5 Key Benefits To Remote DNS Services

DNS traffic is a critical component of most network connections. While it is technically possible to operate on the internet without it, it makes navigation from site to site much easier for the human mind. So it’s vital that your DNS service is always available, else visitors could not locate your little corner of the internet.

In this article we will go over the five key benefits to Remote DNS services and how they stack up against self-hosted DNS servers.

What Is A Remote DNS Service?

Domain Name System (DNS) is a critical part of the internet infrastructure. It is responsible for translating human-readable domain names (i.e. namehero.com, google.com, microsoft.com, etc.) into machine-readable IP addresses. This allows users to easily access websites and other online resources by typing in more easily remembered domain names instead of their IP addresses. This service is provided by DNS server clusters. But, what is a remote DNS service?

Traditionally, DNS servers were hosted on the local premises of businesses and organizations. A remove DNS service is a third-party DNS service provider, independent of your normal hosting servers. There are a number of key benefits to using a remote hosted DNS service that you may not have considered before. Let’s go over some of the benefits.

Remote DNS Benefits

#1. Uptime: Resilience Against Downtime

Uptime is one of the most important factors to consider when choosing a DNS provider. Remote DNS providers typically offer much higher uptime than self-hosted DNS, because they have more resources and redundancy. This means that your website or application will be much more likely to be available to your users, even if there is a problem with your own network or with the internet in general.

Cloudflare is a great example of a remote DNS provider that offers high uptime. Their 99.99% uptime guarantee means that your DNS service is very unlikely to be unavailable for more than 52 minutes per year. This is a significant improvement over the uptime that you can typically achieve with self-hosted DNS.

If you’re looking for a DNS provider that can help you ensure high uptime for your website or application, then we recommend considering a remote DNS provider like Cloudflare. They offer a great combination of features, performance, and uptime.

When choosing a remote DNS provider, it’s important to compare their uptime guarantees. The following are some of the industry giant remote DNS providers that offer high uptime:

• Cloudflare – Cloudflare is one of the most popular remote DNS providers. They offer a wide range of features, including high uptime, scalability, and global reach.
• Google Cloud DNS – Google Cloud DNS is another popular remote DNS provider. They offer a reliable and secure DNS service with a wide range of features.
• Amazon Route 53 –  Amazon Route 53 is a remote DNS provider that is offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS). It is a reliable and scalable DNS service that is integrated with other AWS services.

#2. Scalability – Ramp Up or Down

Scalability is another important benefit of a remote DNS solution. If your website or application experiences a sudden surge in traffic, your remote DNS provider should be able to automatically scale up their resources to handle the increased load. This means that you will not have to worry about your DNS service becoming unavailable due to a spike in traffic. Remote DNS providers accomplish this feat in a number of ways, such as:

• Additional Servers – This is the most common way to scale DNS resources. When more DNS servers are added, they can share the load of resolving domain name requests.
• Load Balancer – A load balancer can distribute traffic evenly across multiple DNS servers. This helps to ensure that no single server is overloaded.
• Caching – Caching is a technique that stores frequently requested domain name mappings in memory. This can help to reduce the load on DNS servers by reducing the number of times that they have to resolve domain name requests.

Remote DNS providers typically have a variety of scalability features that they can use to ensure that their services are always available. This is one of the reasons why remote DNS hosting is a popular choice for businesses of all sizes.

#3. Affordability – Don’t Break The Bank

Affordability is a crucial box to tick when it comes to deciding whether remote DNS hosting meets your needs. Remote DNS hosting can be more cost-effective than self-hosted DNS solutions for a number of reasons listed below. These are:

• Initial Cost: The upfront cost of setting up and maintaining a self-hosted DNS server can be significant. You will need to purchase or rent a server, install and configure the DNS software, and then monitor and maintain the server on an ongoing basis.
• Recurring Costs: There are also recurring costs associated with self-hosted DNS servers. These costs can include the cost of bandwidth, the cost of DNS software licenses, and the cost of technical support.
• Scalability: Self-hosted DNS servers can be difficult to scale as your website or business grows. If you need to add more DNS servers to handle increased traffic, you will need to purchase or rent additional servers and install and configure the DNS software on each server.

Remote DNS, on the other hand, typically offer a low buy-in and geographical reach, which are two things that are very difficult to budget properly on the smaller scale.

• Pay-as-you-go Pricing Model – This means that you only pay for the DNS services that you use. Minimal Upfront Costs – There are usually no upfront costs when purchasing a remote DNS product, aside from the plan itself.
• Global Network – This means that your DNS queries will be routed to the server that is closest to your visitors, which can improve performance.

For these reasons, remote DNS hosting can be a more financially viable option depending on the specific DNS needs for many organizations of any size.

#4. Regional Coverage – Closer To Home Traffic

The global reach of remote DNS providers is one of its biggest advantages. By having servers located all over the world, these providers can ensure that DNS queries are routed to the closest regional DNS server, which significantly improve performance for users in different regions.

Of course, the global reach of remote DNS providers also comes with some challenges. For example, you need to make sure that the provider you choose has servers in the regions where your users are located. You also need to make sure that the provider has a good reputation for uptime and reliability.

If you are considering using a remote DNS provider, our Everyday Heroes recommend that you take the time needed do your own research. There are many different providers available, so you should be able to find one that meets your regional needs.

#5. Support Expertise – Get Effective Help

When you use a remote DNS provider, you are not only outsourcing the management of your DNS service, but you are also getting access to a team of experts who are dedicated to DNS. This can be a huge advantage, especially if you do not have the in-house resources to manage DNS yourself.

A dedicated DNS support team will have the knowledge and experience to quickly and effectively troubleshoot any DNS problems that you may encounter. They will also be able to provide you with advice and guidance on how to optimize your DNS settings for maximum performance and security.

In addition, a dedicated DNS support team will be able to provide you with 24/7 support, so you can be sure that your DNS service will be up and running even when you are not.

If you are considering using a remote DNS provider, be sure to factor in the level of support that is offered. A dedicated DNS support team can be a valuable asset, and it can help you to ensure that your DNS service is always up and running.

Conclusion

Remote DNS services offer a number of key benefits over self-hosted DNS solutions. You should weigh these benefits, along with any other factors important to your organization before deciding on one provider over another. Use the following summary of benefits to review and help you decide:

• High Uptime – Remote DNS providers typically offer much higher uptime than self-hosted DNS, because they have more resources and redundancy. This means that your website or application will be much more likely to be available to your users, even if there is a problem with your own network or with the internet in general.
• Superior Scalability – Remote DNS providers can automatically scale up their resources to handle increased traffic, so you don’t have to worry about your DNS service becoming unavailable due to a spike in traffic. Scalability on the magnitude for your DNS needs is a costly infrastructure and support investment, which remote DNS providers have already solved for you.
• Affordability – Remote DNS hosting can be more cost-effective than self-hosted DNS solutions, especially for small businesses.
• Regional Coverage – Remote DNS providers have servers located all over the world, so you can ensure that DNS queries are routed to the closest regional DNS server, which can significantly improve performance for users in different regions.
• Expert Support – When you use a remote DNS provider, you are not only outsourcing the management of your DNS service, but you are also getting access to a team of experts who are dedicated to DNS. This can be a huge advantage, especially if you do not have the in-house resources to manage DNS yourself.

If you are considering using a remote DNS provider, our recommendation is that you do your research to find a provider that is a good fit for your needs. There are many different providers available, so you should be able to find one that meets your requirements and budget.

We hope this article helps you to understand the key benefits of using a remote DNS service. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to chat or talk with one of our Everyday Heroes to help you decide.