The Domain Name System (DNS) is a distributed system that allows to identify domain names as IP addresses and vice-versa. It is the main service behind the right functioning of the Internet, for this reason a functioning, reliable and resilient DNS is at the basis of a reliable and efficient Registry of domain names.
Starting from 2013, Registro.it has launched a project aiming at studying, planning and implementing its own Worldwide network infrastructure to provide specific services according to the Anycast model, and, especially, aiming at providing a DNS Anycast service for the .it.
During the project, deep studies and analysis were carried out aimed at detecting the best geographical areas to locate the anycast DNS nodes of Registro .it; in these studies, special attention was given to the evaluation of different parameters such as the number of participants and connections to a specific Internet node "eXchange (IX)", the amount of exchanged network traffic, the number (in terms of customers) of participants, the peering policies of the different IX, the availability of route servers, etc.
According to such analysis, the nodes have been detected in which Registro.it can install a DNS anycast Service. Among the nodes that have been found there are:
- Milano (MIX)
- Roma (NAMEX)
- Francoforte (DECIX)
- Amsterdam (AMSIX)
- Londra (LINX)
- Stoccolma (NETNOD)
- Toronto (TORIX)
- New York (NYIIX)
- Los Angeles (LAIIX)
- Hong Kong (HKIX)
The Project also provides for the installation of devices and software for monitoring the supplied systems, analysing the exchanged traffic and collecting the logs from the network participants.