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  • 2018
  • Working Paper

Evidence of Decreasing Internet Entropy: The Lack of Redundancy in DNS Resolution by Major Websites and Services

By: Samantha Bates, John Bowers, Shane Greenstein, Jordi Weinstock, Jonathan Zittrain and Yunhan Xu
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
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Abstract

This paper analyzes the extent to which the internet’s global domain name resolution (DNS) system has preserved its distributed resilience given the rise of cloud-based hosting and infrastructure. We explore trends in the concentration of the DNS space since at least 2011. In addition, we examine changes in domains’ tendency to “diversify” their pool of nameservers—how frequently domains employ DNS management services from multiple providers rather than just one provider—a comparatively costless and therefore puzzlingly rare decision that could supply redundancy and resilience in the event of an attack or service outage affecting one provider.

Keywords

Internet; Infrastructure; Performance Effectiveness

Citation

Bates, Samantha, John Bowers, Shane Greenstein, Jordi Weinstock, Jonathan Zittrain, and Yunhan Xu. "Evidence of Decreasing Internet Entropy: The Lack of Redundancy in DNS Resolution by Major Websites and Services." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 24317, February 2018.
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About The Author

Shane M. Greenstein

Technology and Operations Management
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  • IBM Watson at MD Anderson Cancer Center By: Shane Greenstein, Mel Martin and Sarkis Agaian
  • Where the Cloud Rests: The Economic Geography of Data Centers By: Shane Greenstein and Tommy Pan Fang
  • Centrino and the Restructuring of Wi-Fi Supply By: Roberto Fontana and Shane Greenstein
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