Decoupling DNS Update Timing from TTL Values

Abstract

A relatively simple safety-belt mechanism for improving DNS system availability and efficiency is proposed here. While it may seem ambitious, a careful examination shows it is both feasible and beneficial for the DNS system. The mechanism called "DNS Real-time Update" (DNSRU), a service that facilitates real-time and secure updates of cached domain records in DNS resolvers worldwide, even before the expiration of the corresponding Time To Live (TTL) values. This service allows Internet domain owners to quickly rectify any erroneous global IP address distribution, even if a long TTL value is associated with it. By addressing this critical DNS high availability issue, DNSRU eliminates the need for short TTL values and their associated drawbacks. Therefore, DNSRU DNSRU reduces the traffic load on authoritative servers while enhancing the system's fault tolerance. In this paper we show that our DNSRU design is backward compatible, supports gradual deployment, secure, efficient, and feasible.