The DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) were introduced to address fundamental vulnerabilities in the Domain Name System (DNS), ensuring the authenticity and integrity of DNS responses. At the heart of DNSSEC lies the chain of trust, a hierarchical framework that uses cryptographic signatures to verify the legitimacy of DNS records. While DNSSEC is primarily a mechanism…
Emergency routing changes during outages are a critical aspect of network operations, enabling organizations to maintain connectivity, minimize disruptions, and safeguard critical services. Outages, whether caused by hardware failures, fiber cuts, DDoS attacks, or natural disasters, can have far-reaching impacts on routing and traffic flows. In such situations, network operators must act quickly and decisively,…
For domain operators, managing routing costs is a crucial aspect of maintaining profitability and ensuring efficient service delivery. The internet’s decentralized architecture relies on routing decisions made through protocols like BGP, which dictate how traffic flows between networks. These decisions have direct financial implications, as they influence the use of transit providers, peering agreements, and…
DNS query path visualizations offer a powerful way to understand the intricate journey that a domain name request takes from the initial query to its resolution. As a cornerstone of internet functionality, the Domain Name System (DNS) translates human-readable domain names into IP addresses, enabling seamless access to websites, applications, and online services. While this…
BGP communities are a versatile and powerful feature of the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) that enable network operators to apply granular control over routing decisions, making them an essential tool for traffic engineering. By attaching metadata to route advertisements, BGP communities allow operators to influence how their prefixes are handled by peers, upstream providers, and…
Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) leaks are among the most disruptive events in the world of internet routing. These incidents occur when a network improperly announces routes to prefixes it does not own or when routing policies are misconfigured, leading to the propagation of unintended or unauthorized routes across the internet. BGP leaks can cause widespread…
Route optimizers are powerful tools in the realm of networking, designed to enhance the efficiency, performance, and reliability of traffic flows across interconnected networks. These solutions analyze routing metrics, traffic patterns, and network conditions in real-time to make informed decisions about the best paths for data to travel. For domains and the services they support,…
Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is the backbone of inter-domain routing on the internet, responsible for determining the paths that data packets take across networks. While its role in maintaining global connectivity is indispensable, the dynamic nature of BGP comes with challenges, particularly during router failures, reboots, or software upgrades. BGP Graceful Restart, a mechanism designed…
The Autonomous System Number, or ASN, is a foundational element of internet routing, representing an independent network or collection of networks under a single administrative domain. ASNs play a critical role in the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), enabling networks to exchange routing information and interconnect seamlessly. However, the very openness and decentralized nature of BGP…
The Time-to-Live (TTL) value in the Domain Name System (DNS) is a critical parameter that governs how long a DNS resolver can cache a record before it must query an authoritative server for updated information. While TTL settings are often considered in the context of DNS efficiency and load balancing, their effects on routing and…