[ English | Japanese ]
Back to Index Page

ACADEMIC YEAR	2003
NAME	KATO, Akira
TITLE	The Design and Operation of a Root DNS Server System
ABSTRACT	Each resource on the Internet is specified by a domain name, which forms a tree structured name space. The resolution process in which a domain name is translated into information such as IP addresses is performed by a mechanism called DNS. The root node of the name space is the most import and the servers which maintain the information corresponding to the root node are called Root DNS Servers. They are one of the resources on the global Internet whose distribution is limited. In the dissertation, the design and the operation of one of the 13 Root DNS Servers, M Root DNS Server, is introduced. In order to provide high availability, it has a redundant configuration in which a routing protocol is used for switching and distributing the queries to the active servers. As the M Root DNS server is connected to 3 major Internet exchanges, "anycasting" has been introduced before any other Root DNS Servers even from a single physical location. The evaluation of those features is also described. The traffic measurement and analysis of the Root DNS Servers based on two different points of view is described. The trace at the Root DNS Server shows the distribution of the sources which generate query packets. The other traces captured at a DNS server of an university campus and at a DNS server of one of the biggest ISPs in this country show the Root DNS Servers from the users' point of view. By analyzing the traffic data, an operational model of the Root DNS server is provided in order to make feedbacks the operation of the server. Several issues involved in the IPv6 support at the Root DNS Servers are also discussed and a way for IPv6 support is proposed.
CONTACT	To obtain the whole paper, please contact to Akira Kato;

Back to Project Home Page