Getting to Know the DNIB.com Dashboards: Security, Stability and Resiliency Indicators

Joining the Global Domain Name Base Trends and gTLD Registration and Renewal Trends dashboards as part of the new DNIB.com website is our Security, Stability and Resiliency (SSR) Indicators dashboard. For its initial iteration, this is a focused dashboard describing the volume of traffic the systems that support the global domain name system (DNS) have experienced over the last several years.

The data described in the chart shows the monthly number of DNS queries observed over the time selected for a variety of different components of the global DNS infrastructure. Up top and to the right, you’ll see options to customize what you’re viewing. The first selection option allows you to toggle between root server query volumes and top-level domain (TLD) authoritative server query volumes.

As the registry operator for .com and .net, Verisign has provided high-level statistics on the DNS queries they respond to each month. When selecting the “TLD Authoritative” option in the “Root Server vs. TLD” dropdown menu, the monthly query volumes displayed are for .com and .net combined. This can be further refined using the “Selection” box to narrow the visualization to cover only .com or .net query volumes. When viewing the root data, the “Selection” box in the dashboard allows you to select which of the RSOs’ statistics you are viewing.

Using the "Root” selection in the “Root Server vs. TLD” drop down provides a look into the metrics that root server operators (RSOs) have been collecting in support of their broader mission. Since November 2014, ICANN’s Root Server System Advisory Committee (RSSAC) has been issuing and updating advisories on the need to maintain metrics to help detect and mitigate impediments to the normal performance or scaling of the DNS root server system (RSS) caused by the growth of the DNS root zone itself or the internet's use of a larger root zone file. One of the key principles of the RSSAC advisories states that knowing the amount of traffic entering into and emerging from the RSS is fundamental to evaluating its stability. The metrics illustrated in this SSR Indicators dashboard inform us about potential differences in traffic received by different RSOs, long-term gradual changes in overall traffic levels and sudden changes due to attacks or other incidents.

I’m already looking forward to some of my colleagues sharing additional details about the trends that can be observed in these dashboards in the coming months here at DNIB.com.