Definition of DNS outage
DNS outage can give anyone who is affected a headache. In addition, sites with issues can lead to a poor user experience and a probable loss of revenue for the company.
DNS is the abbreviation for Domain Name System. It’s a web directory that connects IP addresses to domain names. Furthermore, every website has a unique IP address. Therefore, users can visit a website by entering its IP address. They are, nevertheless, difficult to recall. As a result, the majority of individuals utilize the domain name instead.
Users are directed to the correct location via DNS servers, which allow web pages to load correctly. When you can’t connect to an IP address, DNS problems occur. This type of disruption usually happens when your Internet or network connection goes down.
In a nutshell:
When potential visitors enter your site’s name (domain name) into their browser and are not redirected to its IP address, this is referred to as a DNS outage.
Why does it happen?
A variety of factors can trigger it. Among them are the following:
- The upkeep of authoritative name servers. As part of routine maintenance, updates or reboots are occasionally required. This prevents the server from responding to DNS requests.
- Configuration errors DNS outages can be caused by various human errors during the DNS configuration process. Examples are script errors, incorrectly typed IP addresses, firewall configuration issues, and so on are examples.
- DoS and DDoS attacks. Distributed denial-of-service attacks are divided into two categories. DoS and DDoS attacks aim to prevent a service from being provided. If they accomplish, you may suffer a DNS outage.
How to prevent DNS outage?
Yes, avoiding DNS downtime is possible. How? You can employ the following techniques:
- Implement DNS load balancing. This is an effective method of distributing traffic among servers. When working, it considers factors such as the number of active connections, connection time, etc. DNS load balancing employs two or more servers and manages traffic so that servers aren’t sluggish or overworked and have roughly the same amount of work. It’s a great way to deal with traffic spikes, which can be natural or the result of malware activity. It boosts web performance while reducing security risks and downtime. If one of your servers fails or is hacked, your clients’ requests will be handled by another.
- Look for a DNS service that serves as a backup (Secondary DNS). You already have a DNS service provider (Primary DNS). You could hire a separate provider and set them up as Secondary nameservers using their various Secondary DNS servers. A copy of the zone file and DNS records will be stored on these servers. As a result, they’ll be able to reply to DNS requests the same way as Primary DNS does. You’ll have a backup in case the final one goes down.
- Service for defending against DDoS attacks (DDoS protection service). Advanced and continuous monitoring, firewalls, software, hardware, and DDoS deflation, among other things, are used to absorb the attack.
Conclusion
A DNS outage is the equivalent of a heart attack for your online business. Don’t let this halt your operations and harm your reputation. Furthermore, be aware of the reasons so that you can prevent them before they happen!