Managing Mission-Critical Domains and DNS

Gain practical insights into types of nameservers, DNS queries and more
Discover expert advice from an industry veteran based on real-world experience
Book Description
Managing your organization's naming architecture and mitigating risks within complex naming environments is very important. This book will go beyond looking at ‘how to run a nameserver' or ‘how to DNSSEC sign a domain', and focus on the entire spectrum of naming - from external factors that exert influence on your domains to all the internal factors that you need to consider when operating your Domain Name System (DNS).

You'll gain comprehensive insights into the world of naming. Starting from understanding the role of registrars and how they interact with registries, you'll then move on to what ICANN does and its significance. Once you have gained a solid understanding of the fundamentals of the domain name ecosystem, you'll be taken through all aspects of DNS operations in the later chapters. Whether your organization operates its own nameservers or utilizes an outsourced vendor, or both, you'll examine the complex web of interlocking factors that must be taken into account but are too frequently overlooked.

By the end of this book, you'll be well-versed with the different aspects of DNS nameservers and have gained the skills to effectively manage mission-critical servers.

What you will learn
Understand the anatomy of a domain - how a domain is the sum of both its DNS zone and its registration data, and why that matters
Explore the domain name ecosystem - the role of registries, registrars and oversight bodies and their effect on your names
Get up to speed with how DNS queries work, along with exploring queries and responses including debugging techniques to identify problems
Discover alternative nameserver daemons, numbering considerations, and deployment architectures
Delve into DNS use cases and understand the right way to perform basic operations such as domain transfers, large scale migrations, GeoDNS, and Anycast DNS
Learn how to secure your domains, focusing on various aspects of security, right from registrar vendor selection through to DNSSEC and DDoS mitigation strategies
Who This Book Is For
This book is for system administrators, webmasters, IT consultants, developers or anyone responsible for maintaining an organization's core DNS.

Table of Contents
The Domain name Ecosystem
Common Pitfalls
Domain Policies you must be aware of
The Two Major Roles of Nameservers
DNS Queries In Action
Types and Uses of Common Resource Records
Quasi- Record Types
Common Nameserver Software
Debugging without tears: DNS Diagnostic Tools
Domain Operations & DNS Use Cases
Nameserver Considerations
Securing your Domains and DNS
DNS and DDoS Attacks
IPv6 Considerations
IPv6 Considerations