevent since it can be challenging to distinguish malicious traffic from regular traffic. Application DDoS attacks are usually measured in requests per second.

In real-world cases, criminals can actually use a combination of these types of DDoS in order to increase the intensity of the attack.

Popular DDoS attacks used by hackers

Let’s talk a little bit more about the most popular types of DDoS attacks initiated by cybercriminals!

Smurf Attack

The Smurf attack is performed over the ping tool (ICMP echo request). The ping tool is used to check the reachability of connected devices.  When you send a ping request to the destination address, you should receive a confirmation. In this DDoS attack, the ping is sent to a device but from a masked IP. The return confirmation doesn’t go to the original source, but it is redirected to the target of the attack. All the infected devices will do the same, and they will send the traffic to the victim.

Teardrop Attack

A Teardrop attack works by sending modified, oversized data packets to the victim’s device to make them inaccessible. Frequently, perpetrators use a specific bug for destabilizing the fragmentation codes or the reassembly feature of the TCP/IP protocol. This opens the door for the teardrop attack to happen.
Reassembling the maliciously modified data packets won’t be possible. This will produce repeated attempts to complete the task. And the constant cycle of these repetitions will cause the overlapping of the packets. Finally, to increase the strain, big traffic loads will be sent to the target for a definitive crash.

Ping Of Death

The Ping Of Death (POD) attacks using a common and valid tool with malicious objectives – the Ping command. Altered or oversized data packets are sent to the target through the ping command.
Consider that a correct IPv4 data packet (IP header included) must be 65,535 bytes. This is the standard allowed by the Internet protocol (IP). Perpetrators violate it and make the target struggle while trying to reassemble altered packets repeatedly. Target’s resources like memory will be exhausted, causing different problems, crashing included.
POD became popular because attackers don’t need deep knowledge about its victim, only its IP address.

Slowloris

A highly dangerous attack executed a single computer vs. a server. A sophisticated technique that takes down a server without disrupting the rest of the network’s ports and services. Slowloris operates by sending many partial requests to the server. It keeps sending more and more HTTP headers continuously but without completing those requests. These forged requests keep many connections open to the server for a longer time than usual to overwhelm the maximum concurrent connection pool. As a result, the system will slow down, additional connections from legit users will be denied.

Zero-day DDoS attack

A Zero-day, also called a zero-minute attack, is one that takes advantage of new vulnerabilities. People are not yet aware of them. Usually, those vulnerabilities appear on new updates or patches, but they can also exist since the software is launched. The name of the attack refers to the fact it is happening before the vulnerability perpetrators used is publicly known.

This attack can have a positive purpose when software companies pay people in exchange for reporting vulnerabilities of new products before their official release. But it also points to the reality that attacks are far from disappearing.

Preparing a DDoS attack

To launch a DDoS attack, first, the criminals need to “recruit” enough connected devices that later will generate the traffic. To do so, they infect those machines with different malicious software (from emails, visiting unprotected sites and more) and create so-called botnets – hijacked devices ready to be used when it is time for the attack. There are even markets for botnets, where you can buy an attack on a website of your choice.

The Consequences of DDoS attack

Experiencing such a harmful threat is highly unpleasant and can have a huge negative impact. Some of the possible outcomes of a successful attack include:

• Operational Disruption: One of the immediate consequences of a successful DDoS attack is the disruption of normal operations. Websites become sluggish or entirely inaccessible, leading to frustrated users, decreased productivity, and financial losses. E-commerce platforms, financial institutions, and online services are especially vulnerable, as downtime translates directly into revenue loss and damage to customer trust.
• Financial Loss: DDoS attacks can cause severe financial harm. Businesses may face not only the direct costs of mitigating the attack and restoring services but also indirect costs associated with reputational damage and lost customers. The financial damage can lead to legal consequences, especially if sensitive client information is compromised during the attack.
• Reputational Damage: Trust is a delicate matter in the digital space, and a DDoS attack can destroy it instantly. When customers cannot access services or experience disruptions, they may lose confidence in the affected organization and its ability to protect their interests. Rebuilding a reputation can be a long and difficult process.

How long does a DDoS attack last?

The duration of a DDoS attack can vary significantly based on the resources available to the attackers and the defensive measures of the target. DDoS attacks can last from a few minutes to several weeks. On average, however, most DDoS attacks last for around 24 hours, though some intense attacks can go on for days or even weeks.

Short-duration attacks can be a part of a coordinated strategy where attackers test a target’s vulnerabilities with brief bursts, estimating the response and preparedness of the target’s systems. These “hit-and-run” style attacks can cause considerable disruption in a short time, particularly if they target time-sensitive operations like financial transactions or sales events.

Prolonged DDoS attacks typically aim to exhaust the target’s resources or force them to pay a ransom in exchange for stopping the attack. Long-term attacks can be devastating as they may prevent an organization from functioning entirely, leading to major operational and financial issues.

Preparedness and robust DDoS protection are essential to mitigate the effects of both short and prolonged attacks.

Which industries are being targeted and why?

Certain industries are more frequently targeted by DDoS attacks due to their high online activity, competitive nature, and dependence on continuous uptime. Here are some of the industries most affected and why they are popular targets:

• Financial Services and Banking: Financial institutions are high-value targets due to their critical role in managing and securing funds and customer data. Attackers may aim to disrupt operations, damage reputation, or extort these institutions for ransom. A successful attack on a bank can lead to significant financial loss, operational chaos, and damage to customer trust.
• E-commerce and Retail: Online retail is another major target, especially during peak shopping seasons like Black Friday and holidays. Attacks during these times can severely impact sales revenue, as website downtime directly translates to lost customers and sales.
• Government and Public Sector: Government websites, especially those related to public communication, law enforcement, and emergency services, are frequent targets. These attacks may be politically motivated, intending to disrupt public access to information. Governments are also targeted to disrupt official communication channels.
• Gaming and Entertainment: The gaming industry is particularly vulnerable, as users expect real-time access and responsiveness. Gamers often participate in competitive or time-sensitive events where even short downtimes can lead to significant frustration and financial loss for companies. DDoS attacks are frequently employed to disrupt gaming servers.
• Media and News Websites: News outlets and media websites are also prime targets. Hacktivists may use DDoS attacks to silence certain news outlets or delay the publication of specific content. Attacks on these sites can reduce public access to information, potentially affecting the narrative on important topics.

How to prevent a DDoS attack and stay safe?

The cyber-criminals can make a vast network of botnets, but it doesn’t mean you can’t be protected. ClouDNS provides you two options to stay away from DDoS troubles.

You can choose and subscribe for a DDoS protected DNS.

All plans provide unlimited Layer 3-7 DDoS Protection. Whichever you pick from them, you will be able to use 4 DDoS protected DNS servers, 50+ Anycast locations and unlimited DNS queries. For big companies, we recommend our DDoS Protection L subscription with 400 DNS zones that you can manage.

DDoS Protected Plans

Or you can use a Secondary DNS as a backup DNS, so you always have a backup copy of your DNS records.

It adds resilience, reduce the outage periods by answering requests even if the Master is down.

Conclusion

The more extensive your DNS network is, the better. The massive traffic from the attackers can be distributed between your servers in the different locations, and it will ease the load. Don’t forget that modern DDoS attacks target different communication layers, so you will need intelligent DDoS protection to respond fast and accurately. 

To be safe, always choose quality DNS service provider like ClouDNS.

The post DDoS attacks and how to protect ourselves appeared first on ClouDNS Blog.

What is TCP/IP?

TCP and IP are two different communication protocols that complement each other’s functionality.

The Internet protocol or IP delivers (routes and addresses) data packets between a source (device or application) and their destination. It makes sure that those packets arrive at the right destination. It defines the rules and formats for applications and devices to communicate and exchange those data packets on a specific network or across different connected networks. 

The transmission control protocol or TCP organizes data in a specific manner to protect them while exchanged between a client and a server. It’s a very used protocol on networks by all types of devices and applications. TCP protects data’s integrity from the sending and all the way to their delivery.

The development of these protocols (TCP/IP) happened in the 1970s. In that decade, the ARPANET became really popular, which motivated the creation of more networks to connect different organizations. Since those networks used a different protocol to send data back and forth, they could not communicate among them. The creation of a technology that could work as an intermediary to allow such communication became a need. 

The combination of TCP and IP and its official adoption as the standard protocol -in 1983-for ARPANET (Internet’s predecessor) was the solution. No matter what other protocols networks used, if they supported TCP/IP, they could communicate with all the TCP/IP networks that existed.

The two technologies, TCP and IP, became the technical base for the modern Internet to operate and grow. Actually, here the word Internet emerged, meaning “an interconnected network of networks”.

How does it work?

IP protocol works through different rules and resources, like the IP addresses. To connect to the Internet, domains and devices get a unique IP address to be identified and allowed to communicate (exchange data) with other connected devices. 

Data travel across networks separated into pieces (packets). Every piece gets IP information (IP address) attached for routers to read it and send the packet to the correct destination. Once there, the way for those packets to be handle will depend on the kind of protocol (commonly TCP or UDP) combined with the IP to transport them.

IP is a connectionless protocol. All data packets are just addressed, routed, and delivered without existing acknowledgment from the destination to the source. This lack is resolved through the Transmission Control Protocol. 

TCP secures the travel and delivery of data packets across networks through a specific process. To start, a connection between the source and the destination is required, even before the transmission of data begins. This, because TCP is a connection-oriented protocol. To work properly, it needs to guarantee this active connection until the sending and receiving of data get completed.

When the communication begins, TCP takes the sender’s messages and chops them into packets. To protect messages’ integrity, TCP numbers every packet. Then packets are ready to go to the IP layer for being transported. They will be dispatched to travel around different routers and gateways of the network to reach their destination. No matter all the packets are part of the same message, they can have different routes to arrive at the same destination.

Once they all hit their destination, TCP proceeds to re-build the message by putting all their pieces (packets) together again to make a proper delivery. 

This ideal scenario can be affected if networks face issues. Data packets could get lost in transit, duplicated, or disordered. The advantage is TCP’s functionality can detect such problems and fix them. The protocol can ask the lost packets to be re-sent to organize them again in the correct order. In case messages can’t be delivered, this is reported to the sender (source).

As you see, the Internet is a packet-switched network. All data are chopped into packets that are dispatched through lots of different routes simultaneously. When they finally hit their destination, they get re-built by TCP. And IP is in charge of the packets to be sent to the correct destination.

TCP/IP layers

TCP/IP’s most updated model includes the following four layers. All collaborate for the same purpose, the transmission of data.

• Application layer. This is the top layer, and it supplies an interface for applications and network services to communicate. It identifies participants involved in a communication, defines the access to the network’s resources, and the rules for application protocols and transport services interaction. Application layer includes all the higher-level protocols like DNS, HTTP, SSH, FTP, SNMP, SMTP, DHCP, etc.
• Transport layer. It defines the amount of data and the rate for transporting data correctly. It receives messages from the application layer, divides them into pieces, transports them, re-builds them following the proper sequence, and solves possible issues to guarantee their integrity and proper delivery. TCP operates in this layer.
• Internet layer. The internet layer, also known as the IP or network layer (not to be confused with the network access layer), is in charge of sending packets and ensuring that data is transferred as precisely as possible. As it controls the direction and pace of traffic, it is somewhat similar to a traffic controller on a road. Additionally, it supplies the procedural steps and functionalities for transferring data sequences. This layer’s protocols include IPv4, IPv6, ICMP, and ARP.
• Network access layer: The OSI model’s data link layer and physical layer are combined to form the network access layer. It outlines the process through which data is actually transferred over the network. It also covers how hardware components that physically interact with a network, such as twisted-pair copper wire, optical fiber, and coaxial cable, transmit data via optical or electrical means. The network access layer is the bottom layer in the TCP/IP model.

Understanding the TCP Handshake process

The TCP handshake process is the key to establishing a reliable connection between two devices. Known as the “three-way handshake,” this method ensures that both the sender and receiver are ready for communication before any data is transmitted. Here’s how it works step-by-step:

1. SYN (Synchronization): The process begins when the client sends a SYN packet to the server, indicating a request to start communication. This packet also contains an initial sequence number, allowing the client to mark the starting point for data transmission.

What SYN flood attack is?

2. SYN-ACK (Acknowledgment of Synchronization): The server responds with a SYN-ACK packet, acknowledging the client’s request and including its own sequence number. This signals that the server is ready to receive data and has marked its starting point for tracking data segments.
3. ACK (Final Acknowledgment): The client sends an ACK packet back to the server, acknowledging the server’s response. This final step completes the handshake, and a stable connection is established, allowing data exchange to begin.

What is the difference between TCP and IP?

TCP and IP are two different computer network protocols. Each function in the data transmission process distinguishes TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) from IP (Internet Protocol). Using IP, you may find out where data is sent (your device has an IP address). Once that IP address has been discovered, TCP guarantees accurate data delivery. The pair make up the TCP/IP protocol suite.

In other words, TCP sends and receives mail while IP sorts it. Other protocols, such as UDP (User Datagram Protocol), can transfer data within the IP system without the usage of TCP, even though the two protocols are typically regarded as a pair. But for TCP to deliver data, it needs an IP address. So another distinction between IP and TCP is this.

How to find your TCP/IP address?

To find your TCP/IP address, you can use simple methods for both your public and private IP addresses. Your public IP address, which identifies your device on the internet, can be easily found by searching “What is my IP address” in most search engines. This method displays the IP address assigned to your network by your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

For your private IP address, which is used within your local network, the process varies slightly depending on your device:

1. On Windows: Open the Command Prompt and type ipconfig. Your IP address will be listed under the appropriate network adapter as the IPv4 Address.
2. On macOS: Go to System Preferences, select Network, and choose the network you’re connected to. Your IP address will be displayed there.
3. On Linux: Open the Terminal. You can find your IP address by typing ifconfig for older distributions or ip addr for newer ones. Your IP address will be listed under the relevant network interface. 
4. On mobile devices: Go to your Wi-Fi settings. Depending on your device, you may need to tap on the network you’re connected to see details like the IP address.

For TCP ports, determining which ports are being used by your device typically involves more technical steps. You can use network utilities or command-line tools to list active ports. These tools can help you identify which ports are open and in use, which is particularly useful for network troubleshooting or configuring firewall settings.

Remember, knowing your TCP/IP address is crucial for various network tasks, from setting up your home network to troubleshooting connectivity issues.

Are my data packets secure?

The answer is no. Why? When packets are sent between devices, they are highly susceptible to being intercepted by others. So, that’s why it’s better to utilize encryption and stay away from public Wi-Fi networks when transmitting messages that need to remain secret. But unfortunately, this is sometimes not enough, which is why you need to take other actions. Here’s what they are:

1. Use Monitoring service

Systematically monitoring your network for any unusual activity. This reduces the exposure gap you have to cyberattacks. Additionally, TCP monitoring, which is a feature of the Monitoring service, uses a highly specialized protocol to examine connectivity and find communication problems on network machines. As a result, it can quickly identify issues and alert you.

2. VPN

A VPN is a great way to guarantee that your data is securely encrypted and that your packets are safeguarded throughout network traffic. A VPN can be manually configured or purchased. Furthermore, VPN comes with numerous additional advantages. For example, website unblocking, location hiding, and restricting the pages you browse from being seen by your ISP (Internet Service Provider).

3. Employ HTTPS protocols

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS), the prefix for encrypted websites, denotes the security of user activity there. Websites that begin with “HTTP” are unable to provide the same level of protection. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connections are indicated by the “s” in HTTPS, which stands for secure. Doing this guarantees, the data is encrypted before being delivered to a server. Therefore, to prevent packet sniffing, it is preferable only to visit websites that start with “HTTPS.”

HTTP vs HTTPS: Why every website needs HTTPS today

4. Make use of Private DNS 

Another important way to secure your data is to use Private DNS. Nowadays, using Public DNS has a lot of dangers. With Private DNS, you will be more secure against cyberattacks. Why? Because you can use Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). These protocols encrypt any DNS queries sent out, and DNS over these protocols is known as DoH (DNS over HTTPS) and DoT (DNS over TLS).

Advantages of TCP/IP

• It allows connecting different kinds of devices.
• It makes possible cross-platform communications among diverse networks. 
• It supports different protocols for routing.
• It offers high possibilities of scalability. You can add networks without causing trouble. 
• It supplies IP addresses to devices for identifying them.
• It’s independent of the operating system.
• It’s an open protocol. No one owns it. Everybody can use it.
• It facilitates reliable communication through data packet retransmission in case of loss, ensuring data integrity.
• It offers robust error detection and correction capabilities, enhancing data transmission reliability.

Disadvantages of TCP/IP

• To replace protocols on TCP/IP is not simple.
• It doesn’t define clearly the concepts of services, protocols, and interfaces. It can be difficult to assign a category to new technologies included in modern networks.
• It works for wide networks. It’s not suitable for small ones (PAN or LAN).
• Susceptible to security vulnerabilities if not properly secured, making encryption and other security measures essential.

TCP vs UDP

There are clear differences between the transmission control protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP).

• TCP is connection-oriented, while UDP is connectionless. TCP requires an active connection to start and complete the data transmission, while UDP does not.
• TCP can recover lost packets by requiring retransmission. UDP can’t recover them.
• TCP is much slower than UDP because its process involves verification in almost every step. To guarantee the connection is active and the source ready to receive a message, to confirm delivery, etc. UDP only sends, avoiding those confirmation steps.
• TCP protects packets’ integrity efficiently. To protect this is not UDP’s strength. Its mechanism to check integrity (checksum) is less precise.

An Overview of TCP Monitoring vs UDP Monitoring

• TCP delivers ordered messages (by reassembling them based on a numerical sequence). UDP doesn’t offer this function.
• TCP guarantees the data delivery to their recipient. UDP doesn’t. 
• TCP detects and fixes possible errors better. It also supplies confirmation of delivery or reports the problem if it’s not possible to deliver. The UDP’s mechanism for error detection (checksum) is simpler and limited. It doesn’t confirm or inform about the delivery.
• TCP’s speed doesn’t solve latency. UDP really does it.
• TCP doesn’t support broadcast, while UDP really does since it does not require response or confirmation.
• The efficiency of TCP makes it ideal for applications that demand full integrity of data, zero loss (HTTP, FTP, IMAP, SSH, SMTP).
• UDP works very well for applications that require high speed and can afford data loss. Think about real-time applications like live video streaming, voice-over IP or online gaming.

Why does DNS use UDP?

TCP vs HTTP

The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) also differ between them. 

• TCP is used to set communication or a session between two machines (client and server). In contrast, HTTP is used for accessing data of webpages and accessing content (websites) from a web server. It’s a client-server protocol. Requests begin with the recipient, like a browser.
• TCP is a data transfer protocol. HTTP uses TCP for data transfer.
• TCP uses IP addresses, while HTTP uses hyperlinks, also known as URLs. 
• TCP is connected-oriented, while HTTP is stateless but not sessionless.
• TCP needs authentication (TCP-AO). HTTP does not.
• TCP process involves a three-way handshake, and this takes some time. HTTP is one-way communication. TCP is slower than HTTP.
• TCP uses different ports (80, 8000, 8080, etc.). HTTP usually uses the 80 port.

Conclusion

There are different protocols, and understanding their potential is basic to choose the one that better suits your network’s needs. In many cases, these technologies compliment others. TCP, independently and combined with IP, is an efficient protocol with useful functionality for the Internet and networks in general. Try them and get the best out of them!

The post TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) – What is it, and how does it work?  appeared first on ClouDNS Blog.

What does SEO (Search Engine Optimization) mean?

The SEO abbreviation stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it is the process of improving your website so that it can rank better on search engines’ results. The search engines like Google, Bing, Baidu, Yahoo, and Yandex create their own algorithms based on factors like content quality, keywords used, loading speed, and others to evaluate sites and rank them on their search pages in their free results. They usually have paid results in the beginning and free results after that. Site owners compete for the free results by constantly improving many aspects of their sites.

Some of the top SEO factors that search engines take into consideration are:

• Security – does the site uses a TLS certificate?
• Loading speed – how fast do the domain and all the elements of the site load?
• Mobile-friendliness – how well is it optimized for mobile (smartphone) use?
• Content quality – how well are the texts and articles written, and how well are the keywords selected?
• Crawlability – how easy is it for search engine bots to search the content on the site?
• Website structure – is there a good structure of menus, categories, articles, etc.?
• Backlinks – are the important sites that lead to the particular site?
• User experience – how good is the total experience for the visitors of the site?

The algorithms are not public, but SEO specialists have already understood many of the factors that strongly improve a site’s ranking. Those that we just mentioned are vital for getting a good position.

What is DNS (Domain Name System)?

Domain Name System, or DNS for short, is a decentralized hierarchical structure that links domain names (computers, services, resources, etc.) to their IP addresses (IPv4 or IPv6 addresses). It also links much more additional information information.

People like to compare it to a phonebook in which they can search for domain names like Wikipedia.org and find the IP addresses behind them without remembering long strings of numbers like 91.198.174.192 or 2620:0:862:ed1a::1. It makes everything easier both for humans and machines.

DNS was created in 1983 by Paul Mockapetris from the Internet Engineering Task Force – IETF. The main purpose of the DNS was to change the ever-growing HOSTS.TXT file that people needed to use to find hosts (computers) and to pave the road to the modern interconnected network called the Internet that was just getting popular at that time.

DNS history. When and why was DNS created?

Every time when somebody requests a new domain, his or her browser or application will perform a DNS query for the domain’s IP address. The request will travel a long way. First, it will visit the highest level of the DNS hierarchy called DNS root servers. Then, they will direct to the correct top-level domain server (TLD), based on the extension of the domain like .com. Finally, the TLD server will point to the corresponding authoritative name server, and finally, that last server can answer the DNS query.

You can see that there are many stops that a DNS query makes.

Does DNS service affect SEO, and how?

There are several ways how DNS could affect SEO results. Some are obvious, and others are not so clear. Let’s explore them one by one.

Site loading speed

The DNS is the first process that happens before a website gets loaded inside the visitors’ browser. As we already mentioned, the DNS resolution process is a long process that will add up to the total time that the visitor experience. There is a bit difference between an average of 20 milliseconds with a good DNS provider from all around the world or 200 milliseconds to 500 milliseconds leaving everything to the domain registrar.

Availability

Experiencing DNS outages often and for a long time most definitely affect your site SEO negatively. If a search bot tries to reach your site and it can’t do it, it will report this event. First, it won’t be able to index newly added pages quickly. Second, it will take a note about general availability that could worsen your site’s position.

DNS providers have multiple features to provide excellent DNS availability that includes: providing multiple name servers, Anycast that uses a single IP address for all of them, DDoS protection, DNS monitor, DNS Failover, and more.

Multiple locations

A DNS provider can offer you multiple points of presence (PoPs) that you can use and set name servers. It will significantly increase the speed for the visitors by shortening the route from them to the name servers. At CLouDNS we have one of the best Anycast DNS networks with 60+ PoPs located on 6 continents. All of our Premium DNS, DDoS Protected DNS and GeoDNS plans include Anycast DNS as well as many more, such as DNSSEC, DNS Failover, Reverse DNS, etc.

DNS migration

If the DNS migration is performed correctly and the proper measures were taken, there should be no feelable difference for the users nor the search engines’ bots. The problem occurs only if the TTL values of the previous DNS records are too high, and those DNS records won’t be deleted from the DNS caches of recursive name servers for long. Until the caches get updates, they will still point to the older address, resulting in downtime.

Changing of the IP address

If you have to change the IP address of your site, this should not negatively impact SEO as long as it is managed properly. Ensure that the transition is seamless by updating DNS records and monitoring performance to maintain high availability and user experience.

Which is the best DNS for me?

Optimizing DNS for SEO

Choosing a Fast DNS Provider

Selecting a reliable and fast DNS provider is crucial for improving your site’s DNS resolution time. Providers with optimized global networks and high response speeds can significantly reduce latency, ensuring faster and more consistent access for users. ClouDNS is a standout option, offering a robust global Anycast network with DDoS-protected DNS servers, DNSSEC for enhanced security, and flexible options like Secondary DNS, making it an ideal choice for high-performance, secure, and SEO-friendly DNS management.

Setting Up CDN and DNS Configuration

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) can be used in conjunction with DNS to improve your site’s loading speed. CDNs store cached versions of your site’s content on servers around the world. By integrating a CDN with your DNS provider, users can load your content from the server closest to them, reducing load times and improving SEO.

How to create your own CDN using DNS

Implementing DNS Prefetching

DNS prefetching is a browser feature that helps pre-resolve domain names that users are likely to click next. By adding the <link rel=”dns-prefetch” href=”//example.com”> tag, you instruct browsers to look up the DNS information for that domain before the user even clicks it, reducing potential latency.

Tip: Use DNS prefetching for external resources on your site, such as analytics, social media, and third-party widgets, to reduce delays.

DNS and International SEO

For websites with international audiences and global services, DNS configuration can impact international SEO strategies. Utilizing country-specific domains (ccTLDs) or regional subdomains helps search engines identify your target audiences. However, misconfigurations can lead to incorrect geotargeting, hurting your rankings in specific regions.

Tip: Use Google Search Console’s geotargeting settings and configure DNS properly to avoid conflicting signals.

Conclusion

In conclusion, DNS plays a pivotal role in enhancing SEO by directly impacting site speed, availability, and overall user experience. With optimized DNS settings, including faster DNS resolution, multiple locations, and proper IP address management, you’re not only improving user satisfaction but also signaling quality to search engines. Investing in a reliable DNS provider ensures smoother site operation and helps your site perform well across global search rankings. To truly benefit from your DNS setup, stay proactive about performance monitoring and consider advanced configurations like DNS prefetching and CDN integration.

The post DNS and SEO: How does DNS service affect SEO? appeared first on ClouDNS Blog.

To be more precise, the domain name resolution is a translation process between the domain name that people use while writing in their browsers and the site’s IP addresses. You need the IP address of a site to know where it is located and load it.

A website could have both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, and the DNS resolution of a domain name will ask for both of them. The IPv4 address will come in the form of a DNS A record, and the IPv6 will come in a DNS AAAA record.

Let’s get into the details, and see how it works, shall we?

Domain name resolution – Why is it important?

In the world of the Internet, the addresses don’t contain streets and cities. They have numbers and symbols. There are two types of addresses: IPv4 and IPv6. In order to enter a particular website, the user needs to get its IP. Instead of remembering all of the IPs of every website, we simply need to remember the domain name. The domain name is usually not hard to remember, and this makes it easier. When the user types the name of the website, the process of the domain name resolution starts.

So let’s proceed and explain the whole process of DNS resolution.

DNS resolution process

The browser of a user needs to get the IP and sends queries to the name servers. This process involves domain name resolvers. The first answer that your browser will get is the root server, then the TLD (top-level domain). The servers with the TLD of the website you want to visit (com, net, or another) will refer your queries to the next step in searching authoritative servers that know the exact IP address of the domain name. Then the domain name will be resolved.

Let’s breakdown the DNS resolution step-by-step: 

1. A user is typing a domain name like cloudns.net into their browser. The user needs an A or AAAA DNS record to resolve the domain name.
2. If your device’s cache has the IP address of cloudns.net, the domain name resolution will finish here, and the user will be able to open the website. But, if it does not, there will be more steps. The devices keep DNS records for visited sites, depending on the TTL (Time to Live) values of those DNS records. After the time they indicate, they will be deleted, and a new query needs to be performed.
3. If your computer doesn’t have the needed IP address, it will search for the answer by performing a DNS resolution query. The next destination on the way will be the recursive DNS servers of the internet services provider. They also keep a cache with DNS records of domain names that users have accessed. If the desired site’s DNS records are still there, the user will get an answer to its query and access the site. If not, there will be a series of interactive DNS queries to find the answer.
4. If the domain name resolution didn’t finish with the previous step, the recursive nameserver would search for the answer. The next step will be to ask the Root server, which is indicated with a “.” sign after the TLD (top-level domain). The Root server does not have an answer about the exact domain name, but it will provide one for the part it is responsible for – it will indicate all the nameservers for the TLD that we asked for. In our case, it will show the nameservers of .net.
5. The TLD DNS servers will have the answer of which exactly are the authoritative nameservers for the domain you are searching. The TLD servers of .net will have that information for all of the domain names that finish with .net. They will return that answer so the query can continue.
6. Now that we know where the authoritative nameserver of the domain name we want is, we can ask and get the A and AAAA records to understand the site’s IP address.
7. The Authoritative nameservers of the domain name will provide the DNS records, the DNS resolution will be made. The recursive nameserver of our ISP and our device will both save the DNS records that we obtained based on their TTL values. That way, if we soon want to visit the site again, we will save time and access the site faster.
8. Visit the site. Now with the DNS record already obtained, the user can access the site.

Do we need to care about it?

The answer is yes! For humans, the DNS resolution process is essential. And if something goes wrong, the use of the Internet by regular users would be extremely difficult. 

So we should be concerned about DNS resolution for two reasons:

1. The first one is the importance of the speed. When a user accesses your website, the DNS resolution is the first thing that happens. If your page takes too long to load and access, the user will probably leave. That’s why this process needs to be performed fast.
2. The second one is the availability. The nameserver in charge of handling your domain name needs to be trustworthy. A backup DNS service is a great technique to guarantee that your domain is always reachable by your customers.

What to do if DNS resolution is not working?

1. Check your internet connection. Many times when the domain name resolution fails, the main reason is that you are not connected to the Internet. Check your connectivity and restart your router.

2. Verify the problem is DNS-related. Before diving into DNS-specific solutions, confirm that the issue isn’t related to general connectivity. Try accessing the site with its IP address instead of its domain name. If this works, the problem likely lies with DNS resolution.

3. Obtain DNS server address automatically. Go to the network adapter and open the properties. Then search for the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and open its properties. From there, you can click on Obtain DNS server address automatically. This will allow your computer to receive the DNS settings from the DHCP server.

4. Release and then renew the DHCP IP address. There could be an IP address conflict because of the DHCP server. What you can do as a user is to give up the IP address lease. You can do that with a command from the Command Prompt:

ipconfig /release

After that, you can renew your IP address with the following:

ipconfig /renew

Now your connectivity should be restored.

5. Flush the DNS cache of your device. You can do that by accessing the Command Prompt (as an administrator) and performing the following command:

• On Windows, open Command Prompt and type: ipconfig /flushdns
• On macOS, open Terminal and type: sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
• On Linux, the command varies by distribution, but a common one is: sudo systemctl restart nscd

If you had a previous IP address of a domain that is no longer available, now you have deleted it. The device performs a DNS resolution again, and it should get the new IP address.

6. Disable any VPNs or proxies. VPNs and proxies can redirect your network traffic through different servers, which may cause DNS resolution issues. Try disabling them to see if that resolves the issue.

7. Check your hosts file. The hosts file on your computer can override DNS and manually map domain names to IP addresses. Ensure there are no incorrect entries that could be causing conflicts.

• On Windows, this file is located at C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
• On macOS and Linux, it’s at /etc/hosts

8. Update your DNS records. If you’re managing a domain and have recently changed DNS records, it might just be a matter of waiting. DNS propagation can take up to 48 hours.

9. The last resort is to contact your ISP and tell them the problem. There is a chance that it is related to its equipment or software, and it can fix it. Or maybe it is blocking some websites on purpose. You can at least try to find an answer from it.

DNS Monitoring: Keeping Resolution on Track

DNS resolution is a silent yet critical driver of the digital world, translating domain names into IP addresses. DNS monitoring services amplify this process’s reliability by offering continuous oversight. These services rapidly identify and help rectify resolution delays or failures, ensuring users can always reach their online destinations.

DNS monitoring checks are essential in validating the seamless operation of DNS resolution, crucial for uninterrupted internet navigation. By querying specific hostnames against expected responses, these checks can swiftly flag a DNS resolution process as operational (UP) or problematic (DOWN).

For example, monitoring might run a command like:

If the response matches the expected IP, the DNS is considered healthy. This proactive measure ensures DNS performance remains robust, which is vital for network reliability and the overall user experience.

In the event of discrepancies, debugging tools, including Traceroute, assist in tracing the issue to its source, allowing for quick resolution. Thus, integrating DNS monitoring checks is a strategic move to bolster network stability and maintain consistent service delivery.

Why do we need recursive servers?

Theoretically, authoritative nameservers are enough to keep the DNS resolution process running. You can think that the only kind of DNS servers we need is authoritative, but imagine how much load they will need to take if all the complete queries get to them.

For decreasing the load and increasing the speed, there are recursive servers (DNS resolvers) that keep the DNS records with the information needed to access a particular website for a defined period of time. This time is called TTL (time to live), and the process is named DNS cache. There are such recursive servers in the internet service providers that keep the information for many websites for the period of time defined by the TTL.

To make it easier to imagine, it generally functions as a name server, acting as a go-between the customer and the authoritative DNS server. However, without it, you won’t be able to access any website that you want to reach on.

Why DNS Resolution Times Matter and How to Improve Them

DNS resolution times are a key factor in overall website performance, as they determine how quickly a user can begin accessing a webpage. If this process takes too long, it can significantly delay page load time, creating a poor user experience. Delays have a negative impact on e-commerce and business sites, where faster loading speeds directly affect sales and user engagement.

Several factors influence DNS resolution speed are the following:

• Server Proximity: The closer the authoritative DNS server is to the user, the faster the response. Many DNS providers use Anycast routing, which directs queries to the nearest server, reducing latency and speeding up resolution times.
• Caching Efficiency: When DNS records are cached effectively, repeat queries can be answered instantly from the cache, avoiding the need for a full DNS lookup. Time to Live (TTL) values determine caching duration – longer TTLs reduce query frequency for stable sites, while shorter TTLs allow for more frequent updates.
• DNS Provider Choice: A reliable, high-performance DNS provider often has better infrastructure and caching policies, as well as multiple server locations worldwide, which can reduce resolution time. Providers typically offer faster, more secure DNS resolution than ISP default options.

How DNS Resolution Works with IPv4 and IPv6 Addresses

When domain resolution occurs, it can return either IPv4 or IPv6 addresses or both, depending on the server’s configuration and the client’s capability to use either protocol. This flexibility ensures that DNS can adapt to the gradual transition from IPv4 to IPv6, supporting both legacy systems and modern networks.

The two address types serve distinct purposes:

• IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4): IPv4 is the older protocol that uses 32-bit addresses, resulting in about 4.3 billion unique IPs. DNS A records are responsible for mapping domain names to their corresponding IPv4 addresses. However, with the explosive growth of internet-connected devices, IPv4 addresses are in short supply, which is where IPv6 steps in.
• IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6): IPv6 was developed to provide a vast address space, using 128-bit addresses that allow for 340 undecillion unique IPs. This address space is critical for the future of the internet, as more devices connect daily. DNS AAAA records are responsible for returning IPv6 addresses for a domain. Additionally, the newer version of IP offers benefits beyond capacity, including better routing efficiency and improved security features.

Conclusion

DNS is a very useful system that saves a lot of time and makes our lives easier. After this article, you will know better what happens when you open a web page, how exactly the DNS resolution works, and what it means a domain name resolution.

The post What is Domain Name Resolution? appeared first on ClouDNS Blog.

What is a DDNS (Dynamic DNS)?

DDNS, most commonly known as Dynamic DNS, is an automatic method of refreshing a name server. It can dynamically update DNS records without the need for human interaction. It is extremely useful for updating A and AAAA records when the host has changed its IP address.

Imagine this situation. You have a server in your office, and you are providing some service to your employees. You are using a standard/consumer-grade internet from a typical ISP (Internet service provider). You are getting a temporary IP address that could change the next type you connect or change automatically after some time. To provide a service, you 3 options:

1. A Static IP address that could be expensive.
2. Change the IP address manually every time it changes
3. Automatically update the IP addresses – Dynamic DNS or DDNS!

DDNS is a service that automatically and periodically updates your DNS’s A (IPv4) or AAAA (IPv6) records when your IP address changes. These IP changes are made by your Internet provider.

With DDNS you don’t need to worry about the changes in IP addresses!

In this article, you can find more information about what DNS is!

How does DDNS work?

The DDNS works in the following way: The DDNS client monitors the IP address for changes. When the address changes (which it will if you have a dynamic IP address), the DDNS (or Dynamic DNS) service updates your new IP address.

Let’s get back to the same example from before, you owning a server, connected to the Internet, and want to share service from it. 

This server will be connected to the internal network, and it will communicate with the Internet via NAT (Network Address Translation) router. The NAT router will provide an internal IP address to the server, probably via DHCP. To Make it available externally, we will need to perform port forwarding and get external Port (Portex) and external IP address (IPex). Now the service you want to share is visible with IPex and Portex, and people can use it through the Internet. The problem comes when this IP changes. 

First, you will need to register with a Dynamic DNS provider like us and set up a client software on your server. In the Dynamic DNS settings, you will give a fixed name to this server. Put the IPex, and we need to tell the NAT to automatically update it and send the data to the DNS server.  Inside the NAT’s settings, we will put the data from our Dynamic DNS service provider (our account and password). Now everything is ready. 

Free Dynamic DNS Service!

Why is it useful?

It can be very useful for people who want to host their website, access CCTV cameras, VPN, app or game server from their home computer. It is cheaper than to have a static public IP and by setting up DDNS, you will avoid the need to update all of your records whenever your IP changes manually. Also, a static IP address is not always an option; it depends on your Internet provider.

DDNS is a very flexible option. The way that Dynamic DNS gives a connected device the ability to notify DNS servers to automatically update, alongside the active DNS configuration, IP addresses, configured hostnames and some other information. This saves the need of an administrator who should do the changes.

Common use cases for DDNS

DDNS is a valuable tool in scenarios where devices are assigned dynamic IP addresses. Here are the key use cases:

• Home Servers: If you’re hosting a personal website, game server, or file storage at home, DDNS ensures you can always access your server via a fixed domain name, even if your IP changes regularly.
• Remote Access to Security Cameras: Many people use DDNS to view their home CCTV cameras remotely. Instead of updating the IP address every time it changes, DDNS keeps the connection steady through a permanent domain name.
• VPN and Remote Desktop: Whether for work or personal use, accessing a home or office network remotely via VPN or remote desktop is easier with DDNS, allowing uninterrupted connections despite changing IP addresses.
• IoT and Smart Home Devices: DDNS is often used to manage smart home systems or IoT devices. It ensures that even when your home’s IP changes, you can always reach devices like smart lights, thermostats, and more from any location.
• Game Servers and Media Streaming: Hosting a game or media server at home? DDNS provides consistent access for friends or family to your server, regardless of your ISP changing your IP.

By automating IP updates, DDNS saves you the hassle of manually tracking and updating IP changes, offering convenience and cost savings compared to static IPs.

Benefits

As you can see DDNS is a very convenient solution, and it has different advantages, but the main ones are the following:

Accessibility – You will be able to access your website or server, easily, without being worried. The IP will change, but this won’t stop any of your activities.

Practicality – You don’t need a network administrator to check and reconfigure your settings.

Economic – DDNS makes it cheaper; you won’t have IP address conflict in case you have many addresses, and they are used at the same time.

There are many other advantages, and you are probably thinking about how to start using DDNS. Luckily for you, it is relatively easy to switch to it. You can get a free DDNS service from ClouDNS. We provide it with all our plans, including the entirely free one. Just sign up for a new free account  and start using it.

Configuring Dynamic DNS

With each A and AAAA record, we provide a unique URL, so-called DynURL, when you are using our Dynamic DNS.
You can read the following step by step explanations on how to configure it, depending on your operating system down below.

First for Windows users, regardless of the version you have on your device:

• Dynamic DNS for Windows

Or watch the video tutorial:

If you are a MacOS or Linux user or another type of NIX system, you can follow these instructions:

• Dynamic DNS for Linux, Mac and all types of *NIX systems

Or watch the video tutorial:

If you have multiple Internet providers:

• Dynamic DNS for Linux, Mac and all types of *NIX systems with multiple network interfaces (Internet providers)

And even if you are using the data solutions of Synology, you can still benefit from the DDNS

• DDNS for Synology

With the help of ClouDNS, you can start using DDNS right away. This can help your business or personal project.

So what are you waiting for, start using it today!

The challenge without DDNS

Imagine owning a server that’s pivotal for your business operations. While internally connected, it communicates externally via a Network Address Translation router. Without DDNS:

1. Every time your external IP changes, you risk downtime or inaccessibility.
2. Manual updates are tedious and can lead to errors or oversights.
3. Business operations relying on constant server access might face disruptions.

Conclusion

In a digital era where consistency is king, DDNS stands out as a beacon, ensuring that shifting IP addresses don’t impede server access. As businesses increasingly rely on online operations, services like DDNS aren’t just conveniences—they’re necessities.

The post What is DDNS? How does it work and how to setup DDNS? appeared first on ClouDNS Blog.

Now let’s see the second word – propagation. To propagate, it means to spread ideas, opinions among people and places (Cambridge Dictionary). So DNS propagation is about spreading the DNS records’ changes through the vast network of DNS name servers.

What is DNS propagation?

It is the time it takes, from updating your DNS records in the Primary Zone in the Authoritative name server, and actually spreading this new information (a new DNS A record that points to a new host (IP address), change in a host and a service, or another) to all of the DNS recursive servers. When you make the changes in your DNS records, they will get instantly updated in the authoritative servers. It will take extra time, for the data, to be modified in all the recursive servers along the way, depending on the TTL values of the DNS records. The recursive servers have cache memory that temporarily stores the data.   

The connection passes through many recursive servers, including those in your internet provider (ISP). All of them have TTL (Time to live) which defines for how long they will keep the DNS cache with the DNS records. The DNS cache exists mostly for load balancing so that it won’t be so heavy on your nameservers and to make the whole process faster.

When a user uses their browser to open a web page for the first time, he or she will send a request all the way to an authoritative server. If it is not for the first time, the request will get an answer on the way in a recursive server, and if the data is still up to date, the user will get his answer quicker.

Basically, the DNS propagation depends on the TTL in the DNS records.

How much time does DNS propagation usually take?

The DNS propagation could take 48 hours or even 72 hours. It depends on the TTL values, and when was the last time your recursive DNS servers got their update, the name servers at TLD level, and the recursive servers at the ISPs. A recursive server won’t search for updates until the DNS records that it has in the cache memory expire.

Why the DNS propagation takes so long? 

4 factors really affect the DNS propagation speed:

1. The domain name registrar. When you buy a domain name, you get it from a domain name registrar. You will get a domain name with the TLD (top-level domain) you have chosen. The name servers will be there, and you will get their IP addresses. When you get a managed DNS, you need to make the change in this TLD’s name servers. The time it takes to update there is out of your hands and is usually up to 48 hours. 
2. The TTL values of the DNS records. This part we already mention a few times. The TTL value shows the time that recursive servers should keep the DNS records in their memory before updating. If you have the TTL value of an A record at 30 minutes, for example, it will take up to 30 minutes to propagate the change, depending on the last time it updated before.  
3. The recursive servers of the ISPs (internet service providers). Not all recursive DNS servers are the same. The ISPs have their own, and they could ignore the TTL values of your DNS records and keep them for longer. Why? Because they want to have less DNS traffic. So the ISPs recursive servers could be the bottleneck of your DNS propagation. 
4. The DNS cache of the users’ computers. When a visitor enters a website, the DNS records for this site will be saved on his or her computer, the time that the TTL value indicates. So, if you are a site owner and you want to visit your site, to which you recently change the IP address, you will need to flush the DNS cache. Then you can visit the site with its new IP address. The users will need to wait until the DNS propagation comes to them or flush the DNS tool.  

How to make the DNS propagation faster?

Yes, you can, and it is simple; you need to lower the TTL period of the DNS records. If you want to know more about it, you can read our article about TTL, where we recommend different duration for various DNS records. You will still need to wait for the expiry period that was set before. All the DNS caches need to expire and the recursive servers to refresh.

You can also force a zone transfer, and that way, push an update to all of the Secondary DNS servers. 

Just take into consideration that a lower TTL value for your DNS records will mean more DNS queries to the Authoritative name servers. This uses more server’s resources.

*Take a look at the previous point. You can’t control the DNS propagation when we are talking about the recursive servers of the ISPs and in the case of change on the TLD level.

How to check the DNS propagation?

It is an easy process. We will show you two ways, depending on your OS.

Windows 10
First, on Windows OS, you will need to open the Command Prompt. There you can use Nslookup on your web site. Just write:

 nslookup YOURWEBSITE.TLD

*Change YOURWEBSITE.TLD with your domain name.

It will perform a lookup for an A or AAAA record and show your website’s IPs, and you can see if they have already changed.

Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, etc.), and macOS 

For Linux OS, you can perform a dig command. Open your Terminal, and you can write: 

“dig YOURWEBSITE.TLD” command. You will get similar result like the nslookup command on Windows OS – the A or AAAA record and the current IP addresses. 

*Put your domain name on the place of YOURWEBSITE.TLD.

ClouDNS Free DNS tool

With the ClouDNS Free DNS tool, monitoring DNS propagation has never been more straightforward. It allows you to check the propagation of DNS records by selecting the specific DNS records and the corresponding resolver. Whether you’re updating A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, or any other DNS records, ClouDNS’s tool provides real-time insights into the status of DNS propagation across different locations globally. It’s designed for both beginners and advanced users who require detailed DNS information with ease of use. Simply navigate to the tool, enter the domain you wish to check, and let ClouDNS handle the rest.

ISP and TTL impact on DNS propagation

When you initiate a web address lookup, the query traverses from your local ISP-provided DNS resolver through a network of servers, culminating at an authoritative nameserver. However, if ISPs opt to extend the caching of DNS records beyond their set TTL, this can lead to unnecessary delays in DNS propagation. Conversely, setting appropriate TTL values is crucial; a longer TTL will mean slower updates globally, while shorter TTLs can ensure rapid propagation for frequent DNS changes. For critical services, a TTL as low as 30 seconds is recommended, though testing for recognition of ultra-low TTLs by resolvers is always a prudent step.

How to Troubleshoot DNS Propagation Issues

If you’re experiencing delays or problems with DNS propagation, here are several suggestions to fix them:

• Verify the Correct DNS Settings: Ensure your DNS settings (A, CNAME, MX) are correct at your domain registrar.
• Check Nameserver Configuration: Confirm that your domain is pointing to the correct nameservers, especially after migrating to a new DNS provider.
• Use DNS Propagation Checkers: Use multiple DNS propagation tools to check whether your records are updating globally.
• Flush Local and Server Caches: Sometimes, local caches (on your device or web servers) can hold old DNS information. Flush DNS caches on both local machines and web servers.

How does DNS caching affect DNS propagation?

While DNS propagation primarily depends on the time taken for DNS updates to spread across all servers, DNS caching plays a significant role in the experience of end users. Recursive DNS servers, ISPs, and even local devices cache DNS records to avoid overwhelming the authoritative DNS servers with requests. This caching system can delay updates for users who already have cached records, even if propagation has occurred on the DNS network. To ensure users receive updates quickly, you can prompt them to clear their DNS cache or wait for the cache to expire based on the Time to Live (TTL) value.

How DNS Propagation Affects Website Visitors

DNS propagation can result in visitors seeing different versions of your website depending on their location and when they access it. During this process, some visitors may:

• Be directed to the old IP address of your website while others see the updated one.
• Experience temporary downtime or slow access, especially if they are served outdated DNS records from cached resolvers.
• Face email delivery issues if your MX records have changed, but their ISP has not yet updated its cache.

This uneven experience will gradually resolve as DNS records are fully propagated.

Conclusion

Now you understand the essence of DNS propagation and its significance. Patience is key during this process, but with the tools and insights provided, you can efficiently monitor the status of your DNS updates. Remember, effective DNS management is foundational to ensuring your online presence is robust and reliable.

The post What is DNS propagation? How to check DNS propagation? appeared first on ClouDNS Blog.

DNS outage (DNS downtime) – what does it mean? 

The DNS outage (a.k.a. DNS downtime or DNS failure) is a period of time when the domain name can’t be resolved to its IP address. The clients will send a DNS query for a domain name, but the DNS recursive will either answer with the old IP address from its cache, which will not respond, or it will try to query the DNS authoritative name server of the domain name won’t get an answer. 

What causes DNS outages? 

DDoS attacks

DDoS or a denial of service attack, is a type of cyber-attack that involves multiple devices that work together, targeting a victim’s computer, with a large amount of traffic intending to make it unable to answer any more queries. To prevent any problems that a DDoS attack can cause, you will need a load balancing that can share the traffic between your servers, even if it is very strong. And also, you will need DDoS-protected servers. 

Maintainance of the authoritative name server

If you are using only one authoritative name server, whatever happens to it, can affect your DNS. If it needs updates and reboot, the time that it takes, the server won’t be able to respond to DNS queries. Updates and maintenance are needed, so you better have a Secondary DNS that can answer the queries meanwhile. 

A problem in the data center, where the authoritative name server is

The cloud equipment does not magically hover over the Earth. Instead, it resides in multiple data centers. These places can have problems like long-lasting electricity outages, natural disasters affecting the area, fire, or other problems. If you are using a cloud service, these issues are out of your hands, but you can use multiple servers in multiple data centers. If one is down, still, there will be more to answer the queries. 

Bad configuration

Errors in DNS configuration can cause DNS downtime. It can be a human mistake, like badly addressing caused by misspelling the IP address or domain name, script error, wrong firewall configuration, etc. 

If it is a misspelled problem, you can try to query the domain name and the IP address to see which does respond and which does not. 

If it is the firewall, you can check the ports if they were allowed. 

DNS propagation delay

When you add or remove DNS records (like A or AAAA records), the changes are not always instant. You are editing the zone file inside the Primary DNS server, and you can propagate to your Secondary DNS servers, but there are many DNS recursive servers that you don’t control. They can keep your old IP address and provide it to clients, even after you published a new one. 

What you can do about the DNS propagation is to push the zone transfer to your Secondary servers and to keep lower TTL values for your DNS records. 

It is not technically a DNS outage because it will affect only those with the older cached IP address of the domain name, but it was worth mentioning it.

How to avoid DNS downtime (outage)

The best way to avoid DNS outages is to have a robust DNS network that provides redundancy and can withstand strong traffic. The more servers you have, the better you are going to be prepared. Additional features might also facilitate the DNS administration and automate the process of handling problems. 

Use Secondary DNS services

A secondary DNS service provides you with the opportunity to use multiple Secondary DNS servers, which can be set as Secondary authoritative nameservers. They will have a copy of the zone file with the DNS records. They can answer queries for your domain, just like the Primary one. The big advantage is that they will keep answering even if the Primary is experience downtime. Having Secondary DNS is your DNS backup solution. 

You can learn more about it in this article, “What is backup DNS?”, and you can try our Secondary DNS plans with a 30-day free trial. 

Use DNS load balancing

DNS load balancing is also another nifty way to lower the chance of DNS outages. It is a mechanism for administrating the DNS traffic between the DNS server, based on criteria like the number of active connections, specific algorithm, time of connection, etc. 

It will reduce the stress on a particular DNS server and spread it between the network. 

It can help in case of a DDoS attack but also in a natural spike in traffic caused by increased clients’ queries. It can help you during a promotional period when you are experiencing higher traffic.

Be prepared with DNS Failover

DNS Failover is a trigger that will activate in case of a nameserver’s failure. It can automatically redirect the traffic without any human interaction, based on the information it gets from DNS monitors like ICMP ping, UDP requests, HTTP checks, etc. It is an easy way to keep your clients’ happy and provide DNS resolution, even if some of your DNS servers are experiencing some problems. We offer DNS Failover service with all of our paid plans.

Also, we recommend you to check our Brand new Monitoring service!

How to diagnose DNS outages?

When facing a DNS outage, quick diagnosis is essential to restore functionality. Follow these steps to pinpoint the problem:

• Ping the Domain

Use ping to check if the domain resolves and the server responds.

ping example.com

If it doesn’t resolve, it’s likely a DNS issue.

• Test DNS Resolution with nslookup

Verify if DNS is working by querying your DNS server with nslookup.

nslookup example.com

If it returns an IP address, DNS is working for that domain. But if it fails, the DNS server may be down or misconfigured.

• Run dig for detailed queries

Use dig for detailed DNS resolution data, including specific DNS record types.

dig example.com

Add +trace to follow the query path through name servers and find where it fails.

• Test with Alternate DNS Servers

Query public DNS servers (like Google’s 8.8.8.8) to rule out provider-specific issues.

nslookup example.com 8.8.8.8

If the domain resolves with a different DNS server, it suggests the problem is with your original DNS provider.

• Check DNS Propagation Delays

If you’ve recently made DNS changes (such as updating A or MX records), delays in DNS propagation could be the culprit. Use online tools like ClouDNS Free DNS tool to check whether your DNS records have propagated across global DNS servers.

• Check for DDoS attacks or high traffic loads

DNS outages can be caused by Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks or heavy traffic loads. Tools like TCPdump can help capture and analyze DNS traffic to detect abnormal patterns, such as a flood of queries or unusual IP activity.

Example:

sudo tcpdump -i eth0 port 53

This command captures DNS traffic, allowing you to inspect for signs of an attack. For real-time detection, combine TCPdump with network monitoring tools and DDoS mitigation services.

Troubleshooting 

What can you do when your domain is not reachable? 

As DNS administrator of the domain name, you can: 

• Suppose you have recently finished a DNS delegation. You might need to way up to 24 hours, so the changes are well propagated. 
• Check if you have paid for your domain name. If you have forgotten to pay your domain name, it won’t answer queries anymore when it expires. Set reminders for domain renovation and don’t miss the time. 
• Use the ping command to ping the DNS server from different locations to see if it is responding to any DNS requests. It is possible that you haven’t set up your nameservers correctly, and they are working but not answering queries for the domain name. 
• Try to reach the DNS server by using its IP address. If you can reach it, there might be a badly configured A or AAAA record that does not link well the domain name and its IP address. 
• Check your DNS monitor and see how the traffic is going. If you can’t see the monitor’s log, check if there were any unusual activities before the server stopped working. For example, it could have been a DDoS attack. If it is still happening, you can redirect the traffic and stop it. 

As a client who can’t reach a site: 

• You can have problems with the DNS cache of your device. You can flush the DNS of your device and your browser. This action will remove the previous DNS records that you have, and your device will search again for the A or AAAA record of the site you want to visit. If you had an older IP address, this could fix it. 
• Maybe your router is the problem. The router has a recursive DNS server that may need to be restarted. Pull its plug, then wait around a minute and connect it again. It should reboot and start working well again. 

Monitor your DNS server

Monitor your DNS for any strange pattern in traffic. There are different automatic monitors that you can set to see the traffic behavior. If something strange happens, you can see in almost real-time any changes and use the information to take action. 

You can monitor the DNS from different locations. That way, you can see if the problem is very local, is it regional, continental, or global. It will be easy to spot the problem.
DNS monitoring works best in combination with DNS Failover. You can set the monitor with the parameters that you prefer, and it will notify you and show you the data. But when you also have DNS Failover, you can connect this data and trigger automatic even in case of a down server. It can deactivate DNS records and replace them with working. It can also react in case the server gets up and add it to the list again. 

ClouDNS offers DNS Failover service for all of its paid customers. You can set it up and activate it for your domain fast and easily.

What are the consequences of a DNS outage?

If a DNS outage occurs, it could have a negative impact on your entire organization and community of customers. When DNS (Domain Name System) is down, websites, applications, and online services related to the domain name, such as emails, won’t function correctly. Unfortunately, that has the potential to damage operations, revenue, and brand reputation. In addition, you should act fast and quickly get it up and running again to regain all the temporarily lost functionality.

Yet, let’s assume the functionality of the DNS operations was seriously interrupted for a prolonged period of time. In that case, a DNS outage can potentially cause devastating consequences to the companies with an online presence. Here are some of the most common effects during this time: 

• Miss potential visitors
• Lose potential sales
• Have issues with services like email, FTP, VoIP, etc.
• Productivity losses
• Damage to reputation
• Impact on customers and strategic partners
• Diminished competitive advantage

It is crucial to implement all precautionary measures to avoid DNS outage’s negative influence on your business.

The biggest DNS outages in the history

• 2016 Dyn DNS Interruption: A significant disturbance shook the internet when Dyn, a leading DNS service provider, fell victim to an attack. Websites with heavy traffic, such as Twitter, Spotify, and Reddit, experienced outages. This event underscored the vulnerabilities tied to unsecured IoT devices.
• 2019 Cloudflare Outage: A misconfigured web application firewall rule caused a major disruption in Cloudflare’s services, impacting millions of websites.
• 2019 Google Cloud Outage: In June 2019, Google Cloud Platform experienced a significant outage that affected multiple services, including Gmail, YouTube, and Google Cloud Storage. A configuration change intended for a small number of servers in a single region was mistakenly applied to a larger number of servers across several neighboring regions.
• 2020 AWS Outage: In November 2020, Amazon Web Services (AWS) faced a significant outage that affected several services reliant on AWS’s infrastructure. This incident disrupted many online services and platforms, highlighting the vulnerabilities in centralized cloud infrastructures.
• 2021 Fastly Global Outage: In June 2021, a major global internet outage occurred, affecting numerous high-traffic websites including Reddit, Twitch, and even the UK government’s official website. This was traced back to a software bug in the Fastly CDN network, a critical infrastructure provider for many internet services.
• 2022 Microsoft Azure DNS Outage: In mid-2022, Microsoft’s cloud service, Azure, experienced a DNS outage. It impacted a wide range of services, from basic operations in Azure to third-party applications relying on Azure’s infrastructure. The outage underscored the need for robust failover systems and redundancy in cloud services.

Conclusion

A huge DDoS attack can lead to a DNS outage even if you have excellent infrastructure. But applying all the measurements can lower the time and the frequency of the DNS outages. Be prepared and intelligently manage your DNS traffic to be able to provide excellent service for your clients. Keep your business up!

The post What is a DNS outage (DNS downtime), and how to avoid it? appeared first on ClouDNS Blog.

Load Balancing – Definition

The network performance has become incredibly important. No matter if your organization is big or small, you don’t want to experience operational issues or network reliability problems. Load Balancing manages the demand by distributing the traffic and the application load over different servers depending on their current load.

It is not a new invention. In its early days, it was used between the end device and the application servers to check the servers and to send traffic to the least occupied.

But with the evolving of the networks, load balancing has gotten a new shape. Now it is not a simple distribution system. The load balancing has become very divided.

Here are some Load Balancing examples:

• There is application load balancer which distributes one single application over the servers; there is another which distributes only between the server cluster; another directs the traffic from multiple paths to a single destination.
• Other load balancing solutions are very advanced. They can shape the traffic and act as intelligent traffic switches, do different health checks on the content, applications, and servers, add extra security on the network and protect it from malicious software and improve availability.

Choosing load balancing is hard. You need to think about the demands on your networks and servers. You need 100% reliability on every part. If one component fails, this can lead to downtime.

Why Do You Need Load Balancing?

Load balancing is crucial for optimizing the performance, reliability, and scalability of your online services. Without it, a single server could become a bottleneck, causing downtime or even crashes during periods of high traffic. Load balancing helps distribute traffic efficiently across multiple servers, reducing the risk of server overloads and ensuring uninterrupted service. It also enhances user experience by providing faster response times and higher availability. Furthermore, load balancers help protect your infrastructure against DDoS attacks by distributing malicious traffic across multiple servers. It is particularly important for businesses with high traffic volumes or mission-critical services, as it can help maintain uptime and performance consistency. Another significant reason for adopting this mechanism is its scalability. As your website grows, adding more servers is a standard solution to manage the increased traffic load. Load balancing enables this growth by ensuring that new servers are smoothly integrated into your system without affecting overall performance.

How does it work?

Load balancing is achieved and managed with a tool or application that is called a load balancer. Despite the form of the load balancer (hardware or software), its main goal is to spread the network traffic among different servers and prevent overloading. 

Here are several steps which explain how load balancing works:

1. Your website receives traffic. Once users reach your website, they send a lot of requests to your server at the same time. 
2. The traffic is spread toward the server resources. The load balancer (hardware or software) intercepts and examines every request. Then, it directs it to the most suitable server node.
3. Every server works with a reasonable workload. The server node receives the request. When it is able to accept it, the server notifies the load balancer that it is not overloaded with too many requests.
4. The server answers the request. In order to complete the process, the server sends the response back to the user.

Whenever a user request arrives, the load balancer directs it to a precise server. The process repeats for every request. Load balancers are responsible for deciding which server is going to receive a precise request. That is determined based on different techniques for load balancing.

Types of Load Balancing

There are three appliances of Load Balancing – Physical, Virtual and Cloud-based.

Physical Appliance

This is the most traditional approach. The load balancer is placed right after the firewall and before the server cluster. Now you can expect the balancer to include more advanced functions like a built-in firewall and to be the all-in-one gatekeeper of the network.

There are other subtypes to the Physical. Some load balancers serve as caching devices, others like SSL accelerators or ADCs.

They are all physically present in the same data center as the application servers. The benefits that they provide are easy controlled and easy to connect and form bigger structures.

The negative part is that they are costly, you need to buy a lot of hardware and software to control them and lack geographical distribution.

Virtual Appliance

In the previous appliance, the main accent was put on hardware; here we don’t have a specific hardware. It runs on a virtual machine. This virtual machine provides the environment where the load balancing software works. It is a lot easier to apply because it can run on different computer configurations. It is cheap as well, and you can buy less expensive servers; the focus goes on the software, not on the hardware; it is easier to back up.

As for disadvantages, we can mention the problem with choosing a virtualization platform, and patches and upgrades can sometimes hurt the system.

Cloud-based Load Balancing

This is a convenient and robust solution for bigger networks. It is based on the cloud, and there it handles the load balancing and other functions like failover.

It manages interruptions, network problems, and outages far better and it can easily redistribute the traffic. Some other benefits of using Cloud-based Load Balancing are:

• Speed – it significantly reduces the response times and reduces the load on applications and web servers.
• Security – at load balancer level, DDoS attacks can be blocked and prevented.
• Low starting cost – you don’t need to buy software, nor expensive hardware. It is a service that you choose based on your current needs, and it is easily upgradable.

If you want to manage your DNS traffic (DNS requests) more efficiently, you can implement Load balancing in one of the following ways:

• Round Robin DNS

Round Robin DNS is a technique of load distribution, load balancing, or fault-tolerance provisioning multiple, redundant Internet Protocol service hosts (e.g. Web server, FTP servers), by managing the Domain Name System’s (DNS) responses to address requests from client computers according to an appropriate statistical model.

Round Robin DNS is often used to load balance requests between a number of Web servers. You can find more information regarding Round Robin DNS and how to use it here.

• GeoDNS

The GeoDNS service allows you to redirect your customers to specific IPs (servers) based on their geographic location. The service allows you to build your own CDN or to load balance your traffic. It is more accurate and smart than the Round-Robin. You can also set up different websites for each geolocation region. You can find detailed information regarding GeoDNS here.

Load Balancing Benefits

Load balancing is all about improving the management of network traffic and making the user experience better. Therefore, the benefits it provides are the following:

• Scalability: If you notice a drop or spikes in your traffic, you can easily increase or decrease the number of your servers to satisfy urgent requirements. That way, you can handle sudden massive amounts of requests. They usually appear, for instance, during a promotion or holiday sales.
• Redundancy: When you have the ability to maintain your website on multiple servers, you can ensure excellent uptime. Relying only on one web server hides a lot of risks that will force your visitors to leave your website. Load balancing is key if you can’t afford downtime.
• Flexibility: Load balancing gives you the ability to redirect traffic from one server to another. So that way, you have the flexibility to perform your regular maintenance work without disturbing the normal operations of your website.
• Avoid failures: Load balancing can be very helpful for avoiding failures. It spreads large amounts of traffic to the available servers and prevents outages. You can manage the servers efficiently and precisely. It is best if they are distributed across several data centers.
• DDoS attack protection: Spreading traffic across servers is also valuable when protecting against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. Load balancing helps when a particular server gets flooded with malicious traffic by a DDoS attack. The traffic is forwarded to many servers rather than just one, and the attack surface is reduced. This way, load balancing eliminates single points of failure, and your network is resilient against such attacks.

Who can benefit from load balancing?

Here are the organizations and sectors that can benefit significantly from load balancing:

• Websites and E-commerce: Websites with high traffic, online retailers, and e-commerce platforms benefit from load balancing to ensure fast page loading, minimal downtime, and a seamless user experience.
• Cloud Service Providers: Companies offering cloud-based services rely on this technique to distribute workloads across servers, ensuring scalability and fault tolerance for their customers.
• Enterprises: Large enterprises use load balancing to evenly distribute network traffic across servers, preventing overloads, optimizing resource utilization, and maintaining system stability.
• Content Delivery Networks (CDNs): CDNs use the mechanism to efficiently deliver content to users, reducing latency and improving the delivery of multimedia, software updates, and web content.
• Gaming Industry: Online gaming companies utilize it to handle multiplayer game traffic, reduce lag, maintain game responsiveness, and ensure a smooth gaming experience.
• Healthcare and Telecommunications: Critical sectors like healthcare and telecom rely on load balancing for fault tolerance and high availability, ensuring that vital services remain accessible even during peak loads or server failures.
• Internet Service Providers (ISPs): ISPs can optimize network traffic, improving internet connectivity for their customers and efficiently managing the load.
• Government and Educational Institutions: These organizations employ load balancing to handle high volumes of traffic on their websites and online resources, ensuring accessibility and reliability.

Best Practices

When implementing the load balancing mechanism, it is important to follow the best practices, which are the following:

• Implement Health Checks

Always use health checks to monitor the status of your servers. Regular monitoring ensures that traffic is routed only to functioning servers, preventing requests from being sent to unresponsive or slow servers, which can negatively affect the user experience. Health checks allow your load balancer to automatically exclude problem servers and reintroduce them once they are back online.

• Select the Right Type of Load Balancer

Choosing the appropriate load balancer for your needs is key. Hardware, software, and cloud-based load balancers each offer different advantages. For small businesses, a cloud-based load balancer can offer flexibility and scalability, while enterprises with complex needs may benefit from physical or hybrid solutions. Consider your traffic type, load, and future growth when making a decision.

• Prioritize Redundancy and Failover Plans

Always ensure you have redundancy built into your load balancing setup. A backup or failover load balancer should be in place to take over in case the primary one fails. This ensures that traffic continues to flow smoothly even during server or network outages, thereby maintaining high availability for your users.

• Enhance Security

Load balancers are a frontline defense against Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks and other malicious traffic. By distributing traffic, they prevent bottlenecks that attackers aim to exploit. Implement DDoS protection strategies alongside load balancing, such as limiting excessive connections from a single source and setting up rate-limiting rules.

• Leverage Geo-based Load Balancing

For global businesses, using geo-based load balancing can significantly improve the user experience. This strategy directs users to the server closest to their geographic location, reducing latency and speeding up content delivery. By leveraging GeoDNS, businesses can ensure that customers experience fast, reliable service no matter where they are located.

• Monitor and Optimize Regularly

After setting up load balancing, ongoing monitoring and optimization are crucial to maintaining performance. Regularly assess traffic patterns, response times, and server health to ensure the configuration continues to meet your needs. Make adjustments as your infrastructure or traffic load changes to keep everything running smoothly.

Conclusion

As always you should know the needs of your organization to choose how exactly to implement the load balancing. Based on the advantages we recommend to start with a Cloud-based Load Balancing. You can sign up for free to use Round Robin DNS or if you want to use the more advanced GeoDNS service, you can find details about prices and features on our website.

The post What is Load Balancing? appeared first on ClouDNS Blog.

Understanding Enterprise DNS

Enterprise DNS is an advanced DNS service designed to meet the unique needs of large companies and organizations. It extends far beyond the capabilities of traditional DNS plans and services. It offers custom-tailored solutions to handle the extensive demands of modern businesses with expansive networks. Enterprise DNS ensures optimal domain name resolution, load balancing, and advanced traffic management, enhancing the reliability and performance of network services for these companies. It delivers the scalability and customization necessary to handle the complex and high-demand DNS needs of large enterprises. That way, it contributes to smoother online operations and improved user experiences.

Who needs Enterprise DNS?

Enterprise DNS is a must for various types of businesses and organizations, each with its own specific requirements. Here are some key players who can benefit from investing in Enterprise DNS solutions: 

• Large Enterprises: Big corporations with extensive online presence, multiple departments, and a global customer base mainly aim for Enterprise DNS. These organizations require highly available, fault-tolerant, and scalable DNS solutions to ensure their online services are always accessible. This service helps them efficiently handle large volumes of traffic and distribute it across multiple servers, ensuring minimal downtime.
• Big e-commerce sites. Having a huge shop means countless requests all the time. You need a network of DNS servers that can handle the traffic and offer fast speed to your customers, regardless of their current location. 
• Mission-critical applications. It is a must-have for all those applications that can’t afford even the shortest downtime. For some organizations, bad DNS can completely stop them and lead to severe problems. Imagine companies that provide power grid management or public transport. 
• Online Service Providers: Companies offering cloud-based or Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions must guarantee uninterrupted service to their customers. With Enterprise DNS and directing traffic to the closest servers, they can significantly improve the user experience and minimize latency.
• Content Delivery Networks (CDNs): CDN providers highly rely on the advanced DNS capabilities. Enterprise DNS is really valuable in delivering the needed content quickly and efficiently to users all around the world.

Benefits of using Enterprise DNS

Enterprise DNS services are usually the top-of-the-line ones. They gathered the benefits of the rest and packed them inside a special plan that best suits big companies. It provides a range of benefits, including:

• High Availability: Redundancy and failover mechanisms ensure that your services remain online even in the face of server or network failures.
• Maximum Speed: By directing users to the nearest servers, this service is able to provide the highest speed. As a result, it reduces latency and improves the user experience.
• Protection: The Enterprise solution offers advanced security measures to protect against DDoS attacks, data breaches, and other online threats.
• Scalability: It is designed to handle growing traffic and can be easily scaled to meet the increasing demands of your organization.
• Global Reach: Enterprise DNS can ensure seamless traffic management across different regions for businesses with a global presence.

Enterprise DNS by ClouDNS

The Enterprise DNS service provided by ClouDNS provides an advanced solution for our large clients. It offers the following features and advantages:

• 100% DNS availability. We provide excellent uptime thanks to our Anycast DNS that has 50+ servers, set in important parts of the world. If one is down, there still will be the rest available that can handle the traffic. 
• Administrate more than 20,000 DNS records in a single DNS zone. Our system can administrate many DNS records. We have clients who use Enterprise DNS to create DNS-based Black Lists with 300000+ DNS records.  
• Immediate propagation. You can manage and monitor the domain propagation through our web-based control panel. You can lower the TTL values down to 1 minute and have zero downtime while doing it.  
• DDoS Protection. Every year the situation with DDoS attacks is getting worse. We developed our DDoS protection back in 2014, and since then, we have significantly improved it.
• Great speed. To achieve it, we have created an Anycast network of 50+ servers. Your clients will get their queries resolved from the closest. The speed will be excellent, no matter if your clients connect from Africa or North America.  
• White-label DNS and dedicated IPs. We work with many Internet providers, hosting companies, and telecoms. White-label DNS lets you use our services and integrate them into yours. That way, you can add excellent DNS services without the need for your own infrastructure. 
• Excellent 24/7 support. And of course, we provide constant support over live chat and also tickets system. We are always online to assist you with your needs. 

How to Get Started?

Getting started with Enterprise DNS from ClouDNS is simple and easy. To begin, we recommend visiting our dedicated Enterprise DNS page, where you can explore the full range of features and benefits designed for large-scale businesses.

For all of your specific requirements or questions, make sure to contact our expert sales team, which is ready to assist you and is happy to help. They can provide tailored solutions based on your organization’s unique needs, ensuring the perfect match for your DNS requirements. Whether you’re looking for improved speed, enhanced security, or scalable infrastructure, ClouDNS has the expertise to help your business thrive online.

Contact our sales team today and let us help you get the perfect DNS solution for your business and your growing infrastructure!

Conclusion

If you need an Enterprise DNS, one that won’t let you down, ClouDNS is here for you. We won’t limit your queries, and we will provide Anycast servers for great traffic handling and excellent speed. 

The post What is Enterprise DNS? appeared first on ClouDNS Blog.

What is DNSSEC?

DNSSEC is a security extension that uses a combination of public and private keys to sign data and verify the authoritative server.

DNSSEC is a cryptographic solution for domain authentication. 

With it, even if a recursive server was poisoned by hackers, it won’t send the visitors to a shady website where their personal data and bank information can be stolen. The DNSSEC must be applied at each step, from the root zone to the domain. The root zone will have a key for the .com and the .com will have for the EXAMPLE.com. DNSSEC is a chain of trust that needs to be verified on each point.

How DNS Works and the Role of DNSSEC

We have already talked about how DNS works. Briefly explained, it is a system that facilitates our lives by translating domain names to their IP addresses. This way, visitors don’t need to remember IP addresses and just write the name of the domain. In the DNS, users’ requests go through different recursive servers until it reaches the root zone where the IP addresses are stored.

However, when DNS was created, security wasn’t a major concern. This left DNS vulnerable to attacks such as DNS spoofing (or cache poisoning), where a hacker manipulates DNS records to redirect users to malicious sites. DNSSEC was developed to secure the DNS without completely rebuilding its core architecture.

The Importance of DNS Security

The DNS Security should not be neglected. Especially when we think about how many people connect their devices and use them on unsecured public Wi-Fi networks. Their DNS traffic could go to a poisoned DNS resolver that has modified DNS records. A modified DNS record could lead to a similar or exactly the same looking site that is there to get the person’s personal data, including bank data. The victim won’t even notice there was a problem until it is too late and all thanks to the weak DNS security that a non-DNSSEC solution offers by default. 

When you apply DNSSEC for your domain, all those users who are using public Wi-Fi networks or private ones will be safe from such scams. Their web browser will recognize the DNS record that is not signed correctly with DNSSEC, and it will drop it. 

The DNSSEC is proof of original and non-manipulated DNS records that secures DNS and fixes its flaws. It is cryptographically protected and secure.

How does DNSSEC work?

DNSSEC works by adding digital signatures to DNS records using public-key cryptography. Here’s a simplified breakdown of how it works:

1. Public and Private Keys: DNSSEC uses a pair of cryptographic keys – one public and one private. The private key is used to generate digital signatures for DNS data, and the public key is used by DNS resolvers to verify that the signatures are valid.
2. Signing DNS Records: When DNSSEC is enabled for a domain, its DNS records are digitally signed using the domain’s private key. This means that if anyone tries to tamper with the records, the signature will no longer match, and the change can be detected.
3. Chain of Trust: DNSSEC uses a hierarchical trust model. On top of this trust is the DNS root zone, which is managed by trusted organizations. Each level of the DNS hierarchy (from the root to TLDs like .com, down to individual domains) is responsible for signing the records at the next level down. For example, if you own a domain like “example.com”, your domain’s signatures are verified by the “.com” zone, which in turn is verified by the root zone.
4. Resolvers and Validation: When a DNS resolver queries a DNSSEC-enabled domain, it not only receives the usual DNS data (such as the IP address) but also the associated digital signatures. The resolver then uses the public key associated with the domain to verify the signature. If the signature is valid, the resolver can be confident that the DNS data hasn’t been modified.

Key Components of DNSSEC

There are a few critical terms and components to understand when discussing DNSSEC:

1. DNS Record Types: DNSSEC adds several new DNS records to achieve signature validation.
   • RRSIG: The digital signature associated with a particular set of DNS records.
   • DNSKEY: This record contains the public key used to verify RRSIGs.
   • DS Record: A delegation signer record that authenticates the connection between a domain’s DNS zone and its parent zone. It contains a hash of the DNSKEY record, which allows resolvers to verify the authenticity of DNS responses and ensure the integrity of the domain’s DNS data.
   • NSEC/NSEC3: It is a pointer to the next secure record name in the zone.
2. Resource Record sets (RRsets): They gather the same type of DNS records, such as A, AAAA, and MX. The RRsets help to reduce the complication of verifying single records.
3. Zone-Signing Keys (ZSK): These keys are used by the DNS zone operator to sign individual DNS records (RRsets) within the zone. The private ZSK signs the RRsets and saves them in the form of RRSIG records. The public ZSK is published in the form of DNSKEY to validate these signatures.
4. Key-Signing Keys (KSK): The KSK is used to sign the DNSKEY record, which includes the public ZSK. The private KSK signs both the KSK and the ZSK, ensuring trust in the zone’s cryptographic keys.

What does DNSSEC mean for the end users?

Enabling DNSSEC will guarantee that the users will access the right website, not a fake copy. It doesn’t remove the need of a SSL certificate for data encryption and further protection of users’ data, but it secures the otherwise unsecured DNS.

Who Needs DNSSEC?

The simple answer is anyone with a domain name! However, some types of websites benefit the most from this solution:

• eCommerce Sites: Protecting customers’ financial information and preventing phishing attacks is critical. DNSSEC ensures that users connect to the correct server and are not misled by a fake site.
• Financial Institutions: Online banking services are frequent targets of DNS attacks, especially due to the sensitive nature of their transactions. Implementing DNSSEC is crucial to protecting both customers and the institution from fraudulent activities.
• Healthcare Organizations: With the rise of online health services and medical records, healthcare websites need to ensure the privacy and accuracy of patient data. DNSSEC adds a layer of protection essential for safeguarding personal health information.
• Enterprises: Large corporations often have multiple domains, subdomains, and services hosted online. DNSSEC prevents DNS hijacking that could damage the company’s reputation and customer trust.

Even if you run a small blog or a simple business website, this service ensures your domain won’t be exploited for malicious purposes. It’s a valuable tool for maintaining the security and integrity of any online property.

ClouDNS and DNSSEC

ClouDNS offers DNSSEC both for Primary and Secondary DNS for each of our paid DNS plans. The DNSSEC is compatible with non-DNSSEC resolvers too. This means that if you enable it, The DNS will continue to function without problems even if the resolver(s) doesn’t support DNSSEC. Having a secure DNS is easy.

Benefits

Some of the key benefits include the following:

• Improved Security: It ensures the authenticity and integrity of DNS responses by digitally signing DNS data, protecting against attacks like DNS spoofing and cache poisoning.
• Data Integrity: It guarantees that the DNS data has not been tampered with during transmission, ensuring reliable communication.
• Trust Establishment: DNSSEC creates a chain of trust from the root DNS servers down to individual domains, enhancing overall trust in internet services.
• Prevents Redirection: It helps prevent users from being unknowingly redirected to malicious websites by ensuring the validity of DNS responses.

Cons of DNSSEC

As you could guess, there are some negatives with it too. Apply it correctly will create more records. Furthermore, it will increase the size of the DNS responses.
Still we recommend the use of DNSSEC. It is not hard to apply, it will provide an extra security and save you many problems with your clients.

Conclusion

DNSSEC plays a vital role in keeping the internet secure. As cyber threats like DNS spoofing, man-in-the-middle attacks, and cache poisoning are becoming common, protecting your DNS is essential. By using this service, you protect the integrity of your domain and ensure that your users can always reach your legitimate website. No matter the size of your online presence, whether it’s a personal blog or a large company, DNSSEC offers an important layer of protection that helps keep your domain secure and trustworthy.

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