Routing methods types
There are a few options to send or receive data. However, every one of them owns different specifications, and they are implemented in different scenarios.
Unicast is based on the one-to-one communication. This is the most simple method of all, where the traffic is led to a single host.
Broadcast is a familiar term recognized by TV and radio. Here the data is carried from one point to all.
Multicast is also one-to-many, although not to all. It is only a group that is interested in the traffic. In case there are no local nameservers, this type is helpful.
Anycast can be viewed as similar to Unicast. However, there is one huge difference – there are multiple hosts. Therefore, the query will be redirected to the most nearby host.
What does Anycast DNS mean?
In several geographical locations are placed various servers, which though Anycast DNS are able to provide the same IP. The DNS data for your domain name is duplicated on as many servers as you want. That way, you can achieve a better presence.
When you implement Anycast, the DNS server that is the nearest will respond to the user’s request. If, for some reason, one of the servers is down and is not responding, the request will proceed to the next closest and available DNS server. That method provides a faster answer to the user’s request for sure. Furthermore, the experience is much better when we are talking about loading time and waiting for a response.
How does Anycast DNS work?
Anycast guides user requests to the nearest server to decrease page latency. This happens through the following steps.
- Various sets of servers declare they hold an identical IP address.
- The user’s browser performs a request. The router gets that request. Afterward, it simply determines the route with the shortest path to the nearest server.
Anycast can be configured not only to route requests based on the range but also in different circumstances.
- Time to response
- The server availability
- Route congestion
Key benefits
Anycast DNS can provide many benefits. Here are three of them that are considered key.
- Uptime
Anycast DNS provides better uptime for the DNS resolving service. In addition, if you implement Anycast DNS, there is a minimal chance of running to an unavailable server. Instead, the query will proceed to several servers and automatically choose the one, which is both close to the user’s device and available.
- Latency
The Anycast DNS reacts to queries in such a way that reduces the timeframe between the server and the user. Latency could be a huge problem. Users want fast responses to their requests and probably won’t wait for a slow website to load.
Anycast DNS is the solution in such situations. It resolves latency and allows DNS resolving to be a lot faster. That is possible because it is sending the query to several DNS servers, not just one, and finding the closest of them that is available.
- Protection
It is important to mention that Anycast DNS provides protection against DDoS attacks. A type of such attack is DNS flood, where the DNS resolvers are the primary target. The goal is to overwhelm the DNS resolver with an enormous amount of traffic – DNS queries.
Anycast DNS keeps you safe by spreading this massive traffic. The many servers included are a lot more difficult task to be overwhelmed.