So, you’ve started a company, you’ve bought a domain name from a domain registrar, and you go to put your first DNS record in. STOP!!! Don’t leave DNS in the hands of a registrar that just looks to up sell addons. They may be great at getting you the domain name at the price point you’ve always wanted but that’s where it should end.
In today’s digital age, Domain Name System (DNS) plays a critical role in the success of not only enterprises, but your small and large businesses. DNS is responsible for translating domain names into IP addresses and plays an important role in ensuring that internet traffic is directed to the correct servers. It’s basically one of the parts that makes the internet work, yet it can be one of the factors that also makes it break. DNS is not only responsible for translating domain names to IP addresses, but for various other tasks such as load balancing, failover and security too. DNS is essential for businesses and enterprises that need reliable, secure internet services.
However, not all DNS solutions are created equal. While domain registrars may offer DNS services, they are often basic and lack the necessary features for enterprise use. In this blog, we will explore three popular enterprise DNS solutions with a plus, not just your basic DNS: Cloudflare, Route 53, and Azure DNS. We will also explore the benefits of using these solutions over domain registrar DNS.
Cloudflare DNS
Cloudflare is a well-known company that provides a range of internet services, including DNS. Although Cloudflare might not be in the same category as the 3 major cloud vendors, DNS offers a fast, secure, global scalable DNS resolvers, which is used by many enterprises. It offers many features such as DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security Extensions), DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) protection, and automatic failover. I’ll most likely go into DNSSEC and DDoS in another blog post.
One of the key benefits of using Cloudflare DNS is its speed. They are insanely quick.
Cloudflare operates a large global network of datacentres that are strategically placed around the world. This ensures that DNS queries are resolved quickly, regardless of where the user is located. Cloudflare also uses Anycast routing, which ensures that DNS queries are routed to the closest datacentre as this improves the speed and reliability of DNS services.
Another benefit of Cloudflare DNS is its security features. Cloudflare offers free DDoS mitigation and protection, which is essential for and business or enterprise that are at risk of DDoS attacks. Cloudflare also supports free DNSSEC, which ensures that DNS responses are authentic and have not been tampered with. Although free isn’t necessarily always good Cloudflare’s free offerings are. You get the best protection and value of service by using their free CDN (Content Delivery Network) with high speed and low latency.
Finally, Cloudflare offers automatic failover, which is essential for enterprises that require high availability. If a server goes down, Cloudflare will automatically route traffic to another server, ensuring that the service remains available. With Cloudflare’s free tier, free DNS and domain wholesale pricing which is a reason to even transfer your domain to them it’s a no brainer.
Route 53
Route 53 is a DNS service offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS). It is a scalable and highly available DNS service that is designed for use with AWS services. It offers many features such as health checks, geo-routing, and latency-based routing.
One of the key benefits of Route 53 is its scalability. Route 53 is designed to handle large volumes of DNS queries, making it ideal for enterprises that require a high volume of DNS queries. Route 53 is also highly available, with a 100% SLA for DNS queries. This ensures that DNS queries are always answered, even in the event of a server failure.
Another benefit of Route 53 is it’s advanced routing capabilities. Route 53 supports geo-routing, which allows enterprises to direct traffic to different servers based on the user’s location. This is particularly useful for enterprises that have servers located in different parts of the world. Route 53 also supports latency-based routing, which allows enterprises to direct traffic to the server that has the lowest latency to the user. This improves the speed and reliability of the service.
Finally, Route 53 offers health checks, which are essential for enterprises that require high availability. Route 53 can monitor the health of servers and automatically route traffic to healthy servers. This ensures that the service remains available, even in the event of a server failure. Route 53 is a great choice for enterprises that are already using Amazon Web Services (AWS). Route 53 integrates seamlessly with other AWS services, making it easy to manage DNS records and routing if your already in that ecosystem.
Azure DNS
Azure DNS is a DNS service offered within Microsoft Azure. It is a scalable and highly available DNS service that integrates well with other Azure services. Although it can be used just to host DNS, it offers many features such as traffic manager integration, private DNS, and DNSSEC.
One of the key benefits of Azure DNS is its scalability. Azure DNS is designed to handle large volumes of DNS queries, making it ideal for enterprises that require a high volume of DNS queries. Azure DNS is also highly available, with a 99.99% SLA for DNS queries. This ensures that DNS queries are always answered, even in the event of a server failure.
Another benefit of Azure DNS is it’s integration with Azure services. Azure DNS can be easily integrated with other Azure services, such as traffic manager. This allows enterprises to direct traffic to different servers based on their location or performance. Azure DNS also supports private DNS, which allows enterprises to create custom DNS zones for their private networks.
Finally, Azure DNS supports DNSSEC, which ensures that DNS responses are authentic and have not been tampered with. This is important for enterprises that require secure DNS services. Azure DNS is an excellent choice for enterprises that are already using Azure services. Azure DNS integrates seamlessly with other Azure services, including traffic manager, and offers advanced security features, such as DNSSEC. Azure DNS also supports private DNS, which is essential for enterprises that require custom DNS zones for their private networks.
Benefits over domain registrar DNS
While domain registrars may offer basic DNS services, they are often not sufficient for enterprise use. Enterprise DNS solutions, such as Cloudflare, Route 53, and Azure DNS, offer many benefits over domain registrar DNS. It’s DNS but with a plus.
There is a common theme scalable and high availability. Enterprise DNS solutions are designed to handle large volumes of DNS queries, making them ideal for enterprises that require a high volume of DNS queries. This ensures that DNS queries are answered quickly and reliably, even during periods of high traffic. They offer a high level of availability, with SLAs that guarantee that DNS queries will always be answered. This ensures that the service remains available, even in the event of a server failure.
Enterprise DNS solutions also offer advanced routing capabilities, such as geo-routing and latency-based routing. These routing capabilities allow enterprises to direct traffic to different servers based on the user’s location or performance. This improves the speed and reliability of the service, ensuring that users can access the service quickly and reliably.
Finally, enterprise DNS solutions offer advanced security features, such as DDoS protection and DNSSEC. These security features protect against attacks DNS attacks, such as DNS spoofing and DNS cache poisoning, which can compromise the security of an enterprise’s online services. DNSSEC provides cryptographic security for DNS queries and ensure that DNS responses are authentic and have not been tampered with. DDoS protection helps prevent DNS attacks by filtering out malicious traffic which is essential for enterprises that require secure and reliable internet services.
Cost
One important consideration for businesses and enterprises when selecting an enterprise DNS solution is cost. While the cost of enterprise DNS solutions can vary widely, they are typically more expensive than domain registrar DNS services. However, the benefits of enterprise DNS solutions often outweigh the additional cost, particularly for enterprises that require a high volume of DNS queries or have strict security requirements. Apart from Cloudflare, which you will have an unlimited amount of queries, the cost of a million queries is as cheap as chips.
Conclusion
In conclusion, DNS is a critical component of the success of enterprises. While domain registrar DNS may be suitable for small businesses or personal use, it is often not sufficient for enterprise use. Enterprise DNS solutions, such as Cloudflare, Route 53, and Azure DNS, offer many benefits over domain registrar DNS.
With the right enterprise DNS solution in place, enterprises can ensure that their DNS services are fast, reliable and secure, providing a solid foundation for their internet services.
UPDATED: What is DDoS and DNSSEC?
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