A New Root Server in the LAC Region

30/07/2018

An anycast copy of the K-root server has been installed in Panama to improve the country’s critical Internet infrastructure and its ability to respond more efficiently in case of potential DDoS attacks or eventual operational network failures.

The initiative to install the K-root server in the datacenter of Cable & Wireless Panama (CWP) was born within the framework of the +Raíces project led by LACNIC, noted Nayreth Gonzalez Dunkley, Head of the National Multi-Services Network of Panama’s National Authority for Government Innovation (AIG), CWP’s local partner for the project.

The key reasons for deciding to move forward with the installation were the benefits and improvements that come with having a local copy of a root server for domain name resolution, said Gonzalez.

Russell Bean, Manager IT Operations at Cable & Wireless, emphasized the support provided by LACNIC for the installation of the root server. “LACNIC accompanied us throughout the process, first by sponsoring the server and then by providing support for its configuration and implementation,” noted Bean.

The new root server will have a positive impact on Panama’s Internet infrastructure. According to both Gonzalez and Bean, the initiative to host a root server copy is the result of the constant commitment of the AIG and CWP to ensuring the stability and quality of local Internet services, and the importance of contributing to the strengthening of Domain Name System (DNS) resolution in Panama and the region.

Likewise, according to González and Bean, having this local copy of the K-root server in Panama is of the utmost importance, as it contributes to strengthen Internet security, response speed, stability, resilience and critical infrastructure in their country. It also decreases the criticality of the domain name resolution service, which translates into a better response to potential denial of service (DDoS) attacks or eventual infrastructure failures that render root servers located in other regions inoperative.

Bean stressed that every Panamanian organization and user connected to the Internet will benefit from this server copy installed by Cable & Wireless Panama, the company that also built the interconnections with Intered – the national Internet exchange point– in order to reduce the time it takes to resolve the domain names queried by users and clients of the Internet service providers connected to this exchange point.

The +Raíces project is a LACNIC initiative that seeks to promote the installation of anycast copies of root servers in Latin America and the Caribbean. Installing these servers at strategic locations such as IXPs (Internet Exchange Points) and NAPs (Network Access Points) around the region increases the resilience of access to one of the Internet’s most critical resources, namely, the root of the DNS.