Tag: DNS server

DNS Cache Explained: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted on by Serge

In the vast landscape of the internet, behind every website visit and every click, there’s a crucial but often overlooked mechanism at play: the Domain Name System (DNS). While the DNS might seem complex at first glance, understanding one of its fundamental components—the DNS cache—can demystify much of its workings. In this beginner’s guide, we’ll delve into what DNS caching is, why it matters, and how it impacts your internet experience.

What is DNS Cache?

Imagine the internet as a vast library, with billions of books (websites) stored on shelves (servers). To find a specific book, you need its title (domain name), not its location on the shelves (IP address). Similarly, when you type a website’s domain name into your browser, your device needs to translate it into an IP address to locate the website’s server on the internet. This translation is performed by the DNS.

Now, here’s where DNS caching comes in. Instead of looking up the IP address of a website every time you visit it, your device stores recently accessed DNS information in a temporary storage called the Domain Name System cache. This means that if you visit a website frequently, your device can quickly retrieve its IP address from the cache instead of having to perform a fresh DNS lookup each time.

Why Does It Matter?

DNS caching plays a crucial role in optimizing internet performance and reducing network traffic. Without caching, every request to access a website would require a DNS lookup, leading to slower loading times and increased strain on DNS servers. By storing DNS information locally, caching minimizes the time and resources needed to access frequently visited websites, resulting in faster and more efficient browsing experiences.

Furthermore, DNS caching enhances reliability and resilience by reducing dependency on external DNS servers. In cases where DNS servers are temporarily unavailable or experiencing issues, cached DNS records allow users to continue accessing websites they’ve previously visited without interruption.

How DNS Cache Works:

When you type a website’s domain name into your browser, your device first checks its DNS cache to see if it already has the corresponding IP address stored. If the information is found in the cache (a cache hit), your device can immediately connect to the website’s server using the retrieved IP address. However, if the information is not in the cache (a cache miss), your device must perform a DNS lookup by querying external DNS servers to resolve the domain name.

Once the DNS lookup is complete, the resolved IP address is added to the cache for future use. DNS cache entries have a time-to-live (TTL) value, which determines how long they remain valid before they expire and are removed from the cache. This TTL helps ensure that cached DNS information remains up-to-date and reflects any changes made to website configurations or server IP addresses.

Common Issues with DNS Cache:

While DNS caching offers significant benefits, it’s not without its challenges. One common issue is stale cache entries, where outdated DNS information remains in the cache even after the TTL has expired. This can occur due to misconfigurations, network issues, or DNS server errors. Stale cache entries can lead to connectivity issues, as devices may attempt to connect to outdated IP addresses.

Another issue is cache poisoning, a type of cyber attack where malicious actors manipulate Domain Name System cache entries to redirect users to malicious websites. By injecting false DNS information into the cache, attackers can reroute traffic to phishing sites or malware-infected servers, putting users’ security and privacy at risk.

Additionally, DNS cache pollution can occur when the cache becomes overloaded with unnecessary or invalid entries, impacting its performance and efficiency. This can result from misconfigured DNS servers or malicious activities aimed at flooding the cache with bogus requests.

Conclusion:

In the vast ecosystem of the internet, the Domain Name System (DNS) serves as the backbone that enables seamless communication between devices and websites. Within this system, DNS caching plays a pivotal role in optimizing performance, reducing network traffic, and enhancing reliability.

However, it’s essential to be aware of common issues that can arise with Domain Name System caching, such as stale cache entries, cache poisoning, and cache pollution. By understanding these challenges, users and network administrators can take proactive measures to mitigate risks and ensure a smooth internet experience for all.

Everything you need to know about Dynamic DNS

Posted on by Serge

A Dynamic DNS (also known as DDNS) is a highly beneficial service for every Internet user. Why? Let’s see now.

Introduction to Dynamic DNS

The day before your important presentation, you’re on the road, and after a hard day of driving, you turn on your Laptop to review your slides one final time. But, unfortunately, the powerpoint on which the future of your company hinges is sitting on your computer at home, thousands of miles away, and you remember you forgot to bring them with you.

This would be fine if some thinking and preparation were put into it. Connect to your personal computer and use FTP to download the file. However, if you don’t know a remote computer’s Internet Protocol (IP) address, you can’t log in to it. If you’re like most of us, your Internet service provider will also give your computer a dynamic IP address, which changes frequently. Fortunately, a workaround uses Dynamic DNS, a type of Internet technology.

What is the idea (goal) of Dynamic DNS?

To understand Dynamic DNS (DDNS), you must first understand DNS. It is a system that connects a domain name, such as squadrainformatica.com, to an IP address (92.38.169.175).

Dynamic DNS uses the same principle but with a WAN IP that is “dynamic,” or varies over time. Most home internet plans do not include a static WAN IP because getting one that is fixed and never changes is expensive.

In other terms, you should usually rely on something other than your actual WAN IP address to dial your home phone, although if you note it or remember it. This is due to the possibility that the address will now be on someone else’s home network when you do.

We use DDNS to fix this issue. It connects the WAN IP address you are using right now, whatever it may be, with a trustworthy domain name of your choice.

Therefore, as a result, you can access your home network using that label (domain name) from anywhere in the globe without having to know its IP address.

How valuable is this service?

DDNS can provide the following advantages:

  • DDNS is a cost-effective choice. There are DDNS providers that are both free and premium. Nevertheless, it is less expensive than giving your company’s equipment static IP addresses.
  • Any time the IP address of the DNS server changes, you will be notified immediately.
  • Installing security cameras requires a solid and stable Internet connection. Due to Dynamic DNS, they will continue to run continually.
  • Employees who use a VPN or work remotely should be able to access information quickly and easily.
  • Plain solution. The program will be installed as soon as you sign up for the service. 
  • There is no disruption to access to your server or site. If the IP address keeps changing, it has no effect. Your website will be accessible to visitors.
  • If you employ your pcs to host an app, game server, or website, you will notice the benefits of Dynamic DNS.

Conclusion

Let’s recapitulate. By using Dynamic DNS, you can run programs that ordinarily need a static IP address and prevent connection drops. Without a static IP address, hosting servers (web servers, email servers, FTP servers) would be highly challenging or impossible, but Dynamic DNS makes it simple.

What is the purpose of DNS Monitoring?

Posted on by Serge

All types of businesses require monitoring, especially DNS Monitoring. Observing and constantly checking the processes and progress to guarantee quality and good results are necessary. Online businesses are not an exception.

​What does DNS Monitoring mean?

Domain Name System (DNS) Monitoring means automated checking of the different processes that DNS involves. An effective DNS monitoring must keep you updated in detail about all DNS activity, detect issues, and alert you on time about problems or cyber threats. This way, the administrator or responsible in your team can properly react.

DNS monitoring involves different technology, techniques, and software for the surveillance of your systems and diagnosis of issues. You can build your own Domain Name System Monitoring strategy or get it as a service. There are many providers on the market offering modern solutions and support to keep your DNS running smoothly.

​What is the purpose of DNS Monitoring?

There are many actors involved for your domain to be online, reachable, and working without problems. Avoiding configuration errors, software or hardware failures, cyberattacks, or downtime demands to keep everything under systematic review.

The purpose of DNS Monitoring is to help you keep DNS performance at healthy levels for your domain to be reliable, meaning to operate on the Internet without issues that can stop traffic or disappoint clients. Remember that any problem related to DNS can drop your business from the Internet. Clients and potential ones won’t have access to it, and that means financial loss or a bad reputation for you.

These are the types of tasks Domain Name System Monitoring is in charge of checking.

  • It tracks DNS queries and servers to detect performance problems.
  • It checks the DNS resolution process to be sure the domain name is correctly translated to its associated IP address.
  • In case a DNS server doesn’t answer as expected, DNS monitoring should detect and alert about the issue to be fixed.
  • It supervises the traffic (incoming and outgoing) to get statistics and helpful patterns to compare the daily activity. From there, you can distinguish normal from abnormal traffic.
  • It alerts about spikes of traffic or potential floods and cyber attacks.
  • It warns about sudden or rare changes in configurations, localized outages, and more.
  • It keeps an eye on the hardware to supervise its adequate performance, detect possible problems, and alert the right mate to fix it.

Advantages of DNS Monitoring

  • DNS Monitoring improves your DNS security while increasing the possibility of preventing all types of threats and failures.
  • It is a great ally to detecting on time and mitigating cyber attacks (DoS, DDoS).
  • It is the best workmate for your diagnosis and troubleshooting team.
  • It operates 24/7, without any breaks, to provide complete supervision.
  • It can be connected to a DNS Failover and trigger automatic actions that will perform load balancing and keep the DNS network well.

​Conclusion

Briefly, the purpose of DNS Monitoring is to provide you with automated and sharp ‘extra eyes’ to keep your DNS and online business running securely and in the best technical conditions.