The DNS Monitoring feature of your network monitoring solution is crucial. It aims to guarantee users’ reliable and secure access to the website or service they are using. DNS Monitoring involves keeping an eye on all Domain Name System (DNS) activity to ensure peak performance.

DNS Monitoring helps identify issues rapidly, identify potential security holes, and thwart malicious attacks. Finding DNS outages and often verifying DNS records for unforeseen changes are required. If a problem is found that can hurt your website or business, it can be fixed right away.

What exactly is the Monitoring service?

Analysts can evaluate if IT equipment is online and functioning as expected while also resolving any issues discovered thanks to a large category of features referred to as Monitoring services. It provides thorough information about the state of your servers, which you use for various applications, including web, email, DNS, and others. As alternatives for Monitoring services, everything from straightforward inspections to more powerful systems that can assess a product’s performance in great detail and even automate repairs when flaws are identified is available.

How does DNS Monitoring function?

With DNS Monitoring, you may choose the type of query on the assigned IP address and launch various DNS queries to a particular domain. The check is announced as DOWN when the result differs from what was anticipated. In this manner, you can quickly ascertain the general state of your DNS servers.

The following are some essentials to be on the lookout for:

• IP address To show the user the correct website, the IP address and the domain name must be appropriately configured. To ensure that the IP address matches the IP address you provided, you can run a DNS query. In this manner, a potential DNS spoofing attack or problem can be promptly found.
• SOA record. Every time your DNS data is modified, a serial number is updated in the SOA (Start of Authority) record. That may help you thwart an impending assault.
• MX record. The MX record manages your incoming email messages. It is essential to keep a watch on it to prevent any email loss, and it may also thwart attacks like message rerouting.
• NS record. Checking your NS (nameserver) records will help ensure that your name server responds to users appropriately.

Conclusion

Now let’s review. As you already know, the DNS determines whether an Internet communication succeeds or fails. DNS Monitoring enables you to protect your online presence by routinely checking your DNS records for any unplanned changes or localized outages brought on by human error or malicious attacks. Unfortunately, staff workers routinely mismanage DNS records and are a favorite target for hackers. In addition to hacking into your ISP account and changing the parameters directly, DNS poisoning and DDoS attacks are the two primary methods that hackers use to bring down a website.

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The definition of DNS tunneling

As the name implies, the DNS tunneling is a Domain Name System attack type. It uses a tunnel through which it pushes malware via the client-server model.

In fact, this attack uses DNS as a communication channel to escape the victim’s firewall. Nowadays, we all use the Internet. And to be able to use it, we allow this DNS traffic to pass through our firewall. We do this because we want to access certain sites, or if we have, to access our site. Hackers know this very well and take advantage to attack us.

Detecting DNS Tunneling Attack

How does it work?

Let’s see how DNS tunneling works in the following steps:

1. First, hackers obtain a domain and a server with malware running on it.
2. Then, using a server that has been infected with malicious software, the attack cyber criminal looks for the domain. Because DNS requests are always assumed to cross and leave the firewall, the infected device can send a query to the DNS resolver.
3. Finally, the DNS resolver creates a tunnel between the attacker and their target as it routes the query, allowing them to collect data, remotely control the server, or otherwise carry out the attack.

DNS tunneling protection

Is there a way to protect yourself from DNS tunneling attacks? Absolutely, the answer is yes! How? We’ll look at the two most common approaches.

• The first is to put in place a firewall system. This might be the best way to protect yourself from a DNS tunneling attack. Why? Because this technology is capable of immediately detecting and stopping all unwanted traffic.
• The second is to keep an eye on DNS traffic by implementing a DNS Monitoring system. This is yet another successful method. Why? Because you’ll be able to track DNS traffic and be notified of any potentially hazardous activity. This will help you mitigate the risks connected with DNS tunneling.

DNS tunneling and the DNS records

In order to perform this attack, DNS records must also be used. Of course, depending on the desired result, cybercriminals use different record types. But in general, they usually utilize TXT, NULL, and CNAME records. Of these, the most commonly used is the TXT record or often known as the TEXT record. Why? Because they have the largest and most diverse payload structure.

Conclusion

Taking everything into account, DNS tunneling is a dangerous attack that can do a lot of damage to you and your business. To prevent this from happening, take measures in advance – implement a firewall and monitoring system. Good luck!

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Redirect 301

Redirect 301 refers to a permanent redirect. That means you could use it in cases when you want to redirect the traffic from one precise URL to another permanently. When you set it, all of the users are going to be automatically redirected from the previous URL to the new one. 

For illustration, if you own an e-commerce website and you decide that you won’t sell a particular item anymore, you could use Redirect 301 for its URL to direct your customers, for example, to the home page.

It is a good practice for avoiding the unpleasant situation of a user landing on a page with an HTTP error 404 page not found. Moreover, implementing a redirect increases the chance for your customers to keep browsing your e-commerce shop. 

Another case where Redirect 301 could be very helpful is when you have entirely changed the placement of a particular URL. For illustration, it could be implemented when you transfer to a completely new domain. That way, you are able to redirect everything from the previous one to the new one. Search engines, like Google, recognise Redirect 301 and start indexing the new page. For that reason, it is important for your SEO.

Redirect 302

The 302 redirect refers to a temporary redirect. That means you could use it in cases when you desire to redirect the traffic from one URL to a different one, but only temporarily. Once you set it, all of your users are going to be automatically redirected from one URL to another for a short period of time. Yet, the search engines, like Google, are going to continue to index the previous page URL and won’t forget it.

In our previous example with the e-commerce shop, you could implement Redirect 302 in cases when a particular item is out of stock at the moment and guide your customers to a similar product until the first one is available again. Then, the clients will automatically see the second page and maybe purchase that second option item.

It is also popular to implement Redirect 301 for some marketing purposes. For instance, you could make short URLs and, through them to count visitors. Possibly you could do A/B testing of campaign versions and set a higher budget on the more successful one.

Which one is better?

When we compare Redirect 301 vs. 302, it is important to remember the main difference between them. Redirect 301 is permanent, and Redirect 302 is only temporary. If you want search engines to forget and not to index a particular page, Redirect 301 is your choice. If that is not the case, you should use Redirect 302.

They serve different purposes. For that reason, both of them are great!

Conclusion

In conclusion, understanding the difference between Redirect 301 and Redirect 302 is essential for effective website management. Redirect 301 is permanent and suitable for permanent URL redirection, while Redirect 302 is temporary and useful for short-term redirection. Both types serve different purposes and offer distinct benefits. Choosing the appropriate redirect depends on specific needs and goals, ensuring a seamless user experience and SEO optimization. By making informed decisions, website owners can efficiently manage changes and provide an enhanced browsing experience for users.

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To fully understand the meaning of IPv4, we have to review some concepts. Let’s get started!

IP definition

The IP or the Internet protocol is a group of rules for online communications. It rules the format of data packets, the most convenient structure for data to be transported across networks. It’s also in charge of routing and addressing data packets delivered to their destination using the IP addresses. 

IP address definition

An IP address allows the Internet to identify devices participating in each communication. It’s an identifier of most of the components (servers, routers, domains, computers, smartphones, IoT devices, etc.) included within a network.

The main point is that the Internet must know who is talking, who requests information, and whom to answer. This is the reason for assigning a unique IP address to every device that requests a connection. 

Through the use of IP addresses, you can locate machines in the network and make them accessible for communicating and exchanging information. 

What does IPv4 mean?

Now we can put all the pieces together. IPv4 means Internet Protocol version 4. It’s the original version of the IP. It was a consequence of the TCP/IP improvement. SATNET, the early satellite network that shaped an initial segment of the Internet, used it for the first time in 1982. One year later, it was officially adopted by ARPANET, the Internet’s ancestor. 

The IPv4 structure involves 4 numbers between 0 and 254 divided by dots. It’s a four-byte (32-bit address space) long address. It was meant to cover the demand for connection of 4.3 billion computers. IPv4 example: 110.86.206.13.

It’s described as a connection-less protocol, and that is because communication (exchange of messages) can start without prior arrangement between two endpoints on a network. In other words, a device can send information to a recipient without verifying if it’s available for establishing the communication or if it’s able to receive the information.

IPv4 duties are defining the format, communicating, addressing, and routing. That’s it! It’s not responsible for several tasks like protecting data integrity, securing the order, assuring the correct delivery, or avoiding duplicate delivery. No doubt these are critical tasks but, to accomplish them, it must be combined or complemented with a different protocol, for instance, the transmission control protocol or TCP.

Due to these features, IPv4 became a crucial tool for networks and the transmission of data they constantly do. Its use ensures data packets format will be checked. In case they are too big, they will be chopped into smaller pieces for faster and easier transmission. Communication will go on, and data packets will be addressed and routed to jump from an Internet module to the next and so on until they arrive at their destination. 

Conclusion

IPv4 has evolved through time and kept a great reputation. But even it’s still highly demanded, there is a shortage of this resource since a long time ago. Devices demanding connection are more every day, and IPv4 is already not enough. Sooner than later, we will have to migrate to the newest protocol version.

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FQDN is the short acronym for Fully Qualified Domain Name. With it, you are able to see precisely the most full name of a specific domain name. And that refers not only to websites but also to servers. The Domain Name System (DNS) is created with a hierarchy order. It starts from the top, which is the root, then TLD, after that the domain, and the last is the specific hostname.

What does FQDN do?

Here is the full syntax of a fully qualified domain name (FQDN):

hostname. domain name. TLD 

([hostname].[domain].[tld].)

Let’s view an example of a fully qualified domain name (FQDN):

mail.google.com. 

movies.disney.com.

ftp.microsoft.com. 

Be aware that the dot “.” (root), which is last, is often neglected. Usually, the fully qualified domain names end with the TLD. However, there are cases in which you will need to add it. That depends on what software you are using.

The Fully Qualified Domain Name is suitable when you want to view where precisely an object exists in the Domain Name System hierarchy.

Elements 

Here are the 3 elements of Fully Qualified Domain Name formatting. 

• First is the TLD (Top Level Domain) – It is represented with the ending signs that we can see in an FQDN. Commonly 2 or 3 characters, such as .com, .edu, .net etc.
• Subdomain – It is the domain that we can observe below the Top Level Domain. For example, Domain.com.
• Hostname – It is represented with the symbols placed at the beginning of the FQDN. The most popular example is www in www.domain.com. A domain owner can generate many hostnames as they are associated with a subdomain. For example:
  • ftp.domain.com
  • mail.domain.com
  • www.domain.com

How to check the FQDN?

If you want to check if your device has an FQDN or its hostname is an easy task. It doesn’t matter if you are using a Windows 10, Linux, or macOS device. 

On Windows 10

1. From the start menu, open your “Control Panel.” 
2. Inside the Control Panel, open the System. 
3. Inside the System, view the “Device specifications” and search for the “Device name”. 
4. Next is the FQDN. 

On Linux 

1. First, open the Terminal application. 
2. Simply write this command: “hostname -f.”
3. Press Enter, and you will see the FQDN. 

On macOS:

1. First, open the Terminal application.
2. Write down the command: “hostname -f.” The option “-f” means full. 
3. Press the Enter, and you will see the FQDN. 

Why do you need FQDN?

The FQDN represents a unique address on the Internet. It is vital to the experience online. Imagine it, like you don’t have an FQDN. It is like you don’t have a website for people to visit. 

You will need FQDN if you want to install SSL certificates. This is because most websites are expected to have such a feature. 

With FQDN, you can access domain services, for example like email and File Transfer Protocol (FTP). If you want to connect a domain name email to an email app on your device manually, you will need the FQDN. 

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Start your ninja training now, understanding some of its basic DNS terms.

Common misunderstandings about DNS terms

Domain Name System (DNS).

The first on the list of our DNS terms, of course is the Domain Name System. It is the great solution to make the use of the Internet as easy as it’s now. It’s a very helpful database that translates domain names into their corresponding IP addresses to be found and loaded.

Before finding a host was done through its IP address, a numerical string like 185.160.1.1 (IPv4) or 1580:cb11:2045:1::c530:d6a1 (IPv6). 

Numbers are great and easy for machines to communicate and execute their processes, but this was not too simple for humans. Imagine memorizing the IP address of every website you want to visit! Therefore, this system was created for hosts to have catchy names, easy for humans to remember, like example.com. 

Domain name.

The second one in our list of DNS terms is the domain name. It is a line of text for mapping an IP address. It’s used for accessing websites by typing easy and memorable names instead of their corresponding numerical addresses, called IP addresses. You type example.com, instead of 1580:cb11:2045:1::c530:d6a1.

Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) explained.

IP address.

An IP address is a line of numbers, divided by periods, used to identify websites, computers, and routers. Every IP address is unique, and it’s mathematically created and allocated by IANA, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority.

IP addresses hold location information vital for finding and identifying machines. Besides, they are needed for devices to communicate and exchange information on a network.

DNS query.

A DNS query, also known as a DNS request, is a petition of DNS information that a user sends to a DNS server via his or her device and browser. The most common DNS query is the one you send every time you want to visit a website. You type a domain name, and a DNS query to get the associated IP address of such domain is sent to a DNS server. Without this information, the website can’t be loaded for the user. 

DNS records. 

The DNS records are simple text files hosted on the authoritative name server and have instructions about the domain like its IP address, the services that a host uses, records for authentication purposes, and more. 

An example of one is the A record that connects the domain name and its IPv4 address. 

Authoritative name server.

An authoritative name server is the type of server that holds all the DNS records of a domain name and other web resources. Once a DNS query has been sent, a process to get the necessary IP address for loading a domain name starts. And an authoritative name server is the last server that participates in such a process. It’s the one that will deliver the A record that contains the IP address.

Recursive server.

A recursive server has a searcher vocation. Every time a DNS query is sent from a user’s device, this server will take it, and it will start a searching process in which it will query different servers until it gets the DNS data needed to answer such query. When it looks for the associated IP address of a domain name, its goal is to reach the authoritative name server, to finally obtain the A record that contains that IP address.

Recursive servers can cache the results of their searches for a period of time defined by the TTL (time-to-live) of every DNS record. If the information queried is not saved in its cache anymore, it has to do the whole searching process again by querying other servers. 

Conclusion.

DNS has its own and very specific rules and processes. However, if you want to survive and successfully complete your mission, this is a good starting point! Success, DNS ninja! 

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As clients, we all have experienced this more than once. We hate the website, and we don’t feel like giving it another chance. It will take a long time to forget the bad experience.

On the other side, as online business owners, we don’t want to suffer this because we understand its cost for our pockets and reputation!

What is a DNS outage?

DNS outage, also known as DNS downtime, is that period of time the DNS is not working.

You know that the resolution process is vital for accessing your domain name. If DNS fails, the process to translate it to its IP address won’t be possible. Therefore, your website could not be located, so its content won’t be reachable.

What can cause a DNS outage?

There are different causes for the DNS to fail.

Human errors. 

Misconfiguration for sure could lead to a DNS outage. And it can happen both to experts and novices. For example, a single mistake while typing the domain name’s IP address, a script error, or something wrong while setting up a firewall can be enough for the DNS to stop working. 

Having only one authoritative name server.

Businesses can definitely work with a single authoritative server. Especially small and medium ones take such decision. But the lack of redundancy can mean DNS outages every time that server requires the normal maintenance, updates, fixes, or suffers a cyber attack. That’s why having a secondary DNS server is widely recommended for answering queries uninterruptedly. 

Technical or climate problems on data centers facilities.

No matter the provider and type of service you pick, your authoritative name server (one or more) will live in a data center. Accidents, technical failures (electricity outages), and extreme weather (floods, fire…) can affect those places.

Again, redundancy is the choice not to suffer a DNS outage. If a tragedy occurs in a data center and kills the authoritative name server you had there, you hopefully have another in a different location. That way, the resolution to queries won’t be interrupted. 

Delays while propagating updates or changes. 

Editions, clearing, or adding to your business DNS records can be frequently required as a part of your normal operation. Unfortunately, such changes take time to be propagated to every machine on a network, especially if it’s a big one. 

In the meantime, for instance, an old IP address can still be saved in recursive servers’ cache. Then, when they take clients’ queries, they can provide this IP address, and it won’t work. Until they get the update, meaning that the operation will get back on track when the propagation process gets completed successfully.

Talking strictly, this is not a DNS outage. It’s not a DNS failure. But it will be perceived that way by the clients that won’t reach your domain name. 

DDoS attacks.

This is an extreme cause of DNS outage but, sadly, a possible one. Those attacks’ objective is to shut down your domain name by overwhelming your DNS servers with huge traffic loads.

DDoS prevention is crucial. An efficient solution for load balancing is a good investment!

Recommended article: ​DDoS-protected DNS service: Why do you need it?

Conclusion.

A DNS outage is like a heart attack for your online business. Don’t allow this to stop your operation and damage your image. Instead, be aware of its causes, to prevent them on time! 

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The DNS is a system of managing domains and IP addresses. It has a specific tree-like structure built with hierarchy. For administrative purposes and to make the whole system more manageable and decentralized, it uses delegated partitions called DNS zone. The DNS zone is a part of the Domain namespace that has its autonomy of management.

​What is a DNS zone file?

Each of the delegated partitions called DNS zones has a DNS zone file where the DNS administrator for each zone can add instruction, settings, authentication mechanisms, and more for the zone. They are in the form of DNS records – simple text instructions that other computers and sometimes people can read and understand.

DNS zone file format explained in detail

So, the DNS administrator of a zone controls it by adding and removing DNS records, and all that data is saved in a DNS zone file.

DNS records could be:

• DNS A record – a domain to its IPv4 address link.
• DNS AAAA record – a domain to IPv6 address link.
• DNS SOA record – showing information about the start of authority and zone transfering. It is a must-have on every zone file. It also includes information about the administrator of the zone.
• DNS MX record – a domain to its incoming mail server link.
• DNS TXT record – a specific DNS record that could be used for many different verification and authentication mechanisms.
• DNS SRV record – indicating services that the host uses and their parameters.
• And more…

​Who can you edit it?

Only the administrator of a particular zone can edit the particular zone file. It does it by adding new DNS records, modifying existing records, or deleting them.

​Where can you find the DNS zone file?

Each DNS zone needs to be hosted on a DNS server. If it is a Primary DNS zone file, it will be hosted on a Primary Authoritative DNS server. In case it is a Secondary DNS zone, it will have a copy of the zone file from the Primary DNS zone, and it will be hosted on a Secondary DNS server.

How can you get information about a DNS zone?

You can perform a DNS query and get different DNS records of a domain name with typical DNS probing tools like Nslookup, Dig command, Host command, and more. You will have access to only publicly available DNS records. There could be other DNS records that are for inside use only.

If you want to get a complete copy of the zone file, you can perform a zone transfer. Usually, the DNS administrators limit who can perform zone transfer, but you can use one of the above mention DNS commands and perform zone transfer if there is no limit set. You can get the whole zone file and later save it in a text document for further use.

​How to copy the DNS zone file of a Primary DNS zone to a Secondary DNS zone?

You can perform a complete zone transfer (AXFR) and get the zone file from the Primary DNS server to the Secondary DNS server.

In case you want to copy only the newest changes from the Primary DNS server to the Secondary DNS server, you need to perform an incomplete zone transfer (IXFR).

​To summarize:

The DNS zone file is a single file that contains all the DNS records for a DNS zone. All the instructions, indications, and settings that the DNS administrator of the zone has added.

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​What is DDoS protected DNS service?

DDoS protection or DDoS mitigation service refers to an additional DNS service that combines different tools and techniques to check traffic and stop DDoS attacks. The DDoS attacks are strong waves of traffic organized by cybercriminals that try to unstable your servers and make them incapable of responding to normal clients’ requests. 

If you are looking for an awesome DDoS Protected DNS Service – take a look at this page!

What one protected DNS service should do is: 

• Analyze the traffic deeply. Understand the normal patterns of the traffic and use them for comparison. 
• Separate traffic. Understand what is human traffic and what is machine traffic. 
• Filter. Filter the incoming traffic based on whitelisting or blacklisting and other parameters. The protection can distinguish and stop bad traffic.  
• Monitor. Monitor the whole DNS traffic. If the system spots a strange pattern, it could activate different behavior and take actions to stop a potential DDoS attack. So, understanding the traffic is vital. 
• Distribute the traffic. In some cases, just the load balancing could be enough to distribute the malicious traffic between the DNS server and resist the attack. 
• Activate Failovers if needed. If one or more servers go down, it could notify you about the event and redirect the traffic to the rest of the DNS servers. Automatically, without the need of a human operator. 

​Why do you need DDoS protected DNS service?

• Less downtime. If you have DDoS protection, your servers will resist a lot more to DDoS attacks and experience significantly less downtime. Your visitors will still be able to access your application or website. 
• Good performance, even under attack. The distribution of traffic that a DNS service provider can offer you should be enough to manage the traffic well. So well, in fact, that your application or website will still be available and without a significant penalty in productivity. 
• It will be more beneficial. Yes, downtime costs and it costs a lot. How much does a minute of it cost for you? What about an hour or a whole day? Compare this number to around 100 dollars per month, and you will see that DDoS-protected DNS service is really worth it. 
• It is easy to manage. Don’t get me wrong, if you are not familiar with DNS, it might be a bit hard, but if you are, it will be very simple. Set it up once, and the monitors and failover mechanism could run almost 100% by themselves. Only if the attack is really strong, you, your IT team, and the customer service of the DNS provider will need to fight the DDoS attack together. 

​Conclusion

DDoS-protected DNS services are getting so common as the SSL/TLS certificates for the websites. They are not a must, but pretty much everybody who has a large e-commerce site or an important application gets it. Better protect that suffer downtime and wait many long hours until your domain gets accessible again. 

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Through Anycast DNS, several servers that are located in different geographical points can provide the same IP address. The DNS data for your domain name is duplicated on more than one server. You are able to choose a specific number of servers, depending on your needs. That way, your overall presence is going to be better.

When you are using Anycast, the most nearby server is going to answer the request of the user. In case one of your servers is offline due to maintenance or down for some reason, your website is still going to be reachable. The request will move to the second closest and available DNS server to resolve. As a result, the user’s request is going to be answered faster. Also, the overall experience is going to be improved in terms of loading time, waiting for a response, and so on.

Discover more details about Anycast DNS

How does it work?

Anycast network routing can route incoming requests over various data centers. The requests arrive in a singular IP address associated with the Anycast network. So, the network spreads the data based on a priority method. Choosing a particular data center will typically be adjusted based on reducing latency and selecting the data center closer to the requester. 

Advantages

• Better uptime. It is possible for a server to fail, but the chance of a group of servers to fail at the same time is very low. So, your website is going to have better uptime, and your users could access it at any time.
• Faster response time. The waiting time is way shorter when your servers’ responses are fast. Less potential clients are going to abandon your website.
• Improved security. You can rely on other servers in case one of them gets compromised.
• Rank on search engines. User experience includes waiting for a response, loading time, etc. Search engines don’t miss to rank better or worse your site based on these factors.

Anycast vs. Unicast DNS Routing

• In Unicast DNS routing, the DNS resolver, an element on the DNS server accountable for discovering the authoritative DNS record for the demanded hostname, can get a list of many DNS name servers. It searches on the first one on the list. Then waits till it replies or there is a timeout, and then it is able to try the next on the list. This can cause high latency.
• In Anycast DNS routing, resolvers are configured with only one anycast address for each group of name servers. That way, the latency is eliminated. The timeout delays with a non-responsive nameserver do not happen. Anycast routing automatically excludes unreachable points of presence (PoP). The DNS resolver is always routed to the closest and well-performing DNS server.

Why use Anycast DNS?

In case you have a website, service, or app, you probably want reliability and speed in each location. Nobody wants angry customers. With Anycast DNS, you achieve excellent performance at various places and handle the traffic effectively. The better network performance leads to more satisfied clients and then probably to more sales.

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