High performance DNS traffic management

• US 9,197,487 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 11/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: VeriSign, Inc.
• Original Assignee: VeriSign, Inc.
• Inventors: James, Stephen Daniel, Das, Arunabho
• Primary Examiner(s): TRUONG, CAM Y T
• Application Number:
  US13/839,554
• Publication Number:
  US 20140280305A1
• Time in Patent Office: 984 Days
• Field of Search: 709/225, 707/769
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4552 Lookup mechanisms between a plurality of directories; Synchronisation of directories, e.g. metadirectories

Abstract

The present disclosure provides systems, methods, and products for high performance implementation of traffic management rules. In various embodiments, traffic management rules, such as DNS traffic management rules, are functionally expressed as rows in one or more lookup tables that are deployed to DNS resolution servers. The DNS resolution server uses the domain name, resource record type, traffic management rule types, and/or traffic management variable values to search for or look up an answer, from among multiple answers corresponding to the domain name and resource record type that meets the traffic management criteria. This look up is done without executing conventional traffic management code or scripts.

Claims

1. A method, implemented using a computing system, for managing network traffic, the method comprising:

receiving a request from a requestor, the request including a domain name and resource record type;

looking up, using the computing system, an initial traffic management rule in at least one table, using the domain name and resource record type as a search key, wherein the initial traffic management rule specifies a first variable that affects the initial traffic management rule;

iterating, based on the initial traffic management rule, until an answer to the request is found, wherein the iterating comprises;

determining, using the computing system, a value for another variable specified in a successive traffic management rule obtained from the at least one table; and

looking up, using the computing system, in the at least one table the answer or another successive traffic management rule using the domain name and the value for the another variable of the successive traffic management rule as a search key, wherein the at least one table includes a plurality of indicators relating the initial traffic management rule, the successive traffic management rule, and the another successive traffic management rule, wherein the initial traffic management rule, the successive traffic management rule, and the another successive traffic management rule correspond to different traffic management scenarios; and

providing the answer to the requestor.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the initial traffic management rule is a domain name system (DNS) traffic management rule comprising a plurality of rows in the at least one table.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the successive traffic management rule is a DNS traffic management rule comprising a second plurality of rows in the at least one table; and

the another successive traffic management rule is a DNS traffic management rule comprising a third plurality of rows in the at least one table.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

searching the at least one table for a plurality of resource records corresponding to the domain name and resource record type; and

wherein providing the answer to the requestor comprises;

providing the plurality of resource records to the requestor.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

looking up in the at least one table, using the value for the another variable as a search key, information corresponding to the domain name and resource record type in addition to the answer; and

providing the information to the requestor.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the at least one table comprises;

a first plurality of rows containing all possible traffic management outcomes of the initial traffic management rule, wherein each row of the first plurality of rows corresponds, respectively, to one of the possible traffic management outcomes of the initial traffic management rule;

a second plurality of rows containing all possible traffic management outcomes of the successive traffic management rule, wherein each of the second plurality of rows corresponds to a respective one of the possible traffic management outcomes of the successive traffic management rule; and

a third plurality of rows containing all possible traffic management outcomes of the another successive traffic management rule, wherein each of the third plurality of rows corresponds to a respective one of the possible traffic management outcomes of the another successive traffic management rule; and

each row of the first plurality of rows is indexed by a first rule type corresponding to a first of the traffic management scenarios;

each row of the second plurality of rows is indexed by a second rule type corresponding to a second of the traffic management scenarios; and

each row of the third plurality of rows is indexed by a third rule type corresponding to a third of the traffic management scenarios.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instruction that when executed by a processor implement operations comprising:

receiving a request from a requestor, the request including a domain name and resource record type;

looking up an initial traffic management rule in at least one table using the domain name and resource record type as a search key, wherein the initial traffic management rule specifies a first variable that affects the initial traffic management rule;

iterating, based on the initial traffic management rule, until an answer to the request is found, wherein the iterating comprises;

determining a value for another variable specified in a successive traffic management rule obtained from the at least one table; and

looking up in the at least one table the answer or another successive traffic management rule using the domain name and the value for the another variable of the successive traffic management rule as a search key, wherein the at least one table includes a plurality of indicators relating the initial traffic management rule, the successive traffic management rule, and the another successive traffic management rule, wherein the initial traffic management rule, the successive traffic management rule, and the another successive traffic management rule correspond to different traffic management scenarios; and

providing the answer to the requestor.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the initial traffic management rule is a domain name system (DNS) traffic management rule comprising a plurality of rows in the at least one table.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein:

the successive traffic management rule is a DNS traffic management rule comprising a second plurality of rows in the at least one table; and

the another successive traffic management rule is a DNS traffic management rule comprising a third plurality of rows in the at least one table.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7, further comprising:

searching the at least one table, for a plurality of resource records corresponding to the domain name and resource record type; and

wherein providing the answer to the requestor comprises;

providing the plurality of resource records to the requestor.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7, the operations further comprising:

looking up in the at least one table, using the value for the another variable as a search key, information corresponding to the domain name and resource record type in addition to the answer; and

providing the information to the requestor.

12. A system for managing network traffic, the system comprising:

a memory containing instructions; and

a processor, connected to the memory, that executes the instructions to perform operations comprising;

receiving a request from a requestor, the request including a domain name and resource record type;

looking up an initial traffic management rule in at least one table using the domain name and resource record type as a search key wherein the initial traffic management rule specifies a first variable that affects the initial traffic management rule;

iterating, based on the initial traffic management rule, until an answer to the request is found, wherein the iterating comprises;

determining a value for another variable specified in a successive traffic management rule obtained from the at least one table; and

looking up in the at least one table the answer or another successive traffic management rule using the domain name and the value for the another variable of the successive traffic management rule as a search key, wherein the at least one table includes a plurality of indicators relating the initial traffic management rule, the successive traffic management rule, and the another successive traffic management rule, wherein the initial traffic management rule, the successive traffic management rule, and the another successive traffic management rule correspond to different traffic management scenarios; and

providing the answer to the requestor.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the initial traffic management rule is a domain name system (DNS) traffic management rule comprising a plurality of rows in the at least one table.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein:

the successive traffic management rule is a DNS traffic management rule comprising a second plurality of rows in the at least one table; and

the another successive traffic management rule is a DNS traffic management rule comprising a third plurality of rows in the at least one table.

15. The system of claim 12, further comprising:

searching the at least one table, for a plurality of resource records corresponding to the domain name; and

wherein providing the answer to the requestor comprises;

providing the plurality of resource records to the requestor.

16. The system of claim 12, the operations further comprising:

looking up in the at least one table, using the value for the another variable as a search key, information corresponding to the domain name and resource record type in addition to the answer; and

providing the information to the requestor.